General Jerry C.
Harrison even formulated the following order: "Okay guys, let's
shoot number 49. Tune in your goggles to see but not be seen."
The look that kills (the proud accomplishment of
university-based research) becomes reality.
The only comment that can follow such a description is that all
the characteristics of the civilization of illiteracy are
embodied in the expectations of military efficiency. Globality,
interconnectedness, open-ended goals and motivations, reduced
human involvement, and many partial literacies are all here,
presented in specific expectations. The questionable aspect is
the implicit theme of the permanence of the institution of the
military, probably the most resilient legacy of the civilization
of literacy. What the technology of the civilization of
illiteracy requires is the command of the abstractions (the
language) driving it, the partial literacy associated with this
language, pertinent to military or any other use. As one of the
partial literacies of this time, military literacy defines the
domain of action and the interpretation of such actions. It is
relevant, for instance, that disarmament treaties not be
formulated without military language, i.e., without the military
experts, the ones we want to release from their functions. Each
such treaty either discards a part of the language of weapons
and associated technologies, or makes it less relevant, as it
opens new avenues for increased military efficiency.
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