We bought thoroughly into the concept that rich white males knew what was best for us, meanwhile sending us into endless conflicts without official declaration, killing millions, losing thousands of our own, so Fortune 500 companies could become even more powerful, along with banks.
We bought that Columbus was a good guy, that eminent domain and manifest destiny was good. We sat back and watched our leaders take us into conflict after conflict that had absolutely nothing to do with keeping us safe and free.
The result has been millions dead around the world, a nuclear shadow the likes of which we have no full understanding of, and a country history of genocide, invasion, disruption, discrimination, while totally straying away from the Pursuit of Happiness and other specific goals and general ideals found in our national documents.
Millions of American citizens knew the Vietnam War was wrong. We didn't listen to them, and we enlisted and we served and we died and we came home changed physically, mentally, and emotionally. Not all of us landed within Vietnam or actual combat, but we were all part of the effort.
Fast forward 50 years, and I can see clearly now. Much more clear, than ever. The national Pursuit of Happiness has been corrupted, hopefully not forever, by an increasingly and well-funded corporate world, and an allegedly defense-minded govt, that cannot rein itself in.
Congress last declared war on Dec 8, 1941. Since the end of that conflict, we have invaded/attacked Korea, Guatemala, Cuba, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Grenada, Panama, Lebanon, Iraq, Kuwait, Afghanistan, and have forces in over 70 countries. We define patriotism solely as serving one's country with military service.
We set aside the genocidal conduct of America since at least 1900's attacks and slaughter of the Hawaiian and Philipino people, and the Native Americans the previous century. We downgrade and spin this in our nation's textbooks. We do not pause to think of the the millions of civilian casualties who have died in conflicts around the globe in actions instigated by our own govt in the names of freedom and democracy, but in truth, mostly for profit.
Now, we have multiple calls for a Space Force, apparently to be funded from our empty treasury. We have forgotten about the plaque we put on the moon in 1969: "..we came in peace for all mankind." Clearly that's out the window.
When we will truly become a peaceful, non-violent nation devoted to the general health and well-being of all of its residents and all of our worldy neighbors? When will we stop stirring up war around the globe? Imagine a different kind of patriotism. Imagine all living as one.
Imagine. We live under a nuclear threat so great it's un-imaginable.
Let's try pursuing Happiness. And Peace.
Tuesday, September 11, 2018
Food for thought:
Nuclear warheads out there:
Russia: 8500
USA: 7700
France: 300
China: 240
UK: 225
Pakistan: 120
India: 110
Israel: 80
N.Korea: 10 and probably less than that.
Russia: 8500
USA: 7700
France: 300
China: 240
UK: 225
Pakistan: 120
India: 110
Israel: 80
N.Korea: 10 and probably less than that.
US. spends 35% of total global military spending of $1.6T: $590B in 2017; 639B this yr; $681B next year.
US: 11 aircraft carriers; 12th, named after Pres Ford, to cost over $13B. A slight cost over-run.
Hunger in America:
1 in 6 of us is hungry, or "food insecure." One. In. Six.
1 in 6 of us is hungry, or "food insecure." One. In. Six.
17.5m households, about 48.8m fellow Americans, are "food insecure" meaning they wonder where their next meal is coming from.
Over 13m children go to school hungry every day.
Some 2.5m US children, are homeless.
Our four electrical grids will cost us $5T to replace/upgrade. That's five trillions.
Now, think about our interstate roads, bridges, train tracks. Think about cleaning up our polluted waterways.
We are in our 17th year of war in Afghanistan, bodies still coming home, no end in sight. Our president wants to form a Space Army. Only wants about $20B to get started. Last time I checked our national debt was in the trillions.
Would one of you please explain all this?
Our Declaration of Independence set as a goal, for all of us, to be able to Pursue Happiness. Doesn't seem to me we are on the right track as a society, at all.
Eisenhower was right.
The last time Congress declared war was Dec 8, 1941. Look up the long list of nations we have invaded/fought against since. How I do not know. What in the hell, is going on?
Shame on all of us, for voting the way we have over these last 78 years, for not paying attention to our govt, our neighbors, our fellow citizens.
