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The Rising Cost of War


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Originally uploaded by p2son.

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Jennifer said…
1752! That's 18.83 times larger than the number of students in my graduating high school class. It's a bigger number than the amount I have in my savings account. It's 2.13 times the amount I spent on my airline ticket to England and the included international student discount card. To me, 1752 people is an almost infathomable numerical figure. I can't imagine seeing that many sets of military boots. Boots that will never be worn again, remaining empty for an eternity. Is war worth the price? Not only the monetary price, but also the price of societal psychological, physiological, and emotional health. The price of an international reputation shoved down the drain of the republicans and warmongers, the power hungry warlords, those who need to use violence to solve their issues, differences and to try to show the whole world that the United States is supposedly the toughest country in the world. I disagree on these statements. Those who use torture, violence, and war to resolve their issues are truly the weak ones in the end, the unsophisticated, those who can't think of other alternatives to conflict resolution. The United States now, and has for the past two hundred years or so, taken the title of "Bully of the playground". If another country has something that we want but don't currently have, we invade their territory and take, and take and take. Many in the United States think that we are entitled to what ever we want. It doesn't work that way though, considering that we've only been a country for 229 years, we're the youngest on the playground, the one with not as much past experience. We as the United States (not collectively, but selectively) believe that we need to protect and rid the world of all of it's evils, but in the end, we're the evil one, the terrorist, the hated one. When you have the "I deserve whatever I want" attitude, people begin to get jealous, envious, and the hatefulness begins. I notice that this is particularly prominent of those in society that have lots of money: the CEO's of big companies, movie stars, musical entertainers, models, and the wannabes. A good portion of them struct their stuff and think that they are entitled to everything, the big houses, expensive cars (and multiples of these too), their Saks Fifth Ave. and various other forms of designer clothing that costs more than some people around the world earn in a year. Then is their bling, the multi-million dollar jewelry collections. Well....... I think that this is enough ranting and raving for one day.
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