COMMENTARY   10/05/05
    One of the most important statements that Dwight D. Eisenhower 
made during his tenure as President was "Beware of the Military 
Industrial Complex."   And sure enough, since that time there has 
been constant conflict from rebellions to territorial wars going on 
our planet, Earth.

Moreover, I believe it was President Richard M. Nixon who finally 
turned our military from citizen soldiers into professional 
volunteers.  This empowered our Military Industrial Complex even 
more.  Perhaps this is why we don't hear an outcry from our public 
over the rising casualty rate of our present-day warriors in Iraq.

    Come to think of it, perhaps there is method to all of this 
madness.  Wars and rebellions, after all, kill people thereby 
protecting us from over-population.   What's more, it feeds the 
economy since there are destroyed areas that need rebuilding   
Not to mention, all of the destroyed weapons the Military 
Industrial Complexes of the world will have to replace.  As for 
the money that will be needed to research and develop bigger and 
better weapons or mass destruction, this in itself is beyond human 
comprehension.

    Sound ludicrous, inhuman, insane?  It certainly does.  But if 
we need some verification as to whether or not our world is being 
controlled by opposing Military Industrial Complex, just ask 
yourself: When was the last time we spent more than half of our 
national budget on basic human necessities rather than on  military 
arms?

    No doubt, our armchair wannabees, along with our Christian 
right-wingers and our brain-washed patriots , along with some of 
our short-circuited parents, want the security of a powerful 
military.  But this doesn't read out to me as proof of being a 
loyal patriot but rather  more like beings who are living in 
constant fear.

    As for myself, I would like to see our country return back to 
being the leader for peace.  again.  And if there are nations out 
there who are looking for democracy, let them put it where their 
mouth is, as our colonial forbearers once did.

    The way I see it, we should project the value of our God-given 
freedoms and democracy by peaceful example and not through military
force.

    And as far as our Military Industrial Complex goes, we should 
start taking back the control of our country again before any of 
those half-cocked generals, along with a brain-washed army, decide 
they want the whole ball of wax.

    It'll never happen?  Tell that to the Germans, Italians, 
Japanese, and last but not least, the Russians.

    Oh, by the way, where were all those ‘caped crusaders' when a 
million-and-a-half of our people were being mercilessly murdered 
by the Ottoman Turks a little less than a century ago.
    And as for those who still favor being controlled by a 
Military Industrial Complex, I would wonder: How many among 
them are for pro life and how many of them are for pro choice?

                    Joseph Vosbikian