I don't see how there can be substantial change in this country if we're always at war

[cali]

We've been at war for 14 years. There is no end in sight- thanks to those that want a forever and ever amen state of war.

The defense budget will continue to gobble up funding desperately needed for infrastructure, social welfare and education.

The idiocy of low taxes for the wealthy in a time of war is now accepted as the standard.

Until we honestly deal with this huge problem, it's difficult to make progressive strides in many arenas.

[Romeo.lima333]

1. cali that's the idea .. nt

[Yavin4]

2. War spending + tax cuts = justification for destroying Soc. Sec. and Medicare

That's the plan.

[Smarmie Doofus]

3. That's the idea. At least a good part of it.

"Progressive strides" are for losers.

LOSERS !!!!!

[H2O Man]

4. Definitely.

Recommended.

[CrispyQ]

5. William Blum said:

The engine of American foreign policy has been fueled not by a devotion to any kind of morality, but rather by the necessity to serve other imperatives, which can be summarized as follows:

* making the world safe for American corporations;

* enhancing the financial statements of defense contractors at home who have contributed generously to members of congress;

* preventing the rise of any society that might serve as a successful example of an alternative to the capitalist model;

* extending political and economic hegemony over as wide an area as possible, as befits a "great power."

http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Blum/US_Interventions_WBlumZ.html

The first three are the holy trinity of the status quo.

[Maedhros]

6. Civil rights and personal freedoms are always curtailed in times of war.

"Extreme measures" always seem to be necessary when dealing with enemies. In the past, these "extreme measures" ended when the wars ended.

Now, with new Endless War(tm), there is no need to end the "extreme measures" - to the effect that they become "normal." And the trouble with "normal" is it always gets worse. (h/t to Bruce Cockburn)

That's why my political agenda puts these issues at the forefront, in order:

1. End the war.
2. Get money out of politics.
3. Pass progressive legislation.

#1 is entirely necessary to consider #2, which is entirely necessary to consider #3.

[cali]

7. what about the advancement of LBGT rights?

[Maedhros]

8. I did not say ALL rights.

LTBT rights have advanced because of the tireless work of grassroots activists and inevitable cultural change. However, during the same time frame, we've seen assaults on the free press, freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, due process of law, habeus corpus, freedom to travel, etc. And these assaults are viewed as necessary steps to Protect Our Freedom, ironically enough.

IMO, the powers that be stopped fighting against LGBT rights because a) they recognized that they would lose and b) gay marriage, for example, does not undermine their efforts to control the population. There is still a lot of wailing and gnashing of teeth from the Dominionist Riight, but that's all about throwing red meat to their base.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

9. I've often wondered what America would look like if we were just another country

rather than THE Superpower warding off bogeymen around the world. Sooner or later we'll end up just being another failed empire that went broke, and broke up, because of hubris, greed, and the empty pleasure of being Number One.

"History supplies little more than a list of people who have helped themselves to the property of others." - Voltaire

[Vattel]

12. Voltaire also said "War is murder with trumpets." Usually that is pretty accurate.

[HereSince1628]

10. I dunno, lots changed when they decided there are a few enemies amongst us

Imagine how much could change when they decide the enemies are ALL OF US?

[awoke_in_2003]

11. This was outlined in 1984

and probably other places.

“The war, therefore if we judge it by the standards of previous wars, is merely an imposture. It is like the battles between certain ruminant animals whose horns are incapable of hurting one another. But though it is unreal it is not meaningless. It eats up the surplus of consumable goods, and it helps to preserve the special mental atmosphere that the hierarchical society needs. War, it will be seen, is now a purely internal affair. In the past, the ruling groups of all countries, although they might recognize their common interest and therefore limit the destructiveness of war, did fight against one another, and the victor always plundered the vanquished. In our own day they are not fighting against one another at all. The war is waged by each ruling group against its own subjects, and the object of the war is not to make or prevent conquests of territory, but to keep the structure of society intact. The very word "war," therefore, has become misleading. It would probably be accurate to say that by becoming continuous war has ceased to exist. The peculiar pressure that is exerted on human beings between the Neolithic Age and the early twentieth century has disappeared and has been replaced by something quite different. The effect would be much the same if the three superstates, instead of fighting one another, should agree to live in perpetual peace, each inviolate within its own boundaries. For in that case each would still be a self-contained universe, freed forever from the sobering influence of external danger. A peace that was truly permanent would be the same as a permanent war. This--although the vast majority of Party members understand it only in a shallower sense--is the inner meaning of the Party slogan: WAR IS PEACE.”