Role of Government in Catch 22
Yossarian is taught by the government to believe that there is an unknown enemy, although throughout the book the reader is never shown this antagonist that Yossarian’s squadron is fighting. The government has taught the soldiers to believe that, “The enemy is anybody who's going to get you killed, no matter which side he is on” (Heller 124). As the story progresses, the antagonists that Yossarian comes across are men of higher ranks in the military. Yossarian is fed information that he is fighting a war against an enemy country but should realize that the government is his enemy for giving him biased information to boost his morale, as a soldier. He is trained to see the opposing country as if they were targets instead of human beings. The fact that he doesn’t think twice about killing other soldiers is a form of propaganda leading him to believe that all that matters is that he has to kill as many opposing soldiers and destroy as many planes in order for him to finish his tour of duty. This, however, benefits the government because they are getting what they want. They want their opponents killed and that is what these soldiers are doing, but not for the honor of their country, but because they wanted to get their job over with.
In the beginning, the men are filled with a patriotism that extends the point of sacrificing themselves as a whole for the good of their country. Through the propaganda of war, individuals are swept by the nation’s exaggerated morale that they are empowered to voice an opinion even if it is not theirs, merely to have the opportunity to embody a political point of view regardless if it is right or wrong. Propaganda does not appeal to a nation’s intelligence, but to its emotion. The young men being enlisted are empowered to fight because it is a noble thing to do and because of their love for their country. Yossarian is able to recognize that a soldier’s patriotism isn’t going to keep him alive on the battlefield. He is one of the only people who recognizes that, “It doesn't make a damned bit of difference who wins the war to someone who's dead.” (133) .
The use of propaganda by the government was intended to boost the soldiers’ morale in honor and integrity but instead has left them paranoid and struggling to keep themselves alive. The government used war as a means of creating right and justice through rebirth. Through the idea of patriotism the soldiers of higher ranked had forced upon them, they are taught that the country they are fighting for is worth dying for and, “...anything worth dying for ... is certainly worth living for” (247) . This justified the killing and the deaths of the soldiers. The leaders decided that discipline, persuasion and coercion were enough motivation for their soldiers and that killing off enough enemies was enough of a conviction to boost soldiers’ morale. The government takes advantage of these men by manipulating the public’s opinion to find pride in doing as they are told.