November 4th, Armed Forces Day, is the moment when militaristic rhetoric
is most forceful and invasive, or at least that's the pretense of thosewho seek to impose the logic of war on our lives. What's being
celebrated is a carnage that cost 650,000 lives on the Italian side
alone, extolled as a victory and a triumph of patriotism: a rhetorical
narrative that mystifies a historical reality marked by violence,
destruction, and bloodshed, but alsoon the opposing sideby revolt,
hatred of military hierarchies, desertion, and defeatism: because this
is what war is all about, now as it was a hundred years ago.
Military propaganda primarily targets schools. This is certainly not a
new phenomenon, but we have repeatedly noted that in an increasingly
militarized society, in a climate of external and internal warfare like
the one we are experiencing, the presence of the armed forces in schools
is increasingly invasive, and November 4th constitutes a strategic date
for militaristic rhetoric. Since last year, November 4th has once again
become a national holiday. This was established by Law No. 27 of March
1, 2024, which established the " Day of National Unity and the Armed
Forces ," reinstating the national holiday that had already been
introduced in 1922, just five days before the March on Rome. Talk about
coincidences. However, November 4th remains a working day, perhaps
because it was deemed appropriate for some workplaces, such as schools,
to be open and available for celebrations.
For a year now, therefore, in order to celebrate November 4th, local
institutions and schools of all levels have been invited by law to
promote events, meetings, etc. on the theme of national unity, but above
all the defense of the "Homeland" and the role the Armed Forces play for
the community, security, social and humanitarian spheres, and the
"restoration of peace in armed conflicts." They pay particular attention
to highlighting the employment opportunities offered to young people by
the armed forces.
Nothing particularly new, but it's clear, otherwise there would be no
need for a law establishing the day, how the date of November 4th has
become even more of an opportunity for propaganda.
Since last year, the Armed Forces' activities in schools have been
managed by a dedicated unit called the CME, the Army's military command.
This year, too, in September, the CME, through the Education
Superintendents (now Territorial School Offices), sent the planned
program to schools. These interventions are divided by school level
based on what is known as the "age target," and are spread throughout
the school year but are particularly relevant around November 4th.
For high school students, military intervention in schools is explicitly
aimed at recruiting, at becoming soldiers, at recruiting for war, for
repression, for the exercise of force. The Ministry of Defense has
implemented a recruitment plan aimed at rejuvenating the army with 6,000
new recruits each year: where else to look if not in schools? Where
better to find a concentration of young people forced to endure
militaristic propaganda? What better occasion than November 4th to
combine propaganda for employment in the armed forces with motivational
interventions based on the exaltation of patriotism, the rhetoric of
heroism, and nationalism? This rhetoric is the essence of this holiday;
just think of the myth-making of November 4th built around the figure of
the Unknown Soldier. In the years immediately following the First World
War, a concerted effort was underway to construct the image of the "hero
soldier fighting for his country" that would obscure the "shame of
Caporetto," obscuring the reality of ordinary soldiers who hated war,
were defeatists, often deserters, and held responsible for a military
defeat that was actually a revolt. This was, in reality, the unknown
soldier, the mass soldier who needed to be transformed into a fighting
hero: the operation was entrusted to Colonel Giulio Douhet, the inventor
of carpet bombings of civilian targets.
Returning to today, while recruitment is the primary goal of the program
in high schools, the goal for younger students is retention. With a
fully-fledged marketing strategy, the military enters the classroom,
sometimes presenting a friendly and engaging face and encouraging
familiarity, sometimes displaying the macho warrior model, having them
wear helmets and vests, displaying weapons and instruments of death;
always handing out gadgets and everyday objects with the army logo that
leave a lasting impression on the children's daily lives.
And in addition to wanting to infiltrate schools, there is also the
operation that involves involving students in visits to military
facilities, both inside barracks and in many public places shamefully
made available to the armed forces.
