We hold these Truths to be self-evident...
In our third consideration of Abraham Lincoln’s wisdom applied to current US wars (first and second):
A letter to his law partner:
Allow the President to invade a neighboring nation whenever he shall deem it necessary to repel an invasion, and you allow him to do so whenever he may choose to say he deems it necessary for such purpose, and you allow him to make war at pleasure. Study to see if you can fix any limit to his power in this respect, after having given him so much as you propose. If to-day he should choose to say he thinks it necessary to invade Canada to prevent the British from invading us, how could you stop him? You may say to him, — "I see no probability of the British invading us"; but he will say to you, "Be silent: I see it, if you don't."The provision of the Constitution giving the war making power to Congress was dictated, as I understand it, by the following reasons: Kings had always been involving and impoverishing their people in wars, pretending generally, if not always, that the good of the people was the object. This our convention understood to be the most oppressive of all kingly oppressions, and they resolved to so frame the Constitution that no one man should hold the power of bringing this oppression upon us. But your view destroys the whole matter, and places our President where kings have always stood.
In our current US wars of invasion, our own government investigations have revealed the exact evidence backing claims that these are defensive wars for our national security. We now know from the evidence that all of these claims were not only false, but known to be false at the time they were told to the American people and Congress.
We also have lying rhetoric for an offensive war in Iran, propagandized as “pre-emptive” defense, despite its illegality in the clear letter and intent of the law, and easily understood through analogy of the laws governing an individual’s use of self-defense on the street.
Let’s embrace the courageous words of truth from Mr. Lincoln, and encourage ourselves to act against these treasonous and cowardly wars that have so-far killed over 4,000 American troops. They echo the advice of our Founding Fathers.
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Local perspective: Part of my professional duties as a teacher of economics and government is to produce competent adult citizenry. This includes realization that our nation’s policies and money are managed at a broad community level, and these issues have tremendous local impact. Of course, we all want human beings to be individually successful and enjoy their unique, beautiful and powerful self-expressions. Concurrently, we recognize our commitment to local success is strongly dependent upon the success of the community, and that government policy and economics are drivers.
Our status in early 21st Century human history is that we suffer from a long history in government and money of human interrelationship well-described as vicious antagonism. Governments frequently use war as a foreign policy, despite its illegality and dependent upon public ignorance, with horrific consequences. Economic policy is still created within a “Robber Baron” paradigm to concentrate money to an elite few families. Two examples:
1. National taxes effect you dearly, especially the tax to pay interest on the national debt. This costs the American public over $400 billion every year. This is $4,000 per year for every $50,000 of income. Do the math to understand your household’s tax burden for a monetary policy invented by banks for banks to create our money supply as debt. Your competence in this area contributes to our collective voice to simply shift monetary policy to easily pay the national debt, enjoy full employment, collectively save us over a trillion dollars every year, and finally realize what our brightest American minds have been advocating for centuries beginning with Benjamin Franklin. This would have unprecedented local benefits, and requires collective power to accomplish.
2. Ending poverty everywhere on our planet would cost just 0.7% of our income and save a million children’s lives every month. This human accomplishment will cause unimaginable joy at our local level.
To consider:
"If we are to have peace on earth, our loyalties must become ecumenical rather than sectional. Our loyalties must transcend our race, our tribe, our class, and our nation; and this means we must develop a world perspective. No individual can live alone, no nation can live alone and as long as we try, the more we are going to have war in the world. Now the judgment of God is upon us and we must either learn to live together as brothers or we are all going to perish together as fools."
--Inscription on Dr. Martin Luther King’s statue, Moorehouse College, Atlanta
"The day that hunger is eradicated from the earth, there will be the greatest spiritual explosion the world has ever known. Humanity cannot imagine the joy that will burst into the world on the day of that great revolution." -- poet Federico García Lorca
I appreciate your attention to these facts and encourage your further study and action consistent with your own self-expression. My recommendations:
Policy response: Gandhi and Martin Luther King advocated public understanding of the facts and non-cooperation with evil. I’m among hundreds who advocate:
- Understand the laws of war. These were legislated after WW2 and are crystal-clear that only self-defense, in a narrow legal meaning, can justify war. The current US wars are not even close to being lawful. Those involved with US military, government, and law enforcement have an oath to protect and defend the US Constitution, not “always place the mission first.” To fulfill their oath they must immediately refuse and end all orders associated with unlawful wars and military-related constant violation of treaties.
- End the transfer of trillions of American taxpayer money to banksters and admitted as “lost” by our military. End poverty through global cooperation to achieve the UN Millennium Goals by developed countries investing 0.7% of their income. Support global security through cooperation, dignity, justice, and freedom. Create a US Department of Peace to help.
