Empires have fallen throughout history due to unholy alliances. In the USA, we will look at one of these alliances since January 17, 1961. This is the date of the farewell speech of President Dwight Eisenhower. This is where he warned of the unholy alliance of the military-industrial complex. This alliance has bankrupted the US economy, and caused havoc around the globe.
You can read the content of the entire final address by President Eisenhower. We will summarize the impact of these unholy alliances in two excerpts of President Eisenhower’s speech. It is suggested that you take a few minutes to review his prophetic statements as they were made in this address.
“As we peer into society’s future, we – you and I, and our government – must avoid the impulse to live only for today, plundering for our own ease and convenience the precious resources of tomorrow. We cannot mortgage the material assets of our grandchildren without risking the loss also of their political and spiritual heritage. We want democracy to survive for all generations to come, not to become the insolvent phantom of tomorrow.
Until the latest of our world conflicts, the United States had no armaments industry. American makers of plowshares could, with time and as required, make swords as well. But we can no longer risk emergency improvisation of national defense. We have been compelled to create a permanent armaments industry of vast proportions. Added to this, three and a half million men and women are directly engaged in the defense establishment. We annually spend on military security alone more than the net income of all United States corporations.”
President Donald Trump just signed a budget that is going to add $1,500 billion to the national debt, i.e. $1.5 trillion. A major part of the budget is focused on defense spending, and a lot of these expenses are not acknowledged in the budget. He acknowledged that he had not read the budget, which is understandable since it was put together by Republican leaders in the House and Senate without any clear objective other than pleasing the members of Congress with military suppliers in their states, and pleasing those in government and the industry whose objectives are to continue the global US aggression in the name of the War on Terror.
In one of his first speeches to Congress, President John F. Kennedy discussed his view of the purpose of the US’ defense spending. This is a link to his entire speech.
“99 – Special Message to the Congress on the Defense Budget. March 28, 1961
- BASIC DEFENSE POLICIES
The primary purpose of our arms is peace, not war–to make certain that they will never have to be used–to deter all wars, general or limited, nuclear or conventional, large or small–to convince all potential aggressors that any attack would be futile–to provide backing for diplomatic settlement of disputes–to insure the adequacy of our bargaining power for an end to the arms race. The basic problems facing the world today are not susceptible to a military solution. Neither our strategy nor our psychology as a nation–and certainly not our economy–must become dependent upon the permanent maintenance of a large military establishment. Our military posture must be sufficiently flexible and under control to be consistent with our efforts to explore all possibilities and to take every step to lessen tensions, to obtain peaceful solutions and to secure arms limitations. Diplomacy and defense are no longer distinct alternatives, one to be used where the other fails–both must complement each other.”
The US is far beyond the military power required to defer attacks by other global powers. It has chosen a president whose sole military experience consisted of avoiding being inducted into military service during a time of great conflict in Southeast Asia. The $600,000,000,000 being added to the current budget exceeds the entire military budget of Russia. It is an obscene amount of money being used to “enhance” the US military capability.
The excess money being spent to terrorize the globe and enrich the military-industrial complex could be spent in areas that actually make the US more secure. The US should reduce the defense budget to help restore its role as the defender of democracy instead of a continued focus on world dominance. This is especially true since the US has lost any actual democracy in government due to complicity of the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) in enhancing the power of industry over the needs of the US population.
President Trump is a blessing to the US and the world in exposing a lack of a cohesive strategy to achieve world peace, and an inability to restore the moral leadership of the US in the world. While China militarizes the South China Sea, and spends its money to expand its global presence through the building of roads, ports and rail lines, the US has failed to recognize the wisdom of President Eisenhower and President Kennedy.
In the name of enhancing an already dominant military capability, Congress has proclaimed that the economic problems created by supporting US citizens are bankrupting the US. This is obscene. Social Security and Medicare are not entitlements, and these programs are not nearly as substantial contributors to the national debt as military spending. Medicaid and similar programs to support the health and living needs of the young, the old and the poor are what other advanced nations provide to their citizens.
If you agree that Congress is allocating way more money to military spending, you can contact your senators and representative. The mid-term election may enable a change in the budget going forward. The US is engaged globally in a war to excise terrorists by military means. A policy of providing aid to impoverished areas instead of bombing the hell out of the citizens will do more than the military can ever do.
Here is the link to every member of the 115th Congress. Wake up! Stand up! Speak out! It is time for the population of the US to tell Congress to act responsibly and with regard to the future of our children, grandchildren, senior citizens, veterans and active military members. All of this is affordable if we stop focusing on war and fear instead of peace and a vision of long-term security.
Walking the Spirit Path 