It's uncertain what the future holds for Afghanistan. But what is certain is that the US will continue to embrace militarism in the years to come.

On a new "Right Now with Stephen Kent," Stephen sits down with Abby Hall Blanco, co-author of "Manufacturing Militarism," Fiona Harrigan of Reason magazine, and Brad Polumbo of the Foundation for Economic Education, for a discussion about the concept of paid patriotism; the tools governments use in crafting effective wartime propaganda; and if the withdrawal from Afghanistan could have been conducted more effectively.

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---- Content of This Episode ----
00:00 Episode start
00:05 The end of the “endless” war
02:40 Some credit where credit is due to Pres. Biden
04:41 Response to Afghanistan withdrawal – it’s complicated
08:57 Abigail Hall Blanco America’s pro-war posture
14:25 Paid patriotism
18:09 Countering the messaging
23:30 Sports metaphors
27:30 Unchecked and not balanced
29:50 Messaging around the TSA
35:25 Brad Polumbo, TikTok, and Karl Marx

---- Reading list -----

Manufacturing Militarism: U.S. Government Propaganda in the War on Terror (By Christopher J. Coyne & Abigail R. Hall)
https://www.sup.org/books/title/?id=33558

The Afghanistan Papers (By Craig Witlock, The Washington Post) https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2019/investigations/afghanistan-papers/afghanistan-war-confidential-documents/

---- Plugs for our guests ----
Follow Abby Hall Blanco, Fiona Harrigan, and Brad Polumbo on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Abigail_R_Hall
https://twitter.com/Fiona_Harrigan
https://twitter.com/brad_polumbo