The essays reflect on the consequences that two decades of war have brought to the United States, in terms of its self-image and national character. The political burdens of citizenship in relation to war shouldn’t also get carried by the soldier, but they do. Our cultural attitudes about war are things that had to be built and constructed. He calls it the “Triumph of the Will for American Nazis.” But at one point he says, “Why did we go to war? And when your country goes to war, you sign up if you have any honor.” That’s how he felt.

Source: The Nation May 11, 2022 09:42 UTC