Forum Post: Freedom isn't free...

Freedom isn't free...

True enough, but I am tired of that phrase being trotted out to simply validate an ignorant, uninformed opinion with the implication that our war dead somehow support some bumper sticker slogan. I suspect, if given a voice, our KIAs might prefer we not send more boys into the meat grinder. And that requires a different kind of sacrifice -- educating yourself. Which does not mean watching TV news, reading a magazine, or merely passing a required college history class.

Truth be told, we've not defended our nation since the second world war. Since then we've battled a manchean devil, first communism and now terrorism, as cover for our corporate and bankers' imperial ambitions and exploitation of third world resources and labor -- "globalization".

As a starting point, try reading several books about a particular topic, with the widest possible range of political ideology. For example, try the John Birch Society for the right-wing perspective and Fidel Castro as a left-wing interpretation. It's surprising how often right-wingers condemn protagonists as "communists" while lefties label them "capitalists". What is important is what actually and factually occurred, by whom, and for what reason (que bono).

Fact is both the Democratic and Republican parties (meaning the national organizations, as well as Representatives, Senators, the Vice-President, and President) are funded by the same donors and their lobbyists. But campaign contributions doesn't quite convey the essence of how important money from vested interests is in an age of selling candidates like soap and a partisan, propagandistic media that covers elections with all the sophistication of a horse race -- perhaps political bribery is a better term. (BTW, those same vested interests are advertisers, which is why the media no longer focuses on facts but insists on constant "editorial" comments about essentially meaningless "issues".)

Meanwhile, boys become old men or die in Afghanistan to make Caspian Sea oil and gas safe for transport via the Trans Afghan Pipeline (TAP) so big oil can sell it to the Chinese. Doubtless, this will make big oil richer (not to mention the Karzai family) and give U.S. corporations and investment banks some bargaining power with China as our economic and financial power decline, but is that a war and future for which you voted?

If you really believe "freedom isn't free", I suggest sacrificing some time reading two books. The latest edition of "Who is Running America" by sociologist Thomas Dye, PhD (Florida State University) and "Tragedy and Hope: A History of the World in Our Time" by historian Carroll Quigley PhD (Georgetown University).