GUEST: Lawrence S. Wittner, award-winning American historian, writer, and activist for peace and social justice, talks about Peace Action, the current presidential primaries, and America's endless wars.
One sure sign of a broken democracy is the US decision to spend a trillion dollars in the coming decades on "upgrading" nuclear weapons. Upgrading for what, a nuclear war? Is there a chance now that the world would survive a nuclear exchange between superpowers? Like life in Orvell's novel, 1984, there are no answers one can be sure of.
Well, except for one truth. Nobody you or I know ever made a decision about spending a trillion dollars on universal death machine. It was done very quietly, with cozy agreements between our nation's corrupt politicians and our nation's insatiable war industry. None of the presidential debates asked one question about this most extravagant of all ways to end life on earth. No newspapers did a report on the expenditures or commented on their doomsday potential.
As it turns out, this trillion dollar upgrade in nuclear arms has been in works for several presidencies, although rarely spoken about openly. The people's role in our American oligopoly is to suffer without causing too many problems. Thought you needed education, healthcare, housing, a good job? Why fret? Our leaders will have spent all our money ensuring the end of humankind. Where do they think they will end up? Such is the insanity of greed and privilege in our nation's leaders.
