$6 – $7 million dollar is the Price tag for a 30-second commercial on the most-watched TV program in America, the NFL Super Bowl. This Super Bowl featured the US military everywhere, from expensive TV commercials, to US soldiers performing on the field, to even above the skies where F-18s flew over the stadium to kick off the Super Bowl. The well-orchestrated TV program for the Super Bowl creates a false illusion that the American public is patriotic with the backdrop of the US military everywhere, but that is far from the truth.
If the US military and the NFL couldn’t stoop even lower, they did! They made a segment for “Pat Tillman,” a former NFL player who left the NFL to join the US army after 9/11. He was killed in action and made a martyr! The NFL and US military did not say how Tillman died during the segment to honor him, because it is too embarrassing for the US government. Pat Tillman called the Iraq invasion and occupation ‘illegal’ and was killed by friendly fire in an incident the military covered up and tried to hide from his family and the public.
The National Football League (NFL) receives millions of dollars yearly from the Department of Defense (DOD) to promote patriotism and support the military. However, this “patriotic” image is nothing more than a façade for greed and capitalism.
Being the true capitalist, the NFL exploits the US military’s desperation to promote the military and patriotism for money. If the US military stops paying the NFL, would the NFL continue to promote the US military and its patriotic programs for free? Most likely not! The US military is desperate to improve its image from its horrific track record (Abu Ghraib, Iraq, failure in Afghanistan, a global surveillance program that spied on Americans, etc.)
Most Americans know that the government has failed them and that the country has never lived up to its ideals of freedom, equality, and justice. This disillusionment has led to a lack of “patriotism” and trust in the government. People recognize that the government is not working for the benefit of the people but rather for the benefit of the wealthy and powerful. In America, everything is for sale, including “patriotism”!
