For the most part, I don't believe that the majority of people are bad. A handful, such as the heads of our government, yeah, but not most. And because I don't believe that most people are just bad people, I have to analyze and explain bad things. Hence, why I can't accept that the war supporting crowd are either stupid or evil pigs.

There are two types of people that join the military. One, which joins for the benefits, without really thinking, I'm going to leave out of this blog, as they are not relevant.

The people I AM going to talk about are the people with "god bless america" bumper stickers, who chant "bless our troops," and phrases which insult the masculinity of anti war protesters. I want to look at what makes them that way, what sick and twisted experience causes them to be that way.

Basically, my theory is that they've been fed a sort fairy tale, led to believe in some fantasy world, similar to that of religious people (the epic correlation between religion and conservatism/pro government is a different topic) in the sense that they're believing in something fake and hollow. It's like this:

These people are told of some sort of amazing, epic battle. A fight between their country, which they are brainwashed into loving, and the various "evils" which they're told about by propaganda.

It is also my proposal that most people naturally have some sort of desire for violence, hence why people enjoy war games. Think about it. How much fun do people have playing paintball, or video games like World of Warcraft, or Grand Theft Auto?

Now, take those two ideas into account. Combine them. Do you know what you get?

You get a group of people who are brainwashed into loving their country. They don't just love their country, it's like some sort of fantasy television show or game to them. Here you have the defenders of truth, the masters of justice, the guardians of freedom, the spreaders of democracy, the advocates of justice, and so on and so on... (sounds like something you'd get out of a comic book, right?). Now, these people are presented with a plot. Evil terrorists. Evil bad guys who look different than us that want to destroy the planet or destroy our freedom. (Again... just like a tv show, right!?). Well, naturally, they're going to be gung ho about the military, right? It's a fantasy world to them. A video game. They have no grasp of reality. They have no clue that what they're doing is wrong. They have no clue that they're being lied to. They think the military are the good guys, saving the world from evil. (Or insert your own television quote here).


And as for the whole anti anti-war sentiment, it's simple. A lot of these people have some sort of masculinity issue. They think war is this big game tough guys get into. Their heads are filled with quotes about bravery and courage. So when an anti war protester comes about, and scratches away at their fantasy world, it's not just their fantasy that's being attacked, it's their masculinity. It's no different than the mentality of 2 high school students raising their fists at each other in the hallways. A bunch of brutes obsessed with being tough.


So to recap- You have a brainwashed people, taught to fantasize about their country, thinking they're engaged in this big video game battle that involves being tough.

See the problem? You have several factors influencing the "war is cool" crowd.
What do you do?