By SJ Otto

How much does a TV ad that glamorizes a warrior coming back home from battle have to do with Christmas—the supposed time of peace on Earth and good will towards men? It probably seems touching, sentimental and patriotic that a little girl waits at home for her dad to come home from the wars overseas. But for me, it is appalling. I question the need to send Americans over seas to take part in totally unnecessary wars. I have been a peace activist most of my adult life. I have also opposed imperialism—the US foreign policy of this country that has made war necessary. The US has deliberately conquered other people’s countries and stolen their sovereignty. This nation uses such tools as unmanned drones to hunt down and kill suspected military opponents of USforeign policy. If such people are around their families, wife, kid, etc., then those innocent bystanders are killed.

So we have all this death, destruction and at times, outright murder of foreign people and their families. And after killing for the American Empire, dad comes home to his young daughter. She has waited safely at home, where there is little to no danger of being killed by warriors that her dad has been killing. 

These kinds of commercials piss me off. I’m sure a lot of people find them cute, patriotic or just plain sentimental and touching. I find them appalling. People need to consider what these patriotic warriors are actually doing and not just applaud and glamorize their role in the US Empire and its war crimes.

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