Addicted to War

I just finished reading a "Addicted to War" by Joel Andreas. You can (and should) order a copy, read it, and then give it to a friend to read. I'd already been intorduced to some of the ideas that are in this book when I read Noam Chomsky's "Understanding Power", however "Addicted to War" is a much more approachable and concise way (it's in comic book format and it's only 77 pages) to learn about the problems that the United State's military/industrial complex causes. Problems that you and I, our children, and their children will be dealing with in very real ways.

I found the pieces about the antiwar efforts of the vietnam era particularly interesting. As someone who was born in 1972 and then raised during Reagan's version of the Cold War, I had never learned just how strong the antiwar movement had once been. It's depressing to think that by 1991, George H. W. Bush was able to declare the "vietnam syndrome" kicked as he was invading Iraq and sending our men and women out into harm's way. Something he had never required of his own children.

As someone who marched against the war in Iraq right here in the heavily pro-Republican, pro-Bush, and therefore pro-war Utah, I'm taking solace in the fact that these days, even here, I'm hearing more and more people lament the war and even hinting that they regret having voted for Bush.

It's not a great way to head into the July 4th weekend- re-visiting the idea that, contrary to what they taught me in elementary shool, America has not always stood for freedom and democracy in the world. It makes me think of lines from that great Aztec Camera song "Good Morning Britain":

"The past is steeped in shame
but, tomorrow's fair game.
For a life that's fit for living
Good morning Britain"

Yeah, so it's not about the United States, but I think the sentiment still applies. When I'm watching the fireworks tomorrow night, I'll be thinking of ways to take advantage of the fact that 'tomorrow's fair game.'