ABSTRACT
Militarism appears as a form of ideology, a rationality that deeply influences the structures and practices of the general society through storytelling, mythology, media images, political messages, academic discourses, and simple patriotic indoctrination. If the culture of militarism endows warfare agendas with a popular sense of meaning and purpose, it also represents the hegemonic facade behind which corporate and Pentagon domination can more or less freely assert itself, both domestically and worldwide. Patriotism furnishes a convenient framework defining common objectives, shared fears and dangers, agreed-upon enemies. For the United States as unchallenged world superpower, patriotism and militarism underwrite the increasingly overt struggle for world domination. It follows that American patriotism is tightly interwoven with the presumed civilizing process itself, a bulwark against brigands, criminals, outlaws, gangsters, and terrorists, indeed against the historical legacy of irrationality and barbarism. Violence-addicted males grappling with masculinity issues pose a significant and mounting threat to American society.
