Our local grandchildren, almost-ten and twelve. just spent a couple of days with us because their school year has finished, parents are working, and summer camps aren't under way yet. On Monday afternoon they engaged in a "blast from the past" -- literally. Armed with water guns they had a blast under the tree canopy of the backyard in torrid heat. As they headed out the 12-year-old, a sweet soul, smiled at us and said "war." Is war the human condition?
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) has been meeting in the Hague, Netherlands. Canada is there, as it has been since NATO was formed in 1949 as a post-WWII alliance of mutual protection. And Prime Minister Mark Carney is committing our nation to massive increases in military spending, as are other nations responding to the uncertainty of the role of the United States in protecting the mutual interests of NATO nations.
Of course, the Attention Seeker-in-Chief is driving this significant shift on the part of Canada and I don't like the outcome. He claims that Canada needs to do more and it probably does. But does anyone think that the United States will give up its addiction to military spending? The US spends more than the next nine countries of the world combined. The president campaigned on a promise of not getting involved in distant conflicts yet as the NATO gathering was about to begin American bombers launched strikes on targets in Iran on a flimsey premise. If you've got it, you want to justify using it.
I figured Carney would be the adult in the room as Prime Minister but I would never have supported what will possibly he 150 billion a year in military spending. I have the crazy notion that much of this would be better spent in other areas, say clean drinking water in Indigenous communities, an endlessly broken promise.
When I've visited Washington DC the capital of the "Christian" United States the endless military memorials lead me to believe that the gods they worship are Odin, and Zeus, and Mars. Why are we being drawn into this fealty?
As I mentioned, the NATO meeting is in the Hague, home of the International Criminal Court which "investigates and, where warranted, tries individuals charged with the gravest crimes of concern to the international community: genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and the crime of aggression. War is always brutral, even when combatants are convinced they are on the right side. As Jimmy Carter said when awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, there are times when war is a necessary evil but it is always evil.
2 comments:
In contrast to Jimmy Carter the current who had a belief system and knew right from wrong, the current Attention Seeker-in-Chief relishes the "warrior" role (as long as he doesn't have to get too close). When called up as a young man, he declined the draft. KB
While clearing out the annoying spam comments on various blog entries I somehow wiped out my response to you Kathy! I noted that young navy Lieutenant Carter was a hero who risked his life to avert a nuclear meltdown in Chalk River, Ontario. Meanwhile Colonel Bonespurs dodged the draft and yet cringily portrays himself as a warrior.
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