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| You KNOW what war is good for - absolutely nothing Infographic from: source |
We talk a lot about the glory and honour of war, and the respect we should bestow upon those who wage it. But you don't hear much from our leaders about ending war. Why is this? Why wouldn't we want to eliminate the most grievously unsustainable activity performed by man (and I do mean man).
The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) reported that global military spending was $1.7 Trillion dollars in 2011. The good news, if you can call it that, is that the figure represented the first time in 13 years that spending didn't increase.
Before you rejoice thinking that perhaps world leaders are on the road to realizing the error of their ways, a SIPRI researcher credited the leveling out of spending on "the global economic crisis, especially deficit-reduction measures in the USA and Europe". He went on to say that the decade-long rise in spending seemed to be over... at least for now.
When I hear we don't have enough money for clean drinking water, or housing, health care and education for all humans, I call bullshit. When people say we can't afford a social safety net, I call bullshit. Not enough money to develop sustainable energy? Wrong.
Why haven't we eliminated poverty yet? Not enough money? No. Just like all the other persistent problems, there is plenty of money, but there is not enough will to tackle them. It was a lack of will that caused the War on Poverty to be the shortest declared war in US history. In that war, as Ronald Regan said, "poverty won".
I know where we can tap into the cash to solve all of our problems, with some to spare for a planetary party when our work is done and we have achieved a sustainable world in which all people have enough.
Why haven't we eliminated poverty yet? Not enough money? No. Just like all the other persistent problems, there is plenty of money, but there is not enough will to tackle them. It was a lack of will that caused the War on Poverty to be the shortest declared war in US history. In that war, as Ronald Regan said, "poverty won".
I know where we can tap into the cash to solve all of our problems, with some to spare for a planetary party when our work is done and we have achieved a sustainable world in which all people have enough.
Dream a little - what would you do for the planet with almost $2 Trillion bucks in the bank? As we stop war, we will turn the dream into reality.
How To Stop War
- Teach kids basic philosophy and logic
- Meditate
- Stop glorifying violence
- Make it illegal to profit from the killing industry
- Make the bad men stop and go away - replace them with women
- Create a culture of compassion, cooperation and community
- Be kind
- Practice forgiveness
- Be patient
- Find peace with ourselves, then spread it around
As this is veterans day in the US there were numerous posts on facebook about honoring those who serve. My thoughts are "What better way to honor veterans than putting a stop to all wars". What glory is there in killing and dying? We have made a god of the military machine in this country. If one refuses to bow down and worship at it's feet, we are told we are unamerican and should leave. It's sickening the money spent to kill, when we should use that money for life. By that I mean ALL life, this planet and every creature on it.
ReplyDeleteCanada has been increasing military spending by billions of dollars during the toughest economic times since the last great depression. Really? Who exactly are our 'enemies', I wonder. We used to be known for our peacekeeping missions.
DeleteI have a hard time believing that war is a priority for most people, who simply wish to have their basic needs met in safe and supportive communities.