Is War More Important Than Poverty?

 

Is This Who We Really Are?

Based on recent policy positions, the Trump administration has prioritized military spending and federal budget cuts over funding social safety nets, which it often views as ineffective, arguing these programs ("little scams") should be managed at the state level. Critics argue these policies disproportionately affect low-income individuals. -The Nation 

Three Quotes and a Call to Action

"One cannot live with sighted eyes and feeling heart and not know or react to the miseries which afflict this world."
- Lorraine Hansberry

“A few years ago there was a shining moment … It seemed as if there was a real promise of hope for the poor—both black and white—through the poverty program. There were experiments, hopes, new beginnings. Then came the buildup in Vietnam, and I watched this program broken and eviscerated, as if it were some idle political plaything of a society gone mad on war, and I knew that America would never invest the necessary funds or energies in rehabilitation of its poor so long as adventures like Vietnam continued to draw men and skills and money like some demonic destructive suction tube. So, I was increasingly compelled to see the war as an enemy of the poor and to attack it as such.” MLK jr. (Beyond Vietnam)

"When Trump says “We can’t take care of day care,” we must expose the lie: Our nation absolutely could take care of child care and medical coverage; we’re just choosing to spend taxpayer money—to the tune of around $12 billion so far—on a war in Iran." -Russell Taylor

 
"Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves,
for the rights of all who are destitute.
Speak up and judge fairly;
defend the rights of the poor and needy." -Proverbs 31:8-9

The war with Iran is neither a just war or a holy war. It is a war of choice. The Council on Foreign Relations thinks so. A classic example was the Iraq War.  It was not required for survival, but rather to change the Iraqi regime. Critics are labeling US military actions against Iran as a "war of choice" that was costly, risky, and lacked public or congressional support. Is the warrior mentality more important than treating the poor fairly, and offering the dignity they deserve. I hope not.