2003-03-18 / 11:59 a.m.
Imagine

Imagine there's no heaven

It's easy if you try

No hell below us

Above us only sky

Imagine all the people

Living for today

Imagine there's no countries

It isn't hard to do

Nothing to kill or die for

And no religion too

Imagine all the people

Living life in peace

You may say I'm a dreamer

But I'm not the only one

I hope someday you'll join us

And the world will be as one

Imagine no possessions

I wonder if you can

No need for greed or hunger

A brotherhood of man

Imagine all the people

Sharing all the world

You may say I'm a dreamer

But I'm not the only one

I hope someday you'll join us

And the world will live as one - John Lennon

I want to cry.

The cold unfeeling greed of my own government is staggering. No, I'm not disillusioned enough to think that government is ever kind and caring, but the apparent immense of this unreasonable war, is enough to make one want to sob at the pure indecency of humanity.

Over ten years ago, Iraq posed a clear and present threat to its neighbors when it invaded Kuwait, and military action was needed. However, we have nothing now but sketchy reports of weapons of mass destruction that our government says are there and really are they? Couple that with the raising price of oil over the past few years, the problem with Venezulan oil and this country's refusal to even consider alternative fuels. Iraq, as we know, is one of the largest producers of oil in the world.

Yet, there's more to it than that, our economy sucks ass right now. There is a cycle of recessions that expansion that occurs every ten years or so, and normally, but this is particularly bad. Part of the reason is Dubya is a complete moron and his tax cuts have done NOTHING to stimulate the economy for the working classes and in fact have stagnated development. 9/11 has further plummeted our economy down, and plunged us further into a recession that was frankly, coming anyway.

It's a proven economic fact that the fastest way to jump start a stalled economy is to go to war. During war times, production is at peak as supplies are needed. This increase in production also means that more jobs are thus needed which in turn lowers unemployment and makes the society as a whole wealthier. All of this is provided, of course, that the country wins the war, and the conflict is not too long.

Post war, the vanquished territory provides a multitude of opportunity to rich businesses of the victorious country. The area is ripe for expansion, there is a whole new market for their goods, a whole place to build. Such was the case with Japan post WW2, or really any country the US has defeated in war in the past century.

Further, depending on the state of the country, the victor can install a "friendly" government, even a puppet one. This, of course, is after a period of military/goverment control. This new government would have no qualms about trading with that of the victor or submitting to its wills. Depending on the situation, a colonization approach might even be applied here, especially if the country has valuable natural resources.

The country initiating the attack stands to gain greatly if victorious. Picking a country that is smaller, not as strong, or not generally liked in the world scheme of things all improve its chances greatly, especially if the country is formidable power in the world.

The initiating country need only try to convince their own people if it is big enough, strong enough, and powerful enough. World opinion means nothing, even in the scope of today's United Nations setup. The Romans wanted to rule the world. The British desired trading posts and raw materials. The Germans wanted to return to their former glory. The Americans want cheap oil.

So what if the Iraqi people are educated but live in abject poverty and misery and die of simple disease due to lack of medical care? So what if this war may kill innocent young soliders who have spouses and young children at home? So what if focusing on Iraq will divert attention away from the hunt for Osama Bin Ladin and his organization is already planning more attacks on the US including training videos that show how to attack a school? So what if initiating this war defies the UN which was setup to make sure that NO country became too powerful and that the world was just and peaceful for all? So what if this will cause permanent rifts with all of our allies? So what? We'll get cheap oil!!

For all of you war supporters who bitch and moan about the price of gasoline, when it goes down in monetary value after the war, realize that it may cost less out of your pocket but the difference is being made up for in the blood of the innocent.