Mankind must put an end to war or war will put an end to mankind
- John F. Kennedy
I like to think of myself as a reasonably intellectually agile person, but one thing I've never managed to figure out is mankind's devotion to war. Using our own experience as a gauge, Americans are far more willing to pay the freight for blowing up villages halfway around the world than they are to pay for educating or feeding children or assisting the unemployed here at home. Ted Rall's comic makes a very important point...and one that will be completely glossed over by the Mainstream Media. Don't get me wrong; I'm all for giving our men and women the resources they need to complete their mission. The problem is that I'm not certain anyone has adequately defined what the missions in Iraq and Afghanistan actually are. We continue to pour endless sums of money into the metaphorical hole that represents our two far-flung wars...all while neglecting people who are legitimately hurting and in need here at home.
Yes, America is the world's preeminent (and only) superpower. Our military is the envy of the world- highly trained, well-equipped, and capable of projecting American power virtually anywhere in the world. Yet we lack the wherewithal to rebuild New Orleans, or rebuild our economy, or fix our embarrassingly substandard health care system, or educate our children, or...I could go on, but you get the point, right? Our priorities are so thoroughly backasswards as to be laughable. Here we are, the most powerful economic and military power in the world...and yet we're unable (or unwilling) to fix things here at home. Blowing up a village in Afghanistan is "protecting our freedom", while fixing our health care system is "promoting Socialism"? Inadvertently killing innocent civilans is "collateral damage", while putting Americans back to work is...well, "promoting Socialism"?
How is it that we've so thoroughly lost sight of the importance of taking care of our own, all while we continue throwing obscene amounts of money at two increasingly futile wars? We have no problem killing those we define as the enemy, yet have a significant problem with the idea of taking care of our own. We're willing to expend American blood and treasure fighting two seemingly never-ending wars...and yet we draw the line at taking care of business here at home? How and when did we lose our way? How is it that our priorities have become so thoroughly screwed up that we would sooner bomb an Afghan village than rebuild New Orleans? How can we provide health care for Iraqis and Afghans while refusing to do the same for Americans?
From where I sit, these are not the priorities of a nation that claims for itself the role of moral beacon of the world. These are not the priorities of a nation on the road to greatness. The idea of American exceptionalism is and should not be limited to the idea of projecting military power worldwide on short notice. It should be about more than killing and destruction; it should also be about compassion and charity...and those things should begin at home.
If we can provide health care to Iraqis and Afghans while refusing to do the same for every American, do we really have any claim at all to greatness? If we can project our military power anywhere in the world and yet cannot be bothered to rebuild New Orleans, what claim do we have on moral superiority? If we engage in nation-building but leave our own unemployed to fend for themselves, can we reasonably claim to be a superpower?
The problem, of course, is that far too many Americans have no problem with answering "yes" to those questions. That's why we are where we are...and it's why I fear for the future of this nation. If we continue on our present path, American will before long become an empty shell- seemingly solid and strong on the outside, but vacant and rotten on the inside.
WE DESERVE BETTER.
