Blog #4 Modern Dissent Against War

Losing the Battle and Losing the War 

                 

Throughout the course of the 20th century, the United States prided itself on galvanizing support for the various wars it entered. People willingly bought war bonds issued from the government which held no real investment value in order to fund military operations. Despite the overwhelming majority backing the efforts of the military, some bravely spoke out against these actions. Consequentially, those dissenting against the popular opinion were silenced and even put on trial. Today, true anti-war arguments can be found only on the obscure pages of the internet. The principles of these arguments remain the same as they did over a century ago, but the power of the State and the media in general has drastically evolved. 

When the U.S. entered World War I in 1917, the nation at large supported the effort. Two years later, a few men, who happened to be Russian immigrants, distributed pamphlets which were contrary to the military's plans involving Russia. The Supreme Court ruled against the immigrants and sentenced them to jail time in a series of cases. A silver lining that emerged was Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes' famous descent when he introduced the concept of a marketplace of ideas. This precedent established that all opinions had a right to be heard but in the end the proper response would be recognized and chosen. 

                      

The modern anti-war movement can only be found on pages of obscure blogs and new sites. One of these examples is a website appropriately called Antiwar.com. The writers acknowledge they have an agenda of opposing all global military entanglements but that their opinion does not stop them from being true journalists by reporting on all angles of a story. The site's political ideology could most closely be associated as libertarian, and since there is no major libertarian party the blog serves as a crucial way of reaching those who feel neither of the two parties represents their truest political stance.

Another similar website is called the American Conservative. Although the title would seemingly indicate the site is about the right-wing ideology in today's America, the purpose of the blog is actually hypercritical of the "neoconservatism" as well as American imperialism, expanding central government, and the forgotten middle class. The American Conservative, like Antiwar.com, believes that both parties have contributed to the overextended arm of the U.S. in foreign affairs. In order to fix this, the American Conservative suggests that the parties revisit the principles outlined by the constitution and focus more on domestic affairs. 

Today's anti-war voices do not receive as nearly the harsh treatment as they did in the early portion of the twentieth century. Ironically though, being anti-war is still a radical concept today. Headlines about U.S. involvement in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, and various other countries don't even make headlines anymore since most have accepted that the military must police other less-developed nations. Yet even with both political parties supporting their portion of war, some still speak out against the country's biggest expense. Perhaps some day the political parties would hear an argument and consider that war might not be good for anything after all. 

Sources:

https://www.theamericanconservative.com/

https://www.antiwar.com/

https://www.oyez.org/cases/1900-1940/249us47

https://www.oyez.org/cases/1900-1940/250us616