Recently, Donald J. Trump illegally executed the assassination of Iran’s top military general Qassem Soleimani. The assassination isthe equivalent of Iran murdering our Secretary of Defense, therefore making what Trump did an extremely big deal and also, a war crime. Now after major events such as the Benghazi scandal, North Korean threats, Russia, etc. people tend to “cope” with the heaviness of these situations through memes and other jokes. Usually, these memes don’t annoy me, and in the past I’ve even found them amusing. However, the resurgence of these memes in relation to the recent events in Iran aren’t sitting right with me this time around, and here’s why.
(Photo by unknown via the LA Times)
Now I’ll be honest, jokes about how ridiculously irresponsible and stupid Trump is are pretty funny. However, the bulk of these memes are about getting drafted into WWIII. While this may seem lighthearted and innocent on the surface, it gives insight into a much larger issue: American entitlement. A lot of these jokes are centered on the American fear of getting drafted and being forced to fight in the Middle East or the fear of attack(s) on American soil. While everyone at this moment in time is entitled to fear, there’s a significant amount of misconception rooted in this fear.
(Photo by unknown via thebalancecareers.com)
Firstly, no one is getting drafted. There’s not a shortage of soldiers and war is seen as more politically convenient when there is no draft, therefore it’s extremely unlikely that a draft would be necessary if we spiraled into yet another disastrous war. The bigger problem with this fear is that it’s overlooking the truth: that Americans are never the primary victims of these senseless wars. These wars are never fought on American soil and if things with Iran continue to escalate, it would be fought in the Middle East. Therefore, American civilians aren’t in danger and these memes showcase the nauseating entitlement we feel whenever we’re in crisis. In the Iraq War, around 460,000 Iraqi citizens died as a result of violence (both directly and indirectly) while only about 4,000 Americans died. The similarities between the Iraq war and the current situation are alarmingly similar and once again, the main victims of this conflict will be innocent Middle Eastern civilians who have been continuously exploited for American gain.
(Photo by Nazanin Tabatabaee via pri.org)
Another issue with this entitlement is that a lot of people are generally uninterested in politics and prefer to “remain neutral” so when these same people are all of the sudden posting jokes about the draft and WWIII without raising actual awareness about the current situation or the effects it will have on innocent civilians overseas strikes me as very inconsiderate. To be able to joke about your safety and never consider the other side of this bleak reality is very telling of how we as Americans have been trained to accept this pro-military pro-war propaganda.