Antiwar Voices

Opinion

The United States has been at war for the majority of my life, 18 years to be exact. When the government ordered an evacuation of Afghanistan, I had hoped that we would have a period without any major foreign military entanglements. Clearly this is not the case, as we are now fighting a proximity war with Russia via the Russo-Ukranian war. 

President Eisenhower

The United States clearly loves war and conflict, as that's where the money lies. President Eisenhower warned the people of the United States of the consequences of the "military industrial complex," which is a system in which lucrative military contracts are awarded to private companies to develop military technology, essentially creating a loop of spending, war, and death. The military industrial complex has taken ahold of the United States, putting us trillions of dollars in debt and killing countless people abroad in other countries. 

Politicians in Washington D.C. do not seem to be very antiwar. Though some parties or politicians may claim to be antiwar, war seems to be a bipartisan activity. Politicians are influenced by their donors, which often leads us back into the cycle of the complex. Every conflict makes the wealthy richer but hurts the lower classes.

Though massive companies like Lockheed Martin make incredibly advanced aircraft, I feel that the need for such an abundance of military spending is unnecessary when there are so many domestic issues that could be solved with just a fraction of the United States' military budget. 

Lockheed Martin SR-71 "Blackbird"

It sucks. There's no other way to describe the situation the we are in. Even worse, it is all my generation knows. Though we are not in a direct war right now, the billions we are sending to Ukraine is hurting just as much as a direct involvement. I have always found it interesting that the US can cough up $300+ billion to send to Ukraine but seemingly can't afford to do anything else to benefit the citizens.