Why politicians hate Armistice Day but love Veterans Day Retweet
By Perry Willis
Veterans Day is Friday, November 11th. It used to be called Armistice Day. It was a day that remembered the moment when the First World War ended on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month of 1918. Armistice Day was a valuable holiday. It constantly reminded people of the biggest mistake that politicians ever made… 
A world war fought over absolutely nothing!
Alas, the politicians could not abide such a reminder of their own folly, and so Armistice Day was eventually changed to something the politicians could exploit — Veterans Day. Whereas Armistice Day highlighted the dangers of militarism and interventionism, Veterans Day promotes these schemes. Yes, the holiday includes appreciation for soldiers past and present, but it’s also used by politicians to tell…
A Big Lie
Politicians exploit Veterans Day (and Memorial Day too) to claim that they used our soldiers to defend freedom. But is that really true? We’re going to stress-test this claim between now and November 11th. We’ll review our wars and interventions one-by-one and ask the following questions…
- Was the war necessary to defend America?
- Did the politicians use our veterans to defend freedom or harm freedom?
- Did the war make things better or worse?
We believe the evidence is overwhelming that the politicians’ wars have…
- Made America less safe
- Harmed freedom
- Made the world worse, on balance
- Injured and destroyed veterans for little benefit
But you’ll be able to judge for yourself as we present the evidence. We do this because…
We want to prevent the loss of more young lives in useless wars
Alas, experience has taught us that we’re not allowed to speak the truth on Veterans Day or Memorial Day. It’s okay to lie about our wars on those days. The lies are greeted with enthusiasm. But the truth is met with howls of outrage and shouted down. And so…
If the truth must be silent on Veterans Day and Memorial Day, that’s all the more reason for it to be proclaimed loudly on the days before. That’s what we intend to do between now and November 11th.
If our case convinces you, please share it with others. Start a conversation about the correct way to honor veterans and the war dead. We believe it should be possible to honor their courage and mourn their loss, without telling lies about how they were used. We hope you’ll consider our case in the days ahead.
———-Perry Willis is the co-founder of Downsize DC and the co-creator of the Zero Aggression Project