#85: For Non-Divisive Diversity (PART 7)

【Hypocrisy】
When it comes to wars and conflicts, nationality and its borders are exploited to the ugliest degree of divisiveness fueled by inborn privilege.
 
To be sure, America is no exception.
 
With the Russian military’s ongoing atrocities in Ukraine unfolding, the Biden administration stands steadfast in repudiating the military invasion. This unwavering opposition against violence is truly honorable, yet, we must also remember that America is guilty of past invasions of its own doing.
 
For instance, in 2003, the Bush administration invaded Iraq without UN authorization, largely as a retaliation to the 9.11 attacks, forcefully professing that Iraq is hiding weapons of mass destruction. And despite this military invasion, weapons of mass destruction were nowhere to be found, while Iraq was confirmed to have no connection to 9.11 attacks.
 
In the 1960s as the Vietnam War escalated, American military invaded Vietnam while foolishly arresting its own citizens back home who opposed the war.
 
Regrettably, even today, America seldom apologizes for its own guilt in past invasions and actions by its military.
 
What’s more--from the Holocaust, to the unspeakable cruelty by Russian military in Ukraine, to the Chinese government’s heinous human rights crime against the Uyghur Muslims--the Biden administration remains steadfast in repudiating genocide. This unwavering opposition against gruesome violence, too, is truly commendable.
 
Yet, we must also remember the mass murders committed by the American atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki; the firebombing air raids on over 200 Japanese cities including Tokyo, Osaka, Kobe, and Nagoya; the napalm attacks in Vietnam--even today, America denies to call its own military crime a genocide, a breathtaking hypocrisy.
 
Also to our dismay, despite disheartened and infuriated by such American contradiction, Japanese government is also quick to deny its own Chongqing air raids in China a genocide.
 
What this tells us is that even when the current administration’s policy/ideology are fundamentally different from the past administrations guilty of invasions or genocides, they still get caught up in nationality and its borders; become trapped in the divisiveness fueled by inborn privilege; and hesitate to make this world a better place for everyone.
 
Of course, that should be expected under the existing global system of nationality which allows only the citizens to vote in elections. As a result, regardless of how much support you garner from the non-citizens, no matter how loved you are by people across the world, they don’t translate into votes, and thus won’t win you elections. As such, our existing system of nationality exacerbates inborn privilege and division. 
 
And those who wage a war will justify any means no matter how dirty, inhumane, or dishonorable, for their desired end. It’s victory at any cost; violence, discrimination, threats, lies, cover-ups, destroying evidence--you name it, they’ll use it.
 
They’ll justify ignoring people’s freedom, destroying the livelihood, taking away fathers to military, losing mothers to violence, ending innocence of children, ripping families apart, trampling on the human rights, and wasting precious life. Killing fellow humans becomes an honorable deed, and refusing to kill becomes a criminal act.
 
And just like that, war topples the human morality upside down. Fanning the flames of patriotism with a blind pledge of allegiance to the flag, nationality and its borders are exploited to the ugliest degree of divisiveness.
 
On the one hand, liberal education in America welcomes diversity, encourages unity over division, inspires critical thinking empowered by one’s own mind, and teaches to resolve conflicts without violence. On the other hand, conservatives and liberals alike, America today is practically obsessed with touting our military troops as heroes. Military--whose job, ultimately, is to kill fellow humans--often gets the special praises and perks.
 
A job that ultimately requires you to kill when your boss orders you to do so, in an obsolete institution where questioning your superiors is forbidden. Ordinary people take up this job to make a living, and once you get employed there, you’re an automatic Hero. It doesn’t matter what your personal values are; how good a human you truly are. You join the military, and boom you’re a Hero.
 
If that’s a Hero, then we’re essentially teaching our children that a person willing to blindly obey their boss’s order to kill fellow humans is a Hero.
 
Admitting this breathtaking hypocrisy, we must honestly confront the historical realities, apologize our past blunders, continue to take responsibility of our crimes, and commit to an honest education. That is, a genuine peace education in the truest sense, not just in form but in truthful spirit--to ensure that the tragedy will never again fall upon anyone, anywhere.
 
Today, we can’t help but make a regrettable observation that the existing global system of nationality impedes our progress in this front.
 
That’s why on our march towards non-divisive diversity, it’s imperative that we embrace our differences with a warm welcome and rid our traditional privileges.

Read Previous: For Non-Divisive Diversity (6)【National Interest】
 
Complete Series: For Non-Divisive Diversity (1)～(7)
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