World Wide Work: Books, Films, Music You May Have Missed
Before we get to some recent books, films, and music…If you are trying to think of gifts for the holiday season, some ideas include my book of nature photographs, ”Monumental Beauty: Wonders Worth Protecting in the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument”; my book, “Make Holidays Your Own: Celebrate Holidays Throughout the Year in More Meaningful and Inclusive Ways”, or prints from Matt Witt Photography. In all cases, all proceeds go to nonprofit advocacy groups as described at those links.
Drawing from the book, “Make Holidays Your Own,” my syndicated column below will be appearing this week in dozens of newspapers across the U.S. with millions of readers.
This Veterans Day, let’s focus on preventing war
By Matt Witt
President Donald Trump wants to change the name of Veterans Day. He recently announced on Truth Social that the holiday, observed each year on Nov. 11, should henceforth be called “Victory Day for World War I.” Holidays, he said, should be used to celebrate America’s “military brilliance.”
My grandfather, Lt. Irving Goldsmith, would disagree. Goldsmith, who died in 1980 at the age of 89, was — unlike Trump — actually a soldier, serving in the trenches in World War I. He was 26 when he enlisted. Like other Americans, he was told that our fight against Germany and its allies was “the war to end all wars.” Once the Kaiser was defeated, world problems would be resolved peacefully.
Goldsmith’s unit was assigned to a 47-day offensive between the Argonne Forest and the Meuse River in northeastern France. They faced cold rain, thick fog, intense mud, and recurring machine-gun fire. More than 26,000 soldiers were killed, and almost 100,000 were injured in America’s “bloodiest battle.”
“It was the sort of thing no human being should be forced to go through again,” he recalled many years later, when my brother interviewed him for a school project. “All the killing and all the horror instead of doing good has done just the opposite for the world. And I hope that some means will be found in the future to prevent it.”
Goldsmith wasn’t alone in feeling that way. The day World War I ended — Nov. 11, 1918 — was officially declared Armistice Day. Congress passed a resolution recognizing that the day “marked the cessation of the most destructive, sanguinary, and far-reaching war in human annals and the resumption by the people of the United States of peaceful relations with other nations, which we hope may never again be severed.”
Early observances of Armistice Day (renamed Veterans Day in 1954 after lobbying efforts by veterans’ service organizations) included moments of silence, church services and reflections on the horrors of war. Veterans’ groups and peace organizations alike supported the holiday as a reminder of war’s terrible cost and the importance of preventing future conflicts.
After World War I, one of the war’s distinguished generals, Smedley Butler, published a book called “War Is a Racket” that summarized the greed he had witnessed from corporate military contractors.
“War is a racket,” Butler wrote. “A few people make huge fortunes. At least 21,000 new millionaires and billionaires were made in the United States” during World War I. He continued, “The general public shoulders the bill. Newly placed gravestones. Mangled bodies. Shattered minds. Broken hearts and homes. Economic instability. Depression and all its attendant miseries.”
In 1961, another former wartime general, Republican President Dwight Eisenhower, echoed these words as he warned of a growing “military-industrial complex” more interested in profit than in peace.
In the decades since, much of Eisenhower’s warning has come true.
The United States maintains at least 750 military bases in more than 70 countries worldwide — more than all other nations combined. American taxpayers spend nearly $900 billion per year on military contractors, more than the next 10 countries’ military budgets combined.
The Iraq War — launched under false pretenses about weapons of mass destruction — resulted in massive gains for military contractors and profits for global fossil fuel companies. The war in Afghanistan enriched corporate contractors for two decades while failing to achieve any meaningful strategic objectives. Israel’s war on Palestine — largely funded by U.S. taxpayers — has also generated huge profits for U.S. contractors.
This Veterans Day, it’s time to return to the original meaning of the holiday — not a glorification of war, but an occasion to reflect on the damage that it causes. Veterans who arrive home with physical or psychological injury deserve care and support. And, as my grandfather suggested, we should be doing everything in our power to create fewer veterans by preventing wars.
Veterans Day is a good time to resolve that the United States should stop deploying troops, weapons, and taxpayer funds to defend the special interests of global corporations or to support dictators and corrupt authoritarian regimes. That was the true spirit of the holiday when it was established, and it should remain so today.
Matt Witt is a writer and photographer in Talent, Oregon, and author of the book, “Make Holidays Your Own: Celebrate Holidays Throughout the Year in More Meaningful and Inclusive Ways.”
