Blog #6: Anti-War

 If you keep up with the news at all, you have seen at least one news clip or read one article that talks about America’s involvement in war (i.e., the Russia-Ukraine conflict and the Palestine-Israel conflict).

There are many people in our country who are outspoken about their opposition to America’s involvement in foreign war. Two examples of this would be Antiwar.com and The Conservative American. When I opened the American Conservatives' website the first thing that jumped out on the screen was the headline, “The Middle East is a Costly Distraction” while the spotlight on Antiwar.com is titled “Leading US Papers Skewed Gaza Debate" (pictures shown below).

Both articles clearly call out the American government in their war involvements surrounding the Gaza strip. So, why do we not hear more people with these same opinions speaking out against war?

I did some research into this question. There are multiple reasons as to why we must go out of our way to find articles and other news sources that are openly anti-war.

In an article from the Global Times, GT staff reporters point out that if we look at America’s past, much of its growth and development is the direct result of various wars. Our country has been molded by war.

Participating in these conflicts makes us appear stronger and more powerful to other countries. The way America is perceived by these other countries is particularly important to the government and is a large part of why the US government would not want its citizens to protest their war advancements.

Aside from the government, there are several reasons as to why American citizens do not feel as inclined to publicly speak out against US war efforts. In an NPR article written by Linton Weeks, he points out how the draft is not currently being used, meaning that people are not being forced to participate in the war. Therefore, they do not feel compelled to speak out against it.

Something else that in this article that I found to be profound is the idea that we as American citizens do not feel directly impacted by the wars our country is fighting in anymore.

These conflicts are happening in foreign lands--not our home turf. Our armed forces and the media are very strategic about the information that we are receiving regarding the wars our country takes part in.

To conclude, there are certainly people in America who are outspoken in their anti-war opinions. Antiwar.com and The Conservative American are two notable examples of this. However, due to the multiple factors listed above, it is much harder to seek those voices out than it used to be.