good 'ol Militainment

I am, have always been, and will always be a very devout country music fan. Due to my history as a country music fan, one of the first thoughts that crossed my mind in the discussion of the “shock and awe” labeling of the invasion of Iraq in 2003 was Toby Keith’s album “Shock ‘n Y’all” that came out later that year. This is the album that includes the infamous song “Angry American” which also included the controversial line “We’ll put a boot in your ass it’s the American way”. Although there were those who disapproved of this song, especially because of that last line, it was and is still loved by millions of Americans. This song is loaded with lines and phrases that portray the beating America was going to put on the Taliban. The support of this song came from those desensitized to the actual lives being lost and the gruesome effects of war. It’s easy for Americans to picture the U.S. putting a boot in the ass of the Taliban but what if it said, “We are going to drop a bomb that will blow real people to pieces and most likely kill hundreds, if not thousands of innocent women and children.” If this is what the song said would Americans still shout this song with patriotic pride? This is just another example of the desensitization of war alongside realistic war simulation videogames. I found this to be another example of how military is promoted through popular culture, or according to the text from class “militainment”.