The Racket of War

The Racket of War by SANFORD KELSON

Mr Kelson puts his mind around Smedley Butler's famous testimony that "war is a racket" and he provides still more evidence of the truth that General Butler had discovered decades ago. Events since the General's days have served to give still more credence to his words.

That is, what General Butler observed and decried in his day not only remains true to this day, but the forces he identified only grew richer and more powerful. Their power today exceeds words like 'awesome', and undoubtedly the General is turning in his grave having put so much effort into warning people that "war is a racket".

It's been said that "ignorance and apathy" rules, but history shows case after case of what happens when people are pushed too hard and too far. Are we in that moment?

It's to our great fortune that we have the Internet and thoughtful, knowledgeable and thinker/writers such as Mr Kelson who freely share their knowledge, experience and vision of it all clearly, logically and with a true humanitarian spirit.

People like Mr Kelson have studied not only General Butler, but other great thinkers in history, and they are standing on the shoulders of those giants. It's to our great benefit to listen to what they have to say.

When you read Mr Kelson's article, you may get the feeling that this is repetitive. Give him the benefit of the doubt and finish the entire presentation - and then ask yourself if that isn't a pretty good summation of America's wars and the "prime movers" behind and underneath them.

This is important. The dogs of war have been let out again. People are doing the killing and dying every day. There is no end in sight. The weapons on all sides are so terrible that humanity cannot let this madness go on. We've poked a giant finger in the eye of a religion with over a billion followers. We exacerbate this problem in so many ways it would be laughable if not true. We occupy their countries. Just think how you'd react to foreign soldiers patrolling your streets. We piss on their corpses, burn their sacred books, use robots to kill innocent people, etc.

We can't seem to grasp the power of people who will gladly give their lives for their cause. You hear about an Iraqi blowing herself up to take out very small numbers of people. Can't you see how many volunteers would step up at the chance to take out large numbers of Americans instead of a few? Are you aware of the super terrible weapons available in the world today? From germs to radioactive substances to who-knows-what-in-those-labs, weapons that have not been used are weapons the losing side could easy turn to before accepting defeat. It is that hard to imagine some very tough people among our enemies?

We listened to and got all riles over all the scare talk after 9-11, but time has passed and all of the scare talk seems to have been proved wrong. Unfortunately, that's not the case. We may be tired of hearing of it, but the threat today is substantially greater then ever before.

We imagine we have lots of friends in that part of the world, but that's an illusion. Propaganda. There are people in positions of power that money controlled, but they are being ousted. More important is public opinion, because ultimately even the most strict rulers must abide by. The Pew organization has studies on public support for America in ME counties. Not a pretty picture.

Yet, today a 3rd carrier group is set to join warships stationed off the coast of Iran. Would the police send an armed squad to surround a house - and then go home? What are the odds that bringing in the big guns in a threatening way can result in a shooting match?

Is there a way that we-the-people can get out of this hole?

Some say violence is the only way. I can't agree. I know what war is like, and believe me, a day or two into it you'll be sickened. And then you'll run out of ammo. And then you'll wish it never started. Over-simplification, but you get the idea.

I believe there is a non-violent solution: a money-free Internet based election system. Take the money out of politics. Pure democracy. First people decide the issues, then pick candidates who match their position on the issues.

Sorting this out is a big job for the voter, true, but he/she will have AI such as the likes of IBM's Watson, to turn to for help, and voting can actually be a fun experience. Imagine getting to vote for a candidate whose interests really do match your own and who is not corrupted by money?

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Bill