centennial post

why we fight is a sobering film that follows the history of the united states military industrial complex.

as a country, we currently spend more on military spending than all the members of NATO combined, according to the film.

3/4 of a trillion dollars is a lot of money to ensure security. the film states that the cost to put on the 9/11 attacks on the twin towers and pentagon was about $500,000.

wow.

i sat enthralled in the same way i did during syriana. the interconnectedness of the corporate sector, government agencies, and military was not taught during my formal or informal education. american history seemed to fade out a little after the korean war during high school.

and frankly during college i think i focused on niche historical elements of art and linguistics. if i didn't have to study war, i wasn't going to do it. war upset me.

when the first iraqui war, desert storm was announced (1991) i was doing homework in my boyfriend's room at syracuse university. he was part of the sour sitrus society, our pep band and in the carrier dome supporting alonso mourning and company or something.

it was then i began to become an npr junkie. and now i am trying to expand the breadth of my media because npr's been slipping on comprehensiveness for my taste. i look to niche newscasts from upfront and try to open my ears to kpfa before i start wincing from the chomskyian doom and gloom that can spew from it.

i'm not well-schooled in history, but it seems to me that certain elements of the united states have practice corporate imperialism for quite a long time. the muscle of business has a strong say in the offices of our government officials.

i'm confused. the human nature we're all subject to is so fragile that saying yes to the war business is easy because it provides jobs?

my naive brain believes we have enough in the world to provide opportunities for all humanity to reach a balance between need and want.

i'm not a communist. heck, i can't even claim being christian, though i was raised that way. there is a brilliant statement in the new testament that i gleaned from my catholic education that i try to live by, however: love one another.

go ahead and sigh about the naivete of this sentence. it is proported to have been stated by a man in a dress who hung out with 12 dudes. but try living it for an hour. compassion can go a long way.

and if it's lived on a local scale, and communities understand it and incorporate it, then it's nearly impossible to harm anyone either directly or indirectly.

the ripples of destruction are profound. the number of people affected by disaster and disease from day to day is astounding if one can wrap one's head around it.

i would like to advocate for the equally powerful ripples of creativity. music, education, collaboration, construction...all equally as powerful and can leave a legacy.

i'm blathering. it's 12:30 am. the bbc gent just reported that.