Opinion Piece: Rise of American Martyrdom, by Justin Sane, Anti-Flag

[paineinthearse]

Opinion Piece: Rise of American Martyrdom, by Justin Sane, Lead Singer of Punk Band Anti-Flag

2/15/2005 10:28:00 AM

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To: National Desk, Politics Reporter

Contact: Scott Goodstein, 202-518-8332 or [e-mail]; Web: http://www.UndergroundActionAlliance.org

WASHINGTON, Feb. 15 /U.S. Newswire/ -- The following is an opinion piece by Justin Sane, lead singer of punk band Anti-Flag:

Rise of American Martyrdom

"Not long ago Mr. Bush condemned Saddam Hussein for recruiting Palestinian suicide bombers by offering to pay $25,000 to their families. Last week Mr. Bush proposed raising the death benefit for US soldiers killed in Afghanistan and Iraq to half a million dollars. When I learned of Mr. Bush's proposal I couldn't help wonder if such payouts will create American martyrs?

"Don't be tricked into thinking that Bush's proposal is about supporting the troops. This is the same man that sent American soldiers into combat under false pretenses, without the proper gear, and once they were deployed- cut their benefits! The proposed $500,000 death benefit payout is designed only for families of soldiers killed in either Iraq or Afghanistan. It is not applicable to anyone else in the military killed in the line of duty. These benefits offer substantial incentives for soldiers to die in two of the most dangerous places on the planet and their 'reward' is the knowledge that their family will be provided for after they are gone. Sounds like the same thing Saddam did. Hussein paid people who were martyrs for their cause, and you can bet that our soldiers' families will be told that their kid died for the noble cause of ending tyranny. And while they might not be promised a spot in heaven, you can be sure this rhetoric will invoke Bush's never ending themes of freedom- even though Iraq will not be truly free until Bush executes a real exit strategy.

"In his State of the Union speech, Mr. Bush never mentioned this new proposal, but he explained that he knows our inner city kids are struggling and need 'better options than gangs or jail.' Unfortunately, I do not think the 'better options' Mr. Bush has in mind includes easy access to higher education or decent paying jobs. Instead, his better options include using these kids as cannon fodder for the neo-con Project for a New American Century. It's no secret that military recruitment is down, retention is down, and our American forces are spread paper thin. The military needs warm bodies. Even with giving military recruiters extra access to students' private records as part of the No Child Left Behind legislation - kids are not signing up in the numbers needed to fight Bush's war. Today's youth are wising up to the reality that $50,000 for college does them no good if they're killed in Iraq. Simply put, Fifty G's doesn't go far in a bad economy... On the other hand, half a million bucks dangling in front of those struggling inner-city kids gives them real incentive to join the military, especially when it's one of few viable options of escaping their bleak economic reality. If they're lucky enough to get killed in Afghanistan or Iraq, at least their family will be provided for.

"It's no secret that the poor and minorities are over represented in the military. How many children of the wealthy sign up to be put in harm's way so they'll have money to go to college? How many rich kids join the military because there hasn't been any work in their community for the last twenty years and there's no sign of things changing any time soon? The rich already have money to go to college, and the world is their oyster. You can bet it's never been part of George and Laura's plans to have young Barbara and Jenna join up, but Bush seems to have no problem with poor kids from the ghetto and rural America doing so. Ask yourself, how many people, poor or otherwise, would do this job without the financial incentive? The poverty draft has been around for decades...this proposal simply ratchets it up a notch.

"Soldiers who are killed in the line of duty deserve to know that their families aren't going to lose the house and wind up on the street because of their death. The Bush administration, however, is being very selective about who is going to receive this proposed increased death benefit, and they will methodically, relentlessly, and with immeasurable cunning create the myth of the American Martyr as they send out those checks. Just like Saddam did."

Justin Sane is the lead singer of Anti-Flag and Board Member of Underground Action Alliance.org and Punk Voter.com

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NOTE:

For more information or to receive a text version electronically contact: Scott Goodstein at 202-518-8332 or [e-mail]; or visit: http://www.undergroundactionalliance.org

[Pooka Fey]

1. Great piece. Recommended for Greatest Threads.

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

2. Great essay

[RaleighNCDUer]

3. An interesting take on the situation.

There is one aspect which no-one seems to note, however.

Saddam's money was not a reward, so much as a compensation. It looks to me like it was a reaction to the long-standing Israeli practice of bulldozing the homes of suicide bombers. Just hours after a depressed, suicidal kid blows himself up, Israeli troops showed up and put the kid's family out on the street -- often before they knew that it was their kid that committed the crime. A family would lose everything, home, furnishings, keepsakes, even their lives if they didn't move fast enough to get out of the way. That $25,000 would be enough for the family to get a new place, furnish it, and live for a short while, while the family tries to get its bearings in a new reality. It offered them a chance to mourn.

Don't get me wrong -- I thoroughly despise the mindset of the suicide bomber. I think the terrorists who set up the bombings prey on the kids, and that the actual bombers are nearly as much victims as are the people they take with them.

The point is, Saddam was not rewarding them, or paying them to do it. He was providing survivors' compensation. It was publicity and propaganda and a cheap way for him to get the sympathy of the Palestinians. He exploited them after the fact. As the poster describes, Bush is far more cynical in setting up a potential for creating martyrs.

[paineinthearse]

4. Photo: Justin Sane / Undergroun Action Alliance

Justin Sane

http://www.undergroundactionalliance.org/

Underground Action Alliance is dedicated to promoting civic participation of members of the punk rock community and beyond. Our primary purpose is to engage our youth to commit their energy, ideas, excitement, and enthusiasm to work for equitable social transformation that benefits all inhabitants of the Earth, and the planet itself.

