The occupation of Afghanistan intensifies, soldiers are dying in greater numbers, far more Afghani civilians are dying but we don't keep track of them so it's all good. But despite the constant harping about our duty to stay the course, the nation doesn't support the troops.

This is very interesting, for two reasons. First of all, it shows that the apathetic, bloated, consumer-mad citizenry of the west isn't so clueless. In fact, it's instinctively anti-imperialist. This may be prompted by death of 'our own' troops instead of sympathy for Afghanis, but I don't much care where the sentiment comes from; as Nathaniel pointed out, neither did the Vietnamese NLF, who told American anti-imperialists that a 'support the enemy' slogan would do more harm than good. Louis Proyect calls this objective anti-imperialism.


Vietnamese National Liberation Front leaflet

The secretary in my doctor's office and I got into a discussion about the war. It began with her denouncing demonstrations: "don't come to trouble, if trouble doesn't come to you," she told me, and instantly I was transported back to a dozen offices, where truisms like that ruled the day. But I kept talking, and told her about safe demos I attended - the Christian anti-war vigil and the Labour Day parade. This got us onto the topic of war, and she said,

I don't think we should be in Afghanistan. All those people dying; why can't we let them run their countries, and we'll run ours? It's like a household; the parents say what to do, and the kids listen. You don't tell someone else how to run their house.

Common sense, the bugbear of the left, meant for this woman that we have no business invading Afghanistan. I didn't convince her, the media certainly didn't, and the collective left can't take credit either, since she's afraid of us (she was surprised when I told her that's what you hear at demonstrations.) Anti-imperialism isn't some high theory equation: it just makes sense.


My vanguard

Which brings me to my second point. The left is obsessed with why people don't get our politics. We've devoted the theory of ideology to it. And, when non-political people disagree with us, we call them brainwashed, victims of false consciousness, privileged, oppressive, etc. It may or may not be their fault, but it's definitely something they're doing wrong.

The ruling class is well aware that most people don't support the occupation. The military blusters about its unfortunate image as peacekeepers rather than soldiers, but the government response is different. As Peter MacKay, Minister of Foreign Affairs, says,

Canadians need to understand the importance of this mission... Canada's core values of freedom and democracy, and the rule of law and human rights, guide our engagement there and all of this happens because our soldiers are there.

"Here's why we have to cluster bomb you."

Or, as the Bloc Quebecois's Claude Bachand says,

I have met hundreds of people in uniform who are ready to risk their lives to protect our values and way of living. We need to explain to taxpayers the importance of the armed forces.

Notice the tone? The war hasn't been explained to us properly. It's not our fault if we don't get it: they have to keep patiently telling us.

Killing Afghans is no worse than a tough quadratic equation which our kindly 6th grade teacher will explain to us, once again, until we get it. Sure, this masks the iron fist of the military in paternal tones. But it doesn't blame people for their own ignorance. If you're undecided about the war, who are you going to listen to: the angry leftist who hates you for being part of the problem, or the calm, grandfatherly expert who thinks you're smart enough to support the war, if only you hear him out?

The very existence of mass media gives me hope: our rulers need that giant apparatus to keep pounding home the message every day, because war, exploitation and the inevitable miseries of capitalism are really hard to justify.

We have common sense on our side, and as the secretary showed me, that's a powerful weapon. We don't have to justify bloody murder for our politics. The ruling class does; we'd gain a lot by understanding how they sell capitalism, rather than denouncing its targets for listening.