The battlelines on campuses have been drawn. On one side is the enormous institutional support for the military-industrial complex and the highly militarised state of Israel. On the other side is a movement of students and staff desperate to show solidarity with the people of Palestine.
Judged from the vantage of macroeconomic indicators, the US economy is, as an economist quoted in the Wall Street Journal put it, “the envy of the world”. But when looking hard at the reality of life and work in the US, all of the economic glitter isn’t gold.
At this week’s Democratic National Convention in Chicago, US Vice President Kamala could have poured kerosene on a puppy and still come out as the liberals’ darling.
The cult of military service sprouted in the era of the volunteer army. While it means that professional politicians like Tim Walz may ride this into the White House with Kamala Harris, for others, it is a road to the graveyard.
