Have you ever heard people say, “Join the military, it will give you amazing benefits just for serving four years”? This is known as military propaganda, and its main purpose is to convince people like you and me to join and help serve our country’s military.
What military propaganda doesn’t mention is the major effects it brings on our veterans; according to the U.S Department of Veteran Affairs, 1 in 3 veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars suffer from symptoms of PTSD and depression, and according to the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans, about 20% of male homelessness is made up by military veterans. These situations are not to be taken lightly, and there isn’t much mental or financial help given to counter these problems.
Military ads will always fail to mention these extremely important statistics and trick people into believing that there are no future consequences for joining and serving.
Military propaganda can skillfully hide the truth in anything; movies, social media, and even video games all have propaganda that can’t be easily detected, but can still be implanted into your brain subconsciously.
The military will sell serving to them as an impactful and dreamful adventure that should be an honor to be a part of, and although that is true, there is so much left untold about how traumatizing the “adventure” can truly be.
The advertisements express how amazing the experience of being in the military can be, making friendships, feeling pride, and how good the benefits are, but propaganda will never touch the subject of isolation and pain that veterans have to deal with after their terms.
Military propaganda will never show the full picture. Seeing veterans struggling to find jobs or mental health care after service really makes you reconsider if the benefits are truly worth it.
The U.S. military also seems to target low-income communities and schools to gather more recruits, by feeding them propaganda and advertisements on why joining the military can “change their lives”. This can cause vulnerable people to believe that the military is their only way out, even though there are so many other options.
Propaganda will always try to hit the emotions of pride and success, which is why, for us humans, it will usually work. It creates much more damage than expected.
According to The Beat Behind the Uniform, the military will spend about $1 billion a year on propaganda to advertise the military and bring in more and more recruits every year.
Even in 2020, a report by The Intercept states that the Pentagon will work with Hollywood to portray soldiers and military life positively, in order to have young men and women turn their heads, and maybe even consider joining it.
This doesn’t mean the military is a bad thing; they protect and serve their land, which protects the people. This just means that instead of blindly believing militarily propaganda, you should do your research and make sure that you truly know the possible outcomes your future could hold if you decide to join.