Three Army Lietenant Colonels Write That Belief In American Exceptionalism Is Hurting The Military

[votesparks]

In the September-October of Military Review, a military thought journal published by the U.S. Army, three U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonels wrote a thought provoking piece entitled "The Myths We Soldiers Tell Ourselves, And The Harm These Myths Do." In the article, the three argue that at the heart of many of the military's problems are delusions about self that soldiers harbor based upon extrapolating American exceptionalism to mean personal exceptionalism. The authors say that this belief in national superiority eventually leads to a sense of unearned personal superiority over others, ultimately enabling necessary dehumanization of others that enable atrocities and war crimes, as well as potential problems for soldiers when they return home.

The full text of the article can be located here:


http://usacac.army.mil/CAC2/MilitaryReview/Archives/English/MilitaryReview_20131031_art010.pdf

[Scuba]

1. Soon to be former US Army Lt. Colonels, I'm predicting.

[atreides1]

2. Maybe

But they had the courage to put their careers on the line to point out what so many prefer to ignore!

And as a former sergeant in the US Army, I salute these three officers.

[Scuba]

3. As a former Staff Sergeant in the Air Force, I also salute them.

[Posteritatis]

4. Considering a US Army journal approved the publication... (nt)

[Chakab]

5. I remember when Chris Hayes tried to make a similar point and was eviscerated

by the rest of the media.

I'm glad that his came from a group of experienced officers.