My recommendation for two brilliant films to see for Memorial Day:
- "The Ground Truth" (2006)
- "The Veteran" (2011)
Both available on Netflix. Some quotes I find appropriate for this Memorial Day:
"About 18 veterans kill themselves each day. Thousands from the current wars have already done so. In fact, the number of U.S. soldiers who have died by their own hand is now estimated to be greater than the number (6,460) who have died in combat in Afghanistan and Iraq. Eleven years of war in two operating theaters have taken a severe toll on America’s military. An estimated 2.3 million Americans have served in Iraq or Afghanistan, and 800,000 of those service members have been deployed multiple times."
"Anthony Swofford on the Epidemic of Military Suicides"
http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2012/05/20/anthony-swofford-on-the-epidemic-of-military-suicides.html
"The organizing principle of any society is for war. The basic authority of the modern state over its people resides in its war powers. Today it's oil, tommorrow water. It's what we like to call the GOD business: guns, oil, and drugs. But there's a problem. Our way of life. It's over. It's unsustainable and in rapid decline. That's why we implement demand destruction. We continue to make money as the world burns. But for this to work, the people have to remain ignorant of the problem until it is too late. That's why we have triggers in place: 911, 77, WMDs. A population in a permanent state of fear does not ask questions. Our desire for war becomes its desire : a willing sacrifice. You see? Fear is justification, fear is control, fear is money. You're a brilliant soldier and I could still use someone like you."
Actor Brian Cox in "The Veteran" (2011)