War Games

Glenn Greenwald on confronting "politics as usual" during wartime:

Our Beltway establishment today is even worse than the sickly culture about which Smith warns, since they will not even tolerate mild increases in taxes to fund their war amusements. This is a critical disease in our political culture: that all appendages of our political class (other than the military itself) bear no sacrifice whatsoever for the wars they cheer on, and hence, are "dissatisfied with the return of peace, which puts an end to their amusement, and to a thousand visionary hopes of conquest and national glory from a longer continuance of the war."

This reminds me of the movie "Gladiator," where Roman Senators Gracchus and Falco were discussing the merits of Commodus' attempt to revive the coliseum games:

Gracchus: Fear and wonder, a powerful combination.

Falco: You really think people are going to be seduced by that?

Gracchus: I think he knows what Rome is. Rome is the mob. Conjure magic for them and they'll be distracted. Take away their freedom and still they'll roar. The beating heart of Rome is not the marble of the senate, it's the sand of the coliseum. He'll bring them death - and they will love him for it.

It's a winning situation for those who want this conflict to last 40+ years: those entwined in the Military-Political-Industry Complex make small (and large) fortunes, and the masses slowly become accustomed to a society where wartime is continuous and the notion of peace is viewed as weak and conciliatory.