Thursday 20 February 2014

What can $2 trillion do?

How much health and well being can our global war budget of $2 trillion buy? ‘World Beyond War’, a new 10 minute video I just saw and recommend, contrasts 2 choices:

Choice 1 — People, health, housing, education, infrastructure, rights rather than privileges, clean environment ...
Choice 2 — Violence, death, waste, pollution, poverty, sickness, hatred, …


The 2 competing outcomes are explained with a few charts, many photos, and archival video quotes from President Eisenhower and M.L. King Jr. It’s a message most of my readers know, presented in a fresh and easy to understand manner.

The dichotomy (Choice 1 or 2) is similar to guns or butter (economics), and swords or ploughs (religion), but without metaphor or analogy. Its directness reminds me of the forgotten wisdom of Tolstoy, Gandhi, and King about justice and love.

WBW launched last September from Virginia USA, using social media to teach peace. The website has a petition and educational material.

Education is the key to improving our future on planet earth.

I add WorldBeyondWar.org to my list of recommended study websites.

Global Action on Military Spending hosts an annual global day of action in April, and provides signs, such as 'Cut Military Spending - Fund Human Needs!', and a 2-minute video: ‘What Would it Cost to Save the World?’

War Resisters League puts out an annual pie chart on military and domestic spending.
This is very useful and easily understood for USA. We need something like this for Canada.

Project Ploughshares, Waterloo, Ontario, says: ‘and they shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation; neither shall they learn war any more.’

Transcend International has a chart: Some Consequences and Costs of War, and other resources. 'We are a Peace Development Environment Network. Our aim is to bring about a more peaceful world by using action, education/training, dissemination and research.'

Center for Global Nonkilling in Hawaii provides many free books and tools designed 'to promote change toward the measurable goal of a killing-free world by means open to human creativity in reverence for life.'

Historians Against War testify: ‘... we stand opposed to wars ... to dominate the internal life of other countries….’

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