Chris Hedges’s July 2012 essay “War Is Betrayal: Persistent Myths of Combat” generated an enormous amount of commentary, both supportive and critical.
To keep the discussion going and to honor Veterans Day, we asked several writers, some of whom are veterans, to respond to Hedges’s piece. Their replies are below.
Responses
Roy Scranton
The complexities of the war literature Hedges cites don’t offer easy support for his argument.
Chris Lombardi
Veterans often recite their military branch’s honor code with as much pride as irony.
Phillip Carter
The overwhelming majority of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans are neither heroes nor victims.
William Treseder
Whatever is said by the jingoistic fringe, the reasonable majority understand that war should never be pursued lightly.
Joyce Goldberg
Popular beliefs have conditioned men of all classes to accept the costs of combat.