Underground Action Alliance encourages members of the punk rock community to assume the critical role of citizen-activist. A citizen-activist is anyone who takes seriously their duty to their community, both locally and globally, and engages in activities to protect and improve it. Citizen-activists speak for those who have not found their voice, seek out and listen to those whose voices have been ignored or silenced, and empower their community to advocate for itself and work for justice. Citizen-activists work to eradicate the many social problems that confront our society, such as racism, sexism, homophobia, fascism, poverty, war, ignorance, ageism, and the erosion of our Constitutional Rights and civil liberties.

Democracy cannot flourish without the essential element of an informed, engaged citizenry. Our goal is to educate our community about the importance of activism, volunteerism, and voting, facilitate the formation of activist alliances within the punk rock community and beyond, function as an information resource for activists, and encourage and support people everywhere to take upon themselves the crucial role of being citizen-activists.

Underground Action Alliance is a Pennsylvania non-profit corporation started by the members of Anti-Flag. Come and join the alliance of progressive citizen-activists who are working to make the world a better place.

[jonnyblitz]

10. that isn't justin sane.

this is:

[paineinthearse]

5. Punkvoter.com

About Punkvoter.com

OVERVIEW
Welcome to About Punkvoter.com.
Use the menu above to view other parts of the About area.

Overview:
Choose one of the following items, or scroll down, for more information.

What Is Punkvoter?
about punkvoter.com

Punk bands, musicians, and record labels have built a coalition to educate, register and mobilize progressive voters. Something needs to be done to unite the youth vote and bring real activism back into our society. Punk rock has always been on the edge and in the forefront of politics. It is time to energize the majority of today’s disenfranchised youth movement and punk rockers to make change a reality.

Punkvoter is about organizing the many diverse and regional movements into one voice of political change. Punkvoter is our way to educate today’s youth about what is really going on in Washington, DC and how we can collectively force change. This is our chance to be a strong voice against the serious flaws in the current political system. This is our way to talk about new laws and scenarios that could change our quality of life for years to come. Punkvoter is your organization. It will be run with the same energy and spirit of all punk efforts. With your help we will be a credible force to truly shape the future of our nation.

These are drastic times and today’s youth are not voting.

The US is waging wars on false pretenses.

Kids under our country's legal drinking age are fighting overseas and dying.

Unemployment has reached nine-year highs.

Every state has budget deficits and is actively passing these burdens
on to future generations - that means you.

An estimated 60% of the 2003 graduates will have to move back in
with their parents because of the lack of jobs.

The 18 to 24-year-old voter demographic dropped
to an all time low of only 38% in 2000.

We have to do something. Punkvoter plans to organize, educate and invigorate today’s youth to again think politically and become involved in changing their society.

What Is Our Goal?
about punkvoter.com

Our goal is to educate, register and mobilize over 500,000 of today’s youth as one voice. We plan to use this election as a way to get our fans engaged in politics and evolve our movement into becoming involved locally to affect real change nationally.

What Do We Stand For?
about punkvoter.com

The progressive principles that parallel the punk movements' guiding strength drive Punkvoter. This is the time for the punk scene to unite around issues we all care about and that we have all sung about. We must all stand together as one voice in shaping the future of our country. This is not about who is a sellout, who is too hardcore or who is from the west coast, etc…This is about getting everyone to mobilize as a block of concerned voters. Punk bands, punk labels, and punk fans must form a union against the chaotic policies George W. Bush has put in place. He must be exposed.

Even amongst this coalition of free thinkers, we may not agree on every issue. Nonetheless, we are united around these four basic principals and feel it is time to stand together in questioning our current administration's policies

Why Build this Coalition?
about punkvoter.com

Music has always been ahead of societal change and a major influence on both the culture and the politics of the day. Punk rock is about taking an in-your-face attitude in order to rebel against the problems of our society. Its time to engage the punk rock spirit into today’s political battles. Remember, some of punk’s greatest inventors back lashed against the norms of their society. Punk rock has clearly broken down the prudish undercurrents of many Puritanical yet supposedly “modern” governments. Punk bands like the Sex Pistols, MC5, The Clash, Subhumans, Minor Threat, Crass, and Propagandhi have all been a voice for the working class and other minorities in times of strife. Punk musicians have never been afraid to speak out on such topics as drug abuse, suicide, and forms of discrimination such as sexism and racism. In addition, small bands have been local voices for their communities’ grassroots concerns. From benefit concerts (California’s NOFX, Green Day), to running shelters (DC’s Fugazi and Positive Force) punks have always preached social change. Even though punk’s diversity spans the political spectrum from the far right to the far left (and even includes those that advocate for the complete breakdown of government as we know it), punk has always preached in the hopes of making change a reality.

We must remember that today’s politicians are servants to their constituents therefore we must become a true voting force.

[mike_c]

6. kick-- this is excellent....

:kick:

[Viva_La_Revolution]

7. Double Kick!

Outstanding.

I challenge you all to look at the next kid with blue hair and pierced eyebrows a little differently.

[AnneD]

11. I seem to remember.....

a time not so long ago when young kids protested en mass against a war and the government and were known for their weird dress and long hair. At least I think I remember it, but it just might be a flash back that I was warned about.....

[Name removed]

8. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[jonnyblitz]

9. I love Anti-Flag..

:thumbsup:

[BeFree]

12. Man, that's pretty sharp

I mean how else do you get the families of the dead soldiers to shut up?

And how else do you get more fodder when there is no other way to motivate them to die?

Ya gotta hand it to the *ies.