Under G-d

The characters in "Get Your War On" repeat the phrase "Under G-d" while discussing the US-led wars in Afghanistan and Iraq to mock the way that President Bush has repeatedly invoked G-d to justify these military actions, as well as the fact that much of the country has accepted these explanations. Bush's strong faith has been evident throughout his presidency. Only a few days after 9/11, Bush called the war on terrorism a “crusade,” clearly referring to the medieval Christian wars against Islam. Ever since, the US has characterized the war on terror as a battle between "good and evil" in which other nations are either "with us or with the terrorists." The notion that there exists only pure good or pure evil in the world is clearly drawn from the Bible. Finally, the fact that almost every speech made by the President since 9/11 has concluded with the phrase, "G-d bless America," illustrates the fact that Bush truly believes that G-d is on his side in the war against terrorism (and in all of his other endeavors.) In the conflict between good and evil, the President believes that America is unequivocally on the side of good in the eyes of G-d and thus that any foreign policy decision he makes is justified.

Rees mocks the Bush administration’s devotion to using G-d in politics by claiming that Bush once told a reporter that his favorite political philosopher was Jesus Christ and by having Voltron recite a Catholic affirmation of faith while substituting the word "War" for "G-d." Rees further shows his disagreement with the role that religion has played in the US since 9/11 by having his characters invoke G-d in every sentence of their discussion of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Because these Clip-Art characters are intended to represent the anonymous American office-worker, Rees is clearly showing that the American people have accepted and adopted Bush’s overly religious rhetoric. The reader of “Get Your War On” has almost no choice but to agree with Rees’s statement about the absurdity of the overuse of G-d in post-9/11 foreign policy and culture.