Danny Sjursen advocates for a reclaiming of Veterans Day and a return to the principles of the holiday originally known as Armistice Day. Armistice Day celebrated the end to one of the bloodiest wars in world history, and Sjursen reminds us how eminently worthy of celebration that occasion is. But the modern Veterans Day is not only meaningless and soulless, he says, it also implies that there will always be veterans to celebrate. This attitude helps enable acceptance of America’s forever wars in the Middle East, and makes it more difficult to spread the antiwar cause he has dedicated himself to.
Discussed on the show:
- “Opinion | ‘Democracy Doesn’t Come in a Box’” (The New York Times)
- “The Armistice We Need: Time for Vets To Reclaim Veterans’ Day” (Antiwar.com Original)
- “11/4/19 Dan McKnight on the Fight to Bring Our Troops Home” (The Libertarian Institute)
Danny Sjursen is a retired U.S. army major and former history instructor at West Point. He writes regularly for TomDispatch.com and he’s the author of “Ghost Riders of Baghdad: Soldiers, Civilians, and the Myth of the Surge.” Follow him on Twitter @SkepticalVet.
This episode of the Scott Horton Show is sponsored by: NoDev NoOps NoIT, by Hussein Badakhchani; The War State, by Mike Swanson; WallStreetWindow.com; Tom Woods’ Liberty Classroom; ExpandDesigns.com/Scott; Washinton Babylon; Liberty Under Attack Publications; Listen and Think Audio; TheBumperSticker.com; and LibertyStickers.com.
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Scott Horton is director of the Libertarian Institute, editorial director of Antiwar.com, host of Antiwar Radio on Pacifica, 90.7 FM KPFK in Los Angeles, California and podcasts the Scott Horton Show from this website. He’s the author of the 2017 book, Fool’s Errand: Time to End the War in Afghanistan. Visit https://scotthorton.org