U.S. official resigns over Afghan war – Washington Post- msnbc.com.
This is one of those stories where the pertinent question is, “why did this make news?” As I read the store I found many points to agree with. And for the record I’ve always had difficulty with efforts trying to influence and or specify how others should live. Don’t like it when Christian Conservatives Read more
http://mondediplo.com/2008/02/05military
The Internet link above references a well written article by Chalmers Johnson. The article, aptly titled “Why the US has really gone broke,” helped me crystallize my thoughts, no my concerns, about the American society. When I assess the state of the nation, I see a frontier party headed down a hill with high expectations that a thriving ecosystem awaits. As the advance scout team describes what it sees ahead, rumors spread within the traveling party. An isolated valley awaits, where sunlight is blocked from the valley floor owing to the steepness of the valley walls. Water amazingly drains around the valley, leaving the soil nutrient poor and barely life sustaining. Nirvana is turning into hell.
Pride and arrogance can always lead people into perilous positions. The American society has believed the story—“The Greatest Nation on Earth.” Yet, we are a net debtor nation, who borrows money and then builds bombs and weapons, and maintains military presence outside its borders. Three highly unproductive societal choices. Military production offers negative consumption, because the good ultimately destroys other goods in the society, or worse people.
Imagine a household that borrows money and spends it primarily buying bullets and guns. With no investment in education, skills, or food it is not long before you visualize the household surviving by stealing. Friends, if you can call them that, are superficial. The family’s eventual outcome is obvious as their ability to service debt through weapons evaporates. Skill less with no resources, the household picks a fight and loses, dying with pride, but dying nonetheless.
This household might exist as an undereducated inner city household who only knows weapons, fighting, and fear as sources of self-esteem. However, as an alternative I’m suggesting it is the American society. We are the world’s largest debtor nation and its largest spender on military technology—a damning combination. We are beginning to borrow money for the basic services as shown by our crumbling health care system, energy dependence and bumbling effort to salvage New Orleans—a city devastated by natural disaster. And through the actions of the last thirty years, we have become more authoritarian with our foreign policy. Predictably the nations’ lenders, China, Japan, Germany, and Saudi Arabia will decide to invest elsewhere not liking what we do with their money—weapons, military, invade others, supply death.
Our country needs rejuvenation. Among the candidates for president, only Barack Obama speaks of revival. For to lead this nation out of this mess, requires
The Republican position is clear—national security derives from greater military spending. Hillary Clinton appears too short sighted. She can see no further, than to announce the next policy change to make one’s life better. The problem is, her vision prescribes incremental steps down into the treacherous valley, never looking far enough ahead to see the result.
When Barack speaks of his values, his “Audacity to Hope” he is leading us on the path to turn the behemoth ship around. He will not get us to the prosperous valley, but a victory by Barack, will spur our youth to innovate the thinking, challenge the values, and allow us to break the cycle of thinking that has governed since the sixties.
We should elect Barack Obama not for what he will do but for what he will start. Leadership at its best stimulates action and our talent, our youth needs jump starting.
Don Rumsfeld, recognizes the failure and ill preparedness of many historic institutions and ideas, except his own. The core of his argument is that a system of world trade is the best way to help the world’s poor, maintain peace, and allow for order in the world. History has proven this to be false, and the likes of Don Rumsfeld just don’t get it. Read more
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