And we should not fetishize a nation and its military under whose flag countless unrepentant atrocities, crimes against humanity, and massacres were conducted.
I doubt the descendants of the survivors at wounded knee feel much pride looking upon the flag flown by the troopers who massacred their people and took their land.
I doubt the women of Okinawa have fond memories of their grandmothers being ripped from their homes after US occupation and repeatedly gang raped in broad daylight.
I doubt the people of Nicaragua have profound respect for the intelligence agencies and military advisors who trained and funded right wing death squads who ran rampant through their countryside.
This wall represents as much death, pain, and suffering to millions of innocents around the world as any confederate memorial does to the descendants of slavery today.
The legacy of J. Edgar Hoover adorns this building yet the man and his legacy has destroyed dozens of civil rights groups, broken up countless labor unions, arrested thousands of left-wing activist, persecuted homosexuals, and conducted unjust federal enforcement policy targeting minorities and dissidents for decades all in the name of country.
Maybe this "great" nation should stop measuring its hero's by how much land they conquered, how many native peoples they killed, how many opposing governments they toppled, how many protestors they jailed, and join the concert of nations who judge themselves instead on their contributions to humanity and commitment to human rights.
No other peaceful nation on Earth fetishizes the military, its members, and lionizes their war crimes quite like the United States
A few written apologies issued by the state department decades after the fact will never be enough to expunge the blood and tears that taint the flag and national character of the United States, and particularly its military, justice, and intelligence institutions.