Last year, on November 4th, a military citadel was set up in Rome at the
Circus Maximus: hundreds of thousands of euros were burned in four days
to display instruments of death, spew militaristic rhetoric, and set up
obligatory recruitment stations. And also to draw criticism from those
who simply can't stand such things. This year, from October 2nd to 5th,
the "Italian Army Promotional Village" was set up in Piazza Politeama in
Palermo. This too included hand-to-hand combat demonstrations,
demonstrations of the Mangusta helicopter's capabilities, displays of
military drones, and invitations to play with replica mines and
anti-tank weapons, and to try out how to remove the safety catch from a
weapon: a vast amusement park of horrors where one learns to familiarize
oneself with war, violence, and death.
Despite the massive militarization campaign, however, there is growing
opposition to the presence of military personnel in schools, led not
only by longtime antimilitarists. The Observatory Against the
Militarization of Schools and Universities has been carrying out
valuable work for several years, denouncing, surveying,
counter-informing, and combating militarization processes in the
specific education sector. The Observatory has been working specifically
on November 4th, even calling for a strike, which was unfortunately
later rescinded due to the difficulty of holding a sector-wide day
between the two recent general strikes and the one scheduled for late
November. It was important, however, that the issue of opposition to the
militarization of schools was also addressed in terms of the political
and social conflict represented by the strike. For November 4th, the
Observatory will therefore be present in many squares during the
afternoon hours, while in the morning it has organized a study
conference and prepared a declaration to avoid activities that would
involve involvement in the November 4th celebrations.
Despite the armed forces' strong interest in education, there is a
growing aversion to military propaganda in schools, especially in
response to a general rejection of wars and the apparatus that fuels and
supports them. This rejection has become increasingly significant and
widespread in the streets in recent months. While the driving force
behind the protests was the Palestinian genocide, it's worth noting how
the fight against the production and transportation of weapons has
developed, involving, in the latter case, even workers involved in the
processa very interesting fact.
An aversion, or at least an intolerance, is also felt in schools, places
of work and study; let's consider a few examples in no particular order.
The army's promotional village in Palermo was moved up a month compared
to last year: was it just a coincidence, or was it a desire to shield
the event from the overexposure brought about by the November 4th date
and the inevitable protests, which nevertheless occurred? Teachers at a
school in Varese refused to welcome General Vannacci for a lesson on
homeland and flag that was scheduled for November. In Pisa, school
visits to the 46th Airborne Brigade, scheduled for November 30th for
Tuscany Day, were canceled. Schools were not involved in either Pisa or
Livorno, not even in the celebrations for the Battle of El Alamein,
which were held indoors at the barracks. In Rome, parents from several
schools in Quarticciolo have recently protested against the
establishment of an army sports village in their neighborhood. In Forlì,
the university call for applications for the NATO Model Event 2025 was
withdrawn. In Turin, Minister Crosetto prudently gave a keynote address
to army training schools to inaugurate the academic year, avoiding
venturing into less friendly academic environments. For November 4th,
the most official initiative organized by the Ministry of Education and
Merit in collaboration with the Ministry of Defense consists of a
ceremony in which military authorities will hand over the Italian flag
to 36 schools across the country, the list of which has not yet been
disclosed. These are just a few of many examples, and they certainly
represent interesting signals. However, while November 4th celebrations
appear somewhat subdued, at least in schools, there is a clear awareness
of how present and pervasive war is in our lives.
The international landscape is ravaged by dozens of wars, many of which
involve the Italian government, while the genocide in Gaza remains a
tragic reality. Our daily lives are marked by an internal war of
ever-increasing poverty, rising military spending, and cuts to social
spending. This isn't the repetition of clichés, but the denunciation of
something constantly evolving: to focus on the education sector, the
government's budget plan calls for cuts of over EUR600 million over the
next three years and a specific reduction of EUR200 million in school
buildings. The internal war also involves repression, security decrees,
bills prohibiting comment on the genocide perpetrated by the state of
Israel, and red zones patrolled by the military. The internal war also
involves the militarization of cities, stations, squares, schools, and
universities, an unbearable presence that reflects and highlights the
limitations on freedom imposed by uniformed violence, the same violence
that, in the glittering uniforms of important occasions, is displayed
during the November 4th celebrations. Let us oppose all this. Let us
reject the propaganda of war and the militaristic celebrations of
November 4th. Let us multiply the streets against all wars, against all
armies.
Patrizia Nesti
https://umanitanova.org/4-novembre-scuole-non-caserme/
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