Game Changer

I’m no military expert, so please excuse any idiotic statements I may make. I’m basically just thinking out loud here and making a few general comments.

I think a strong, hi-tech military is necessary since we live in such a dangerous, greedy and aggressive world; a military capable of defending against any potential aggressor that may threaten our sovereignty or other crucial interests around the world. Building a massive, overwhelming force capable of world domination, however, is another thing. Given the power behind current technology, I don’t know that any country would be able to accomplish that feat anymore without being destroyed themselves in the process. It wouldn’t take that many nukes or EMP’s to totally desimate the social and financial structure of any country. And so, any attempt to build such a military may be futile anyway.

I’ve read that the US military budget is greater than the next 9 top military budgets in the world combined. For a breakdown, here’s a List of Countries by Military Expenditure. That seems a little extreme to me, bordering on paranoia. We could cut that in half and still have the overwhelming lead.

So, it seems to me there are many things our country could be doing to put that money to good use, improving our standard of living. As a country we don’t do anything big anymore. Our interstate highway system is crumbling, our bridges and dams falling apart, our educational system has gone to hell, our space program is falling way behind. We’ve lost our vision as a country, and consequently our respect around the world. I read an international survey taken awhile back that identified the USA as the greatest terrorist threat in the world. Go figure.

At any rate, I think a realignment of priorities might be in order. Otherwise, I’m afraid we’ll continue our downslide into financial and social ruin. And our badass military won’t get us outta that jam...

PS: I think it was Eisenhower would warned us against the dangers of a runaway military industrial complex...