Why You Should CareViolence Menaces Our Lives
Violence is plaguing the United States and the world. Gun violence in this country is far above any other country. Alarmingly, on January 6, 2021, a violent mob tried to overturn a US Presidential election. About a quarter of adult Americans think we need to turn to violence to settle our differences. Meanwhile the US military is the most violent institutional force in the world and has long been used to protect and benefit corporate interests rather than the common good. Military Costs Rob Social Benefits The US military is the most expensive institution of violence in the world. At $965 billion annually, it is almost 62% of the discretionary federal budget. If we cut military expenditures in half, which would leave the US far above its next closest rival, we could increase by 80%the US budget for public education, healthcare, housing, ecosystem restoration and rebuilding communities destroyed by extreme weather events. That would take care of the housing crisis, bring our educational system to the top of the class, provide for all of our healthcare needs and jumpstart ending the climate crisis. War Industry Controls US War Policy Sixty years ago, President Eisenhower warned of the control the War Industry was gaining over American military policy. Today, large corporate military suppliers use fear-mongering think tanks, armies of lobbyists, and directed campaign contributions to ensure our tax dollars pay for more weapons, more bases and newer technologies. The military and corporate insiders guard the revolving door to rotate war industry executives into the top Pentagon decision-making posts, while lavishing generals and admirals with cushy corporate jobs upon their retirement. Nuclear Weapons Threaten all Life There are enough nuclear weapons in existence to kill all life many times over. The long-time drive to reduce the danger of nuclear annihilation has been losing ground in recent years. The US in particular has abandoned antimissile treaties, as there seems to be no recognition among the nuclear powers that they pose an existential threat to life as we know it. On top of that, the US Space Force is on a trajectory to move nuclear weapons into the long-recognized weapon free zone of outer space. |
What You Should DoUse Democracy to Control Violence
Undertake your democratic responsibility to control violence. Follow Oregon’s example and propose laws to impede wanton violence. Join citizen groups working to end mass shootings devastating American communities and families. Tell federal representatives to end US foreign policies that violently suppress popular democracies in order to give corporations access to resources and markets around the world. Help the US Do the Right Thing Join the Move the Money Campaign at the Moral March on Washington D. C. Their call to move the money out of the military would add dental, hearing and vision to Medicare, provide free tuition to public universities, and create universal, publicly-owned broadband. Embrace a feminist peace plan to: reallocate Pentagon spending; respect a global cease fire ending military operations; and stop US military support for authoritarian governments. Abolish the Weapons Industry Read Christian Sorensen’s book Understand the War Industry. Help implement his advice to create a peace curriculum in schools. Get money out of politics by joining groups like Move to Amend. Support politicians dedicated to policies of peace and challenging US militarism. Put weapons production back under public ownership. Get involved in AfD’s Disarming Violence & Establishing Peace campaign. Help bring the peace and climate movements together. Join the Nuclear Free movement Join the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons to promote the United Nations Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW). Get a TPNW resolution passed by your elected officials. Tell your Congressional members to support the TPNW. Work to promote the international acceptance of the Outer Space Treaty of 1967. Work with AfD’s Disarming Violence & Establishing Peace Campaign. |
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