I wonder sometimes if money spent on weapons of war
was instead spent on feeding and educating the whole world,
or digging wells for every village,
or providing healthcare for every man, woman and child,
or putting a roof over every beloved head,
might that change things?
I wonder if every missile,
or tank,
or fighter jet,
was melted down
and formed into transport ships to bring food to hungry babies,
or books to those with none,
or doctors to every corner of the earth,
might that change things?
I wonder if every politician
who takes money from lobbyists
accepted donations only from those
who elected them,
might that change things?
I wonder if every time I felt hatred,
I chose to pray for my enemy,
every time I felt greedy,
I chose to give,
every time I felt despair,
I chose to dance,
might that change things?
I wonder sometimes ...
I often think of this. As a student of history and military history I'm aware of exactly how much military hardware we have. The balance of spending between military and healthcare in comparison to all other nations is particularly troubling. Do we really need more aircraft carriers than the rest of the world combined? Do they all eleven need to be bigger (some twice as big) than the biggest carrier any other nation has? At 13 billion each that is a chunk of change. Hospital ships cost 208 million. We have three. Imagine if we had hospital ships roving the world responding to disaster. How about disaster response container ships (64 million) doing the same. Imagine American ships and flags being a symbol of hope and mercy at the worst of times. If we had one hospital ship and one disaster response container ship for each carrier it would cost a fraction of the expense of a single carrier. Oh and during periods without disasters we could station some of them in the US providing free healthcare.
SO well said, Steve. Yes and yes and yes!! Let’s keep imagining a more beautiful world. Because maybe the imagining will catch fire, just like conspiracy theories did??
Steve, your response is perfect. Alice, your post is thoughtful and provocative. Why is it so difficult to get organized around positive intentions ?