The
military-industrial-congressional complex
(MICC) has a huge advantage over its critics.
Its proponents are united by greed and
power. They know exactly what they want. Like
Johnny Rocco in “Key Largo,” they
want MORE.
More money. More authority. And obviously more
weapons and more war.
Whereas
critics of the MICC tend to approach the beast
from different angles with different
emphases. Tactical differences lead to
fissures. Fissures prevent coalitions from
forming. Unity is lacking, and not for want of
trying. And so the MICC rumbles on,
unchallenged by any societal force that is
remotely its size.
A
colleague of mine, Dennis Showalter, was fond
of a saying that helps to explain the
situation. Critics and intellectuals, he said,
have a propensity to see the fourth side of
every three-sided problem. Analysis leads to
paralysis. The tyranny of small differences
prevents unanimity of purpose.
Another key strength of the MICC is
reflected in an alternate acronym: the
MICIMATT, which adds the intelligence
“community,” the mainstream media,
academe, and various think tanks to the
military, industry, and Congress. To that
we might also add the world of sports,
entertainment (Hollywood and TV
especially), and the very idea of
patriotism in America with all its potent
symbols. I’d even add Christianity here,
the muscular version practiced in the
U.S. rather than the compassionate
version promulgated by Christ.
When people focus just on the MICC, you
miss the wellsprings of its power. It’s not
just about greed and authority, it’s about
full-spectrum dominance of all aspects of
American life and society.
America hasn’t won a major war since
World War II, but the MICC has won the
struggle for societal dominance in
America. Serious challenges to it will
require Americans to put aside
differences in the name of a greater
cause of peace and sanity. The wildcard
here, of course, is the ever-present
hyping of fear by the MICC.
FDR told Americans the only thing we
truly needed to fear was fear itself. Fear
paralyzes the mind and inhibits action.
Fear is the only darkness, Master Po said
in “Kung Fu.”
If we can overcome our fear and our
differences to focus on building a more
compassionate world, a world in
harmony with nature and life, then
maybe, just maybe, we can see the
foolishness of funding and embracing an
MICC based on an unnatural pursuit of
destruction and death.