BOOKS
Solace in Winter by Mary Lawson (Knopf Canada). Many lives in a small Canadian town are disrupted by the arrival of a young American resisting the draft during the U.S. war on Vietnam.
Wild Orcas by Hanne Strager and Catherine DeNardo (Princeton). This gorgeous book that includes 125 high quality photos provides a comprehensive introduction to killer whales – where they live, what they eat, how they communicate, how they live in families, and what must be done to protect them from human impacts.
Mutiny by Noam Scheiber (Farrar, Straus and Giroux). Many college graduates once saw themselves as separate from the working class but now are experiencing low pay, lack of job security, and corporate disrespect. Some are organizing unions and are supporting more pro-labor candidates for public office. It remains to be seen whether a powerful coalition will emerge that unites them with other workers on economic issues or whether the corporate-funded right wing will be able to maintain divisions over cultural issues.
Anti-Zionism by Benjamin Moser (Doubleday). Jewish opposition to Zionism is not new but has existed since the concept of displacing Palestinians to establish a Jewish state was first proposed. Twelve anti-Zionists from different eras and different parts of the word are profiled.
Gaza’s Gravediggers by Norman Finkelstein (OR Books). As the Israeli government has destroyed Gaza and its people, various international institutions have issued reports whitewashing the genocide that has occurred. A prominent political scientist examines those reports and compares their “findings” to what actually happened.
Against Tech Oligarchy by JS Tan and Clarissa Redwine (Haymarket). Tech workers have organized on a variety of issues. Tech billionaires have fought back, in part by building an alliance with the Trump administration. Two organizers argue that traditional union tactics don’t work in the tech industry and that new strategies are needed.
Among the Birds by Lyanda Lynn Haupt (Skipstone). The habits of more than 70 species of birds are the subject of this accessible, conversational guide.
Truth Addict by John V. Kane (University of California). In the computer age we have more data than ever but often little agreement about what the data proves. An expert on research methods provides a guide to gathering and analyzing meaningful data. Some of the topics he addresses include developing research questions, defining variables, choosing metrics, testing hypotheses, ruling out chance, alternative explanations, and telling the difference between correlation and causation.
Grand Theft Capital by Fred Magdoff and John Bellamy Foster (Monthly Review Press). Many politicians of both major parties speak about “affordability” without addressing how big corporations and the rich are taking money from working people. This short book provides useful facts and analysis to fill that void.
National Parks and the Supreme Court by Carla Chung Mattix (University of Nevada). Many people take the existence of our national parks for granted. But from the beginning, court decisions have played a big part in the parks’ evolution.
Erratica by Brian Laidlaw (Milkweed). A poet and songwriter who has rock climbed famous routes like El Capitan in Yosemite tells stories and shares thoughts about language and culture.
Squirrel by Nancy F. Castaldo (Island Press). Squirrels taught humans about accessing sap that we make into maple syrup. They often categorize food they bury in order to be more efficient when they go to dig it up. These are a few of the many interesting nuggets contained in this look at squirrels and their interaction with people.
FILMS
I Love Boosters. Boots Riley, the director of “Sorry to Bother You” that was truly a film for our time, is back with another satire of capitalism that mixes a radical political vision with outlandish special effects.
Colours of Time. This engaging feature toggles between present-day people in France and the lives of their ancestors during the rise of Impressionist painting in the 1800s.
The Milky Way. A single mom desperate for income is hired by a company that employs lactating women to pump their breast milk which it then sells to clients who need it for their babies. The story takes a turn when by accident she meets one of those clients.
Jaguar Beach. In this documentary filled with breathtaking footage, scientists on the coast of Costa Rica are studying and filming jaguars and sea turtles that are each enhancing the others’ chances of survival.
Happy Holidays. In this feature film, relationships, aspirations, and decisions are complicated for members of a Palestinian family living in Israel.
American Sons. This documentary that follows U.S. soldiers who were sent to Afghanistan shows that the human cost of war continues long after the last shots are fired.
MUSIC
Contra-ICE Vol. 1 - Ice Out. Songs by more than 30 artists, including Ozomatli, Kathleen Hanna, Tom Morello, Fred Armisen, Fishbone, Jelly Biafra, and many more. All proceeds go to the National Day Laborer Organizing Network and Union del Barrio.
Orcas’ Greatest Hits (Smithsonian Folkways). This album is drawn from many hours of sonic communication between humans and orcas in a cove in British Columbia.