The War Economy: Militarism And Gun Violence
Dear America,
A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual doom. — Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists, and will persist. — Former President Dwight D. Eisenhower
The words above were given as warnings to our country over 50 years ago, yet our country did not take heed. Instead, those warnings were ignored and our elected leaders have continued to pour money into funding our military over funding programs that help the poorest and most vulnerable among us. Our federal government would rather spend billions on creating weapons designed for destruction and death than spend money feeding our nation’s children or providing health care for the sick and disabled. Lawmakers would rather spend billions funding unnecessary wars overseas than spend money to support our veterans who have returned home from those same battles.
On Tuesday, we continued with the third week of nonviolent moral fusion direct action in Washington D.C. and over 30 states across the nation. This week, our theme was The War Economy: Militarism and Gun Violence. The military receives 53 cents for every federal discretionary dollar spent on funding efforts that supports programs for education, health care, anti-poverty efforts and more. The government also spends $17 billion per year on immigration, deportation, and border security. This money should be going toward funding schools for our children, health care, and supporting veterans, not toward militarizing our borders to keep out immigrants who only want a better future for themselves and their families.
The same militarization has also been dispersed within this nation’s borders. Gun violence has become a national epidemic but our immoral politicians would rather follow the orders of the National Rifle Association (NRA) than pass policies to protect the people across this country. We have children being gunned down in schools, innocent bystanders being caught in crossfire on the streets, and police murdering unarmed black and brown people, yet the topic of gun control has become taboo among politicians. Gun violence is a moral issue and the inaction by our politicians only goes to show how they have let their morality be stripped away by the dollars of the NRA.
Activists from New York, Indiana, Arkansas, North Carolina, Kansas, South Carolina, California, Michigan, and many other states stood up and spoke out this week against this country’s militarism and gun violence. All across this nation people are crying out that enough is enough and we will not be silent anymore!
We need you now more than ever. Join us this upcoming Monday, and the following Mondays until June 23 in your state and Washington, D.C. All roads will lead to the National Mall in D.C. on Saturday, June 23 for the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival’s Call to Action Rally.
Click here to join now and commit to participating on the ground or share your support online using the #PoorPeoplesCampaign hashtag.
The fight continues.
