military spending

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Hiroshima Day address 2010 (Hyde Park in Chicago)

Author: Kent Busse

I am inherently a very happy person. As a happy person, of course I understand sadness. I share the burdens of the less fortunate, and join reverently in the sober commemoration of this day.

But if I were only a negative, unhappy example, I would not persuade you to be an abolitionist like me. You do not want to follow me in negative thinking. It is only by extending hope in positive outcomes and shared happiness that I can persuade you that we must abolish nuclear weapons totally and forever.

A deceiver will argue that security is the arm of flesh: namely, superior coercive power and dominance. However, either a brief or a thorough examination leads directly to the realization that balance of terror is still terror, and that the real possibility of mutual annihilation does not make annihilation less likely.

Positive understanding teaches that lasting security lies in collaboration and cooperation. In conflict resolution and in ordinary daily enterprise, success is not established by selfish competition and dominance, but rather by the ability to work together toward shared outcomes. Beating our swords into plowshares reconstitutes them as tools of production.

I do not deny outbreaks of irrational and aggressive behavior; instead, I subject them to (a) a social contract (b) governed by reason (c) which leads to mutually agreed and implemented (d) rule of law. The essence of a society is its ability to use this cooperative mechanism to replace internal and external isolation, ignorance and brute force.

Therefore today I call upon you to move beyond preoccupation with the unthinkable, into the realm of a kinder, gentler, existence. I realize that this must begin with me, and I promise you that as you adopt this thought pattern of happiness, you will create and cultivate those associations in which you can persuade those nearest you to join this chorus of expanding circles. When our hearts are pure and our persuasion is effective, it is the summing of these circles that will ultimately carry the day and result in worldwide abolition of nuclear weapons, beginning at home.

May we never take our eyes off the prize, and may our love be so pure that it will indeed bring others into our new day of shared happiness.

copyright © 2010 Kent Busse

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Spread the Word: 57% of the U.S. Budget is for Military Spending

Author: Breeze Richardson (on behalf of the Peace Resources Committee)

wtrThe American Friends Service Committee recently asked Friends to join them in spreading the word about how much of our taxes goes toward military spending:

On April 15, protest the amount of your tax dollars spent on the military. Tax day is just around the corner.  Do you know where your money goes?

Despite a much needed increase in funding for human needs in the FY 2010 budget, military spending still eats up 57% of the total.  This month, we ask you to stage an event outside your local post office on April 15 to protest the amount of tax dollars spent on the military.  We support the President’s decision to put more of the budget toward meeting peoples’ basic needs – that’s one of our core values.  But we also believe in peace. The United States already accounts for about half of the world’s total military spending. To stay true to our values, we must continue to protest the disproportionate amount of money our country invests each year in defense.

Let’s take this opportunity to praise the president for shifting money to necessities like health care, food, and education.  Let’s also use it to show people how much more we could do.  By working together, we can persuade President Obama to cut even more defense funding in next year’s budget.  This month, remind people where their tax dollars are going – good and bad.  You can help!

– Host or attend an event on April 15, 2009.

– Download our resources to help educate your community; we have exciting information you’ll want to share!

Join us on April 15.  Say yes to funding human needs.  Say no to war. Wage peace.

Peace,
Laurie Creasy
American Friends Service Committee

**You can also search for an event near you, in case you’re not up for organizing something, but would like to attend an already scheduled event in support.  

What are your thoughts about Tax Day Protests & the current plan amount of military spending we experience in the United States?