“In wartime, the State seeks to destroy its own #culture — in times of #conflict, authentic culture is subversive. As the cause championed by the State comes to define national identity, as the myth of war entices a #Nation to glory and sacrifice,
those who question the value of the cause and the veracity of the myths are branded internal enemies.
Art takes on a new significance in wartime. War and the nationalist myth that fuels it are the purveyors of low culture—folklore, quasi-historical dramas, kitsch, sentimental doggerel, and theater and film that portray the glory of soldiers in past wars
or current wars dying nobly for the homeland.
This is why so little of what moves us during wartime has any currency once #war is over.
The songs, books, poems, and #films that arouse us in war are awkward and embarrassing when the conflict ends, useful only to summon up the #nostalgia of war’s comradeship.”
“War is a Force That Gives Us Meaning” by Chris Hedges
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