by Mary Ann McGivern
Just think. What sort of military do we need to defend our borders? Tanks, aircraft carriers and nuclear submarines are particularly ineffective against terrorists. Nuclear weapons use would turn global warming into a nuclear winter which won’t solve anything. The oceans and the sheer size of the nation are effective deterrents to invasion.
If we started the Department of Defense off at zero, imagine where you would put the money.
Myself, I would spend a bundle on information gathering – spying, if you like. And then I’d spend three bundles addressing the needs the spies uncovered: nation-building, job creation, trade opportunities.
But even for me, it is difficult to say: disband the DOD; toss the guns; pitch the nukes; bring the boys home. People would say, that’s crazy talk. But what is crazy, what is true mental illness, is the stockpile of nuclear weapons; the continued building of newer fighter planes designed to dogfight with Russia MIGs; the plans for new aircraft carriers to deploy the fighters. I could go on.
The sword of Damoclese hanging over the head of Congress is impending military cuts if they cannot find enough domestic spending reduction. So instead they are considering slashing supplemental social security for children with disabilities.
Imagine peace.
