On Patriotism And The War With Iran

A polemic on the war with Iran.

As many of my readers know, I was raised by a patriot and I am a patriot. I love my country and its people. I want us to thrive and prosper. I am well aware of our faults and our history of bigotry, colonialism, and exploitation, but I also know that we can be more than that. Better than that. I believe that if we work hard to live up to our best values, we can truly make the US the country that, at its best, it aspires to be.

I am also a devotee of Ares. He has been one of my patrons since I was 11. He came to me before I started doing magick and my relationship with Him has always been intense and tumultuous. I assume He chose me because of my martial upbringing by my Grandfather and my own temperament. He was the first of my patrons (shortly followed by Hermes 3 years later) and still looms large in my life. Like all of the four primary deities I work with, I pray and give offerings to Him every day.

But—and this is a big but—I actually hate war. I believe it is necessary at times, absolutely. Communities must sometimes defend themselves and their interests from aggressors. Boundaries must sometimes be defended, by force if necessary. But I hate the harm that war causes to so many people and to the world as the bombs and bullets fly. I hate how war is used by the rich and powerful to increase their riches and power. I hate the way innocent civilians have to suffer so that rich and powerful people far from the fighting can carve up the world in different ways to suit their interests. And I especially hate how airmen, soldiers, sailors, and marines are treated, how they are broken, used up, and thrown away, not just in the American military but militaries all over the world. I went through a whole period where I was a big believer in PMCs (private military corporations) because, while they are mercenaries who fight for the highest bidder, at least they usually pay their people well and take better care of them than most governments do. I have been watching the US government use their service people up and throw them away my whole life and it breaks my heart.

So I have a rather unique view on war. I am devoted to its mysteries while seeing its horrors.

When our leaders start wars we are often told we need to “support the troops” by supporting the war politically and economically. And now we are, once again, being urged towards a blind and broken patriotism that is turned towards what is best for the rich and powerful and harms the rest of us. Supporting the troops has become a euphemism for supporting our government. Loving America has been twisted into meaning loving the government. And that was on purpose.

But if you love America right now, that means hating our government. Because these people are traitors. Trump is a traitor. Vance is a traitor. Hegseth is a traitor. The Heritage Foundation are traitors. These people are throwing America under the bus so they can have more power and wealth.

They know they are bankrupting us. Cutting us off from our allies. Destroying NATO. Using our military cavalierly and destructively. Weakening our alliances and isolating us. Dividing our people against each other. They aren’t stupid. That is a game, a front they use to gain advantages. Stop thinking that they are stupid.

They are evil.

I hate the American government right now exactly because I love America. I have long been critical of our political and economic policies—especially the war economy and how US leaders use war and throw away the lives of our service people to make themselves and their friends rich—exactly because I love America. I try to live out the values of what America could be rather than what it is. To me, that’s what patriotism means.

There is a quote from an old TV show called “Angel” that always sums it up for me perfectly:

“We live as though the world is as it should be, to show it what it can be.” -Angel, S4E1, (2002)

When we fail to work towards that vision, that real and actual American Dream of what and who we could be, that ideal that we should strive to live up to, we cause so much harm. Every time we decide to open a new front in our ongoing forever wars, every time we betray allies and abandon them to their enemies (as we did in Vietnam and Afghanistan), and every time the people in our government try to use a war to distract from their failures to govern—and make no mistake, that’s exactly what this attack was—it breaks my heart just as much as it enrages me.

So when you see me ranting about Trump or the rising fascism in America, remember this: I am a patriot. I love this country. I want what is best for us.

And this isn’t it.

Art: Peter Paul Rubens, “The Consequences Of War”, (1637-1638)