Monday, September 3, 2018
Our national system must change. All the major changes in our culture have come from the people, not the govt and its back-up, the military. Today, we have exactly the same problems we faced 50 years ago during the tumultuous 1960s: unpopular war, stagnant wages, racial divide, a populace divided, extensive poverty, poor education, lousy health care, an in-active Congress. Women got the vote in the 1920s by marching and protesting for it. Blacks got the right to be considered human beings, by marching and protesting and dying for it.
It makes no difference which political party sits on the throne. The system itself is corrupted, by the rich who have all the money, who buy off the politicians, who lobby Congress with dollars un-interrupted, who replace college professors whose courses and versions of fact they dis-agree with. The bankers and corporations who influence Congress and the courts to pass laws favorable to only them.(How many bankers went to jail in the housing crash?)
Folks can go on about either party in a never-ending debate. Until we change our govt. system, nothing will change, indeed, nothing has changed. We remain a war-based economy, feeding the arms dealers and stirring up problems around the world, still attempting to influence which people lead which countries, while ignoring those tyrants whose resources we need (the Arabs of Saudi Arabia, for one.)
We are bogged down in Afghanistan going on 17 years now with zero end in sight. The Russians were smart enough to pull out of there ages ago. We have soldiers in 70 countries around the world. Why? We have some 40m of our own living in poverty. Why? We have over 30m children on a federally assisted school lunch program. Why? Wages have stagnated for about 40 years. Why?
Our national "defense" budget is close to one trillion dollars, certainly headed that way. Who are we defending ourselves against? Every dime spent on "defense" is one not spent on our infrastructure, our health care, our electrical grid, our schools. We put a plaque on the Moon in 1969 claiming that "...we came in peace for all mankind." Now, we want billions to start up a Space Command to prepare for space war. From who? Martians?
Where's all the wealth? Why aren't American workers better off materially? Why are farmers losing their farms, the dairy industry chief among them? Someone has all the wealth. Why do basic pharmaceuticals cost so much, out of the reach of too many of us? Why do we have to choose between utility bills, and health-maintaining drugs? The gap between the haves and have-nots, which has existed since the Puritans landed at Roanoke and Jamestown, continues to widen and is un-sustainable. Our national debt is reported to be about $20 TRILLION. That's a number I cannot comprehend.
Stop fighting among ourselves, stop pointing fingers at each other, and let's figure a way out of this ourselves. Because our govt sure isn't going to help us.
It makes no difference which political party sits on the throne. The system itself is corrupted, by the rich who have all the money, who buy off the politicians, who lobby Congress with dollars un-interrupted, who replace college professors whose courses and versions of fact they dis-agree with. The bankers and corporations who influence Congress and the courts to pass laws favorable to only them.(How many bankers went to jail in the housing crash?)
Folks can go on about either party in a never-ending debate. Until we change our govt. system, nothing will change, indeed, nothing has changed. We remain a war-based economy, feeding the arms dealers and stirring up problems around the world, still attempting to influence which people lead which countries, while ignoring those tyrants whose resources we need (the Arabs of Saudi Arabia, for one.)
We are bogged down in Afghanistan going on 17 years now with zero end in sight. The Russians were smart enough to pull out of there ages ago. We have soldiers in 70 countries around the world. Why? We have some 40m of our own living in poverty. Why? We have over 30m children on a federally assisted school lunch program. Why? Wages have stagnated for about 40 years. Why?
Our national "defense" budget is close to one trillion dollars, certainly headed that way. Who are we defending ourselves against? Every dime spent on "defense" is one not spent on our infrastructure, our health care, our electrical grid, our schools. We put a plaque on the Moon in 1969 claiming that "...we came in peace for all mankind." Now, we want billions to start up a Space Command to prepare for space war. From who? Martians?
Where's all the wealth? Why aren't American workers better off materially? Why are farmers losing their farms, the dairy industry chief among them? Someone has all the wealth. Why do basic pharmaceuticals cost so much, out of the reach of too many of us? Why do we have to choose between utility bills, and health-maintaining drugs? The gap between the haves and have-nots, which has existed since the Puritans landed at Roanoke and Jamestown, continues to widen and is un-sustainable. Our national debt is reported to be about $20 TRILLION. That's a number I cannot comprehend.
Stop fighting among ourselves, stop pointing fingers at each other, and let's figure a way out of this ourselves. Because our govt sure isn't going to help us.
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