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"'Support our troops'" is a slogan commonly used in the United States and in Canada in reference to the United States Military and the Canadian Forces (Army, Air & Navy). The slogan has been used in the recent conflicts, including the Gulf War^[1] and Iraq war.

Contents

Description

See also

Notes

References

Further reading

Description

Eric Dinyer believes the the slogan is used to express support from those at home in recognition of the soldiers' bravery, fortitude, and acts of unselfish giving.^[2]
The slogan is sometimes seen as over-generalizing complex issues, as for example an individual may support personnel in the U.S. military, but not the current foreign policy. Political analyst Noam Chomsky has criticized the slogan, saying,
:"[...] ''the point of public relations slogans like "Support Our Troops" is that they don't mean anything'' [...] ''that's the whole point of good propaganda. You want to create a slogan that nobody is gonna be against and I suppose everybody will be for, because nobody knows what it means, because it doesn't mean anything. But its crucial value is that it diverts your attention from a question that does mean something, do you support our policy? And that's the one you're not allowed to talk about''."^[3]

See also

★ Awareness ribbons

Notes

1. Barbara Ehrenreich, ''Blood Rites: Origins and History of the Passions of War''. Page 223.
2. Support Our Troops: Quotations on Patriotism and Prayer, Eric Dinyer, , , Andrews McMeel Publishing, 2005, ISBN 0740755641
3. Media Control: The Spectacular Achievements of Propaganda, Noam Chomsky, , , 2nd Edition. Seven Stories Press, 2002, ISBN 1583225366

References

★ Howard Zinn, ''A People's History of the United States: 1492-Present''. HarperCollins. 752 pages. ISBN 0060528427

★ Michelle Malkin, ''Unhinged: Exposing Liberals Gone Wild''. 2005. 231 pages. (ed., see pages 69 to 96)

★ Cynthia Peters ''Collateral Damage: The New World Order at Home and Abroad''. 1992. (ed., see pages 399 to 401)

Further reading

★ Jack Santino, ''Yellow Ribbons and Seasonal Flags: The Folk Assemblage of War''. The Journal of American Folklore, Vol. 105, No. 415 (Winter, 1992), pp. 19-33. doi 10.2307/541997