letter to the editor, Austin American Statesman, 12/8/08
December 8, 2008 – 10:11 pm
Recent letters praising the military for protecting our “freedoms” show little understanding of its true purpose, that being, protecting resource exploitation. As a Vietnam vet I have endeavored for years to understand why I let myself be exploited to fight a war based on lies. My study has helped me understand that war has always been based in commerce, greed and fear. The original definition of “war” is, to bring to confusion. Truth is the cure for confusion and sustainable prosperity requires it. The real “slap in the face” is the incessant preaching that the military ensures freedom. Rationalizations don’t work when we are trying to improve the quality of life.
Thomas Heikkala
tomas_heikkala@yahoo.com
One Response to “letter to the editor, Austin American Statesman, 12/8/08”
Thank you for your insight and well phrased post. I am a veteran and I served as a conscientious objector. I was a medic on the DMZ in Korea for 7 mos. in 1968. I’m going to try to use this blog, for now, I’d like to tell some of my personal story. Even though I had no weapon so thought I was not responsible for the killing I eventually came to realize I was still a part of the machine that did the killing. I’ve now been out of the military for almost 40 years. My views are not as idealistic as those days but I realize that the system is controlled more by money than people with a conscientious.
By Charles G. Wixson on Dec 16, 2008