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A Classical War

By which I mean: run by idiot rich failsons, fought by propagandized youths, helping no one, ruining things for centuries, tapping the national treasury like a maple spile, signifying fucking nothing

Catherynne M. Valente's avatar
Catherynne M. Valente
May 05, 2026
∙ Paid

Note: the way this Substack usually works is that every public piece has a follow-up piece for subscribers only containing all the screams I restrained to make the free one nice and civilized and not have to argue reality with sea lions in the comments.

However, this particular one is a standalone under a paywall because I’m about to talk about real people I used to know very well during the era of 9/11 and the Iraq War. And it’s not nice to put them on blast, even anonymously, even if it’s a somewhat elegant (if anything featuring gifs can be elegant AND IT CAN) and well thought-out blast, as they weren’t specifically trying to be bad or stupid or naive, they just listened to a lot of bad stupid naive shit hardly anyone had learned how to publicly say was bad and stupid and naive yet.

And this is about the ONGOING war in Iran and the absolute skull-fractures running it, not holding adults to account for the silly things they thing when we’re young. I’m no better.

So to protect the, if not innocent, at least the “helplessly morally bulldozered by how we were all raised,” I have chosen to screen the calls, so to speak.

Also it happens to be my birthday today. So for whatever reason pleases you, consider signing up to support my work, give me a birthday present, and/or hear about my misspent youth amongst the normies.

A long, long time ago, I can still remember how that music used to make me…

Premium Photo | Patriotic Parade with American Flags Marching Band
Not for a nation: not the dividing, estranging thing…not for my country right or wrong; not for the drum or the bugle; not for the song, which pipes me away from my home against my will, along with the other children, to where I would not go

…want to fucking puke.

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