American Sniper

I am a longtime fan of Clint Eastwood, but I'm disappointed in him for his latest film, American Sniper, all the more so because he released it on Christmas Day. The problems associated with this film are deep. Eastwood's tone-deafness to them reveals a nostalgic sort of denial prevalent in many older Americans, the ones who read the newspaper and take it at face value; watch 60 Minutes; vote in every election; and who generally believe that the America of their youth still exists but simply has hit a rough patch that will soon be overcome, much like the Great Depression or the "Civil Rights" movement. This attitude ignores that America no longer exists as a nation (i.e., borders, common language, common religious beliefs, common history, etc.). It also conflates nation with government, generating a reflexive admiration for soldiers who fight in whatever war the government hurls them into, no matter how illegal or unjust.

And the war in Iraq was illegal and unjust. It violated the Constitution in that Congress never declared war. It violated Article 2(4) of the UN Charter and Nuremberg Principle No. 6 -- which America played a critical  role in establishing during and after World War II -- in that America attacked a country that had not attacked America and wasn't even poised to, replicating what the International Military Tribunal identified as the cardinal sin of the Third Reich. And it violated the rules for conducting international warfare memorialized in the four Geneva Conventions and their First Protocol in that America made war against civilians and destroyed a large amount of cultural property. Under these circumstances, Iraq and every other country on Earth had a legal right under Article 51 of the UN Charter to come to Iraq's defense by making war on America. If this sounds outrageous, the fault lies with the government that put America into this shameful and dangerous position, not with me the messenger.

Which is where Chris Kyle, the sniper eulogized in Eastwood's film, comes in. From what I've read about Kyle, he went beyond the trite argument of "following orders" and relished his role as executioner of men, women, and children who fought to defend their country from invasion. They were "savages" according to him because they dared to attack the sacred uniform bearing the stars and stripes, regardless of the justice of the cause it was serving.

For someone such as Eastwood, it is not for Kyle or for us to question the wisdom of any war the government wages; rather, our duty is to fall in line and kill as many people the government designates as "the enemy" as possible, and disputing this constitutes treason. For someone such as I, Eastwood's attitude itself is treasonous, both against America (which is NOT the government) and against our Maker. The commands of government are inferior to the commands of the law and the Constitution, just as the commands of all men are inferior to the commands of God. The path of righteousness is easily found in the mind and the conscience if one bothers to look. For Eastwood to reject it on the very day devoted to it is profoundly disturbing.

The military has a noble mission, which is to uphold the Constitution and defend America from all threats foreign and domestic. Rarely in recent memory has the military been called forth to perform that duty. Rather, as touted in a current Navy commercial, the military is "a global force for good," meaning that it roams the planet with a sword to violate national sovereignty and inflict unnecessary death and destruction, most often against impoverished people who can barely eke out a daily existence. There is no nobility to be found in this, or in what Kyle performed in Iraq.