Step 1 - "Phew, wow, that war we were just in ended. I think we still had good reasons to intervene.
Step 2 (5 years later) - “Hmm, you know, I’ve read more and more analysis of some of the bad things we/our allies did and I’m not so sure, this might be more complicated than I thought.”
Step 3 (10 years later) - “Wow, this war was actually really nuanced and we might have even been in the wrong to intervene here. I’ve learned my lesson, I will be more critical of the next time we try and go to war! Fuck these forever-wars, what a waste of taxpayer money!”
Step 4 (just before next war) - “Holy shit, this country here is BAD. This is nothing like the last time, all the media is telling me about all these awful crimes this country has committed. We might need to once again step up and be the world’s policeman. THIS time it’ll be different and we’ll be the good guys, because of XYZ reason.”
Step 5 (war starts) - “BURN THAT COUNTRY TO THE GROUND. KILL THEM ALL. NONE ARE INNOCENT. ALL MUST DIE. BLOOD. BLOOD. BLOOD. I DEMAND THE BLOOD OF A HUNDRED MILLION RUSSIANS/IRANIANS/CHINESE/LIBYANS/ETC.”
Back to step 1, repeat until the liberal is dead or becomes so withdrawn from politics that they no longer care. What’s important is that the liberal never experiences any discomfort or the thought of protesting let alone rebelling against the war while it’s actually ongoing. It’s always something that happens in retrospective that allows them to feel better about being a shitty person because “Now I’m better and more worldly and understanding! Of course it was a bad idea to invade Iraq! Of course it was a bad idea to invade Vietnam!” without actually ever improving or becoming more resistant to US state media narratives in future wars.
It’s happened for the last century and it will keep on happening until the collapse of the empire. I’m sure many of us know grandparents or parents that are still weirdly racist against Koreans or Vietnamese or Japanese or Arabs long after these wars ended and it’s like “Man, I’m glad we’re so enlightened today and we’re not racists like them, why would you hate a country’s citizens like that?” and it’s like, my brother in christ, you will be that person but for Russian and Chinese people when you’re in your retirement home when your kids visit.
The eternal liberal cycle:
Step 1 - "Phew, wow, that war we were just in ended. I think we still had good reasons to intervene.
Step 2 (5 years later) - “Hmm, you know, I’ve read more and more analysis of some of the bad things we/our allies did and I’m not so sure, this might be more complicated than I thought.”
Step 3 (10 years later) - “Wow, this war was actually really nuanced and we might have even been in the wrong to intervene here. I’ve learned my lesson, I will be more critical of the next time we try and go to war! Fuck these forever-wars, what a waste of taxpayer money!”
Step 4 (just before next war) - “Holy shit, this country here is BAD. This is nothing like the last time, all the media is telling me about all these awful crimes this country has committed. We might need to once again step up and be the world’s policeman. THIS time it’ll be different and we’ll be the good guys, because of XYZ reason.”
Step 5 (war starts) - “BURN THAT COUNTRY TO THE GROUND. KILL THEM ALL. NONE ARE INNOCENT. ALL MUST DIE. BLOOD. BLOOD. BLOOD. I DEMAND THE BLOOD OF A HUNDRED MILLION RUSSIANS/IRANIANS/CHINESE/LIBYANS/ETC.”
Back to step 1, repeat until the liberal is dead or becomes so withdrawn from politics that they no longer care. What’s important is that the liberal never experiences any discomfort or the thought of protesting let alone rebelling against the war while it’s actually ongoing. It’s always something that happens in retrospective that allows them to feel better about being a shitty person because “Now I’m better and more worldly and understanding! Of course it was a bad idea to invade Iraq! Of course it was a bad idea to invade Vietnam!” without actually ever improving or becoming more resistant to US state media narratives in future wars.
It’s happened for the last century and it will keep on happening until the collapse of the empire. I’m sure many of us know grandparents or parents that are still weirdly racist against Koreans or Vietnamese or Japanese or Arabs long after these wars ended and it’s like “Man, I’m glad we’re so enlightened today and we’re not racists like them, why would you hate a country’s citizens like that?” and it’s like, my brother in christ, you will be that person but for Russian and Chinese people when you’re in your retirement home when your kids visit.