Fighting The Drone Wars

Before the democratic republic fell to tyranny and became the empire, there existed a war between the forces of conformity and army of machines. What about the war they were fighting? It was all manufactured in order to destroy the republic via a day by day consolidation of power under one person. Are we talking about today? Possibly, but our story here is first about a time in intergalactic history called The Clone Wars. But since some historians have not paid close  enough attention to that period of time, we will focus on how this story applies to today.

 On the last day of August, a fellow activist and close friend of mine, along with around 100 fellow activists, were performing a pre-emptive protest against a proposed drone command center at what we use to call the Willow Grove Naval Air Station. The name and management has since changed but the game is the same. The station holds men and machines that are used to wage war against other parts of the world. And it isn't enough that our country attacks relatively defenseless nations, we now wage a remote war with controls that resemble that of a video game. And thus we have our small but growing militia of machines. 

Who are we fighting? We are fighting those who have not taken the news of our owning the world well. Unfortunately, and this is a large reason for the protests, other people get in the way so that our use of drones has been anti-family. Our Hellfire missile firing drones take kids away from parents or parents away from their kids, while at other times our drones take away everybody. And if you are offended by the casual way I am describing this, as well you should be, realize that drone warfare is making the act of killing casual for the modern soldier. For what drone warfare robs from the modern soldier is the sight of the blood spilled in living color, the real smells of death and burnt flesh, the screams and unconsolable sorrow of family members who have just lost their loved ones, the almost paralyzing fear that one's life is in danger, and thus the true feel of the combat arena. The act of killing in drone warfare dehumanizes the victims and thus minimizes the stress of and risks taken by our soldiers. Killing becomes impersonal and thus the more the drone operator kills, the less that operator feels when his/her actions takes human lives.

Drone warfare protects that soldier-operators from feeling responsible for taking life. In fact, it insulates the soldier-operator from feeling anything. But the soldier operator isn't the only one who is spared a real understanding of reality in today's brave new combat zone. The one who orders the strike is also sheltered from the shock and awe of taking life. That is because the one giving the orders is immune to all accountability. And that is because the country using drone warfare has assumed the right to judge all other nations while refusing to be judged by any.  In most cases, sinners, let alone those who murder, can neither see nor realize the full picture of what they are doing without judgment made by others. Thus, the one giving directing and sending in the drones also feels less and less the more the drones kill others.

Considering that today's protest draws from the Philadelphia area as well as the Lehigh Valley, there were very few people there in attendance. There are millions of people to draw from here however only around 100 showed up? Why were so many people not motivated  enough to join the protest? What were they doing that was so important that they could not protest against the cold-blooded slaying of innocent people? That's right. I forgot. Today is the first Saturday of the 2013 college football season.