Making War...Random Thoughts...

From The Sacred Balance by David Suzuki:

"War is a social, economic and ecological disaster. It is totally unsustainable and must be opposed by all who are concerned about meeting the real needs of all people and future generations. The effect of war is most immediate for those who are killed or maimed or made homeless, but the social and ecological consequences reverberate for generations. Among the children who survive, we still don't know the full extent of the psychic damage they have suffered or the degree to which their problems are transmitted to successive generations. War is the ultimate atrocity that dehumanizes victor and vanquished alike; divorcing children from parents, separating families, smashing communities, it deprives its victims of their basic need for love and security in the company of their fellow human beings."

And to give you something else to "chew on", here are some facts and figures:

• We (the U.S.) are spending $2.3 billion per week on the war in Afghanistan.
• We (the U.S.) are spending $1 billion per week on the war in Iraq.

All of which comes to about $171,600,000,000 annually on these 2 wars- and this is over and above the regular military budget of $663.7 billion. And made possible by "special" appropriations passed by our Congress as needed. Contrast this with the $489 million we spend per week on ALL foreign aid, with a like amount spent on education. Oh, and don't forget the $42.7 billion we're spending annually on Homeland Security. Isn't there somethig wrong with this picture? Or am I the only who is horrified with the way my hard-earned tax dollars are being spent? And when will "we, the people" take our responsibilities seriously?

"it is a puzzlement"

We seek easy answers
                quick solutions...
always in a cultural, collective hurry
to find "the way", whether to
     lose weight or
     guard the borders or
     defeat terrorism or
     prevent teen pregnancy or
     fight breast cancer or
     raise children or
     end war...
 

When will we realize, do you suppose,
that each of us- each and every one
of us- is part of the solution?
not the whole- for no one person's
wisdom is that complete- but part...
each of us bringing our own small but
necessary piece to contribute to the
complex puzzle that is life together.