Right Wing of the Dove

Rebecca Solnit's essay on the war culture of San Francisco is an insightful look into the right wing politics and culture of the bay area. Despite popular belief, previously including mine, San Francisco's leftist, liberal, progressive culture is actually underlined by vast and long military institution practices. Solnit describes the area as being the "brain of the war machine, or perhaps its imagination" (31).
Solnit's title further describes the unmitigated importance of the bay's involvement in war. She titles it "The sinews of War are Boundless Money and the Brains of War are in the Bay Area" explaining that the research done in the area is the primary organizer of war, extending its reach and capabilities like the tentacles of an octopus (34). The reason behind this is partly because of the highly prestigious universities involved in the research of military creations for the purpose of war. Solnit gives the example of Berkely, whom has directed the "entire American nuclear weapons research program, dating from the first atom bomb" (35).
Moreover, Solnit quotes Paglen in describing the premise of the San Francisco economy as being a sort of "military Keynesianism" in which the government funds the creation of military technology, what she calls, "new possibilities for killing and controlling" (35). This is a dark paradox to the the free- thinking, progressive liberal San Francisco that is so amply advertised. San Francisco's image is further tarnished by Solnit's implication that San Francisco, seen as a dove, purely working towards a more free society, is actually a hawk, a killer much more physically capable of surviving.