- Communicate. Trust your unique, beautiful, and powerful self-expression to share as you feel appropriate. Understand that while many people are ready to embrace difficult facts, many are not. Anticipate that you will be attacked and prepare your virtuous response in the spirit of competition, just as you do in other fields.
- Prosecute the war leaders for obvious violation of the letter and spirit of US war laws. Because the crimes are so broad and deep, I recommend Truth and Reconciliation (T&R) to exchange full truth and return of stolen US assets for non-prosecution. This is the most expeditious way to understand and end all unlawful and harmful acts. Those who reject T&R are subject to prosecution.
Comments policy: I welcome questions and comments that are civil and pertain to the article topic. Impolite and impertinent comments will be deleted.
Please consider that I’m among hundreds of writers who have documented our own government’s disclosure of propaganda programs to support their wars. I suspect my articles are under such propagandistic attack from comments that use typical rhetorical fallacies to distract readers from the facts. I invite readers to sharpen their ability to discern such propaganda. They are characterized by a combination of: never addressing the facts, diverting attention through unsubstantiated belief in an alleged expert, irrelevant data, straw-man attack that distorts the facts, ad hominem attack of insults to the messenger, vile comments to repulse readers, and lies of omission and commission.
I will use such comments to point-out the propaganda or delete them at my discretion. Again, all relevant and polite questions, and factually accurate comments are welcome. As a professional educator I’m in agreement with my experience and research: we learn best from multiple perspectives in mutual commitment to understand the facts, see those facts from diverse points-of-view, and consider various policy proposals of what we should do.
For those involved in support of US government-sponsored disinformation, I invite you to consider the quality of human relationships you wish to work toward. National security and a brighter future is not a function of fear, manipulation, and control. Our best security follows cooperation, justice under the law, dignity, and freedom. Working for your best imagined self-expression of virtue may include a unique contribution from the inside of your agency. Public attraction to the stories of Star Wars and the Harry Potter books/movies recognize that our society’s jump to civilized relations for all of us might require support from people within the “dark side” acting as covert agents for building a brighter future. Another option is becoming a whistle-blower; Project Camelot is a popular venue for people in sensitive positions. Ultimately, I recommend a Truth and Reconciliation process to exchange full truth for no prosecution, explained in detail at the link. Please consider the wisdom of your own “Scrooge conversion” to act for the benefit of all humanity rather than your self-proclaimed controlling, manipulating, and loveless “masters.”
“Scrooge was better than his word. He did it all, and infinitely more; and to Tiny Tim, who did not die, he was a second father. He became as good a friend, as good a master, and as good a man, as the good old city knew, or any other good old city, town, or borough, in the good old world. Some people laughed to see the alteration in him, but he let them laugh, and little heeded them; for he was wise enough to know that nothing ever happened on this globe, for good, at which some people did not have their fill of laughter in the outset; and knowing that such as these would be blind anyway, he thought it quite as well that they should wrinkle up their eyes in grins, as have the malady in less attractive forms. His own heart laughed: and that was quite enough for him.”
Comments
in citing Lincoln, you make the case for the Bush administration. the states had the right to peaceable secession, whatever their intentions may have been. Lincoln then pre-emptively invaded the south. there was no attack by the confederates, he simply wanted to bring the "rogue states" back into the union.
from the cost of that war ( very conservative estimates putting the death toll to around 300,000 American lives), a despicable institution was ended.
does the end justify the means? if so, you're talking out of both sides of your mouth, and you need to wait and see the end result of the current situations (when and IF we ever were to leave) before you make such comparisons.
Cont: And this, after a history of decapitating Iran’s democracy from 1953 to 1979, and then supporting an invasion of their country from 1980 to 1988. This, after a history of supporting Saddam as our friendly dictator and then invading when he sold oil for other currencies than dollars while we support just as vicious African oil dictators today.
We see the ends in Iraq today; a million dead, deadly shortages of water and power, and depleted uranium crippling their population.
Go pimp for fascism and its ends elsewhere.
Funy liar and propagandist:
According to our current legal status the states do not have unilateral right of withdrawal (Texas v. White), liar, and at the time had no right to do so. The South began the war with an armed attack on Fort Sumter, liar.
Go discuss the Civil War elsewhere; your current argument for treason against the laws of the US right now is the important topic for Americans to understand
The US lied to invade Iraq, lies to threaten war with Iran, Bush is a central liar, and your advice is to let these unlawful Wars of Aggression continue while Americans and our men and women under oath to support and defend the US Constitution “wait,” perhaps forever you suggest, while the US tortures, orders extrajudicial assassinations of Americans, and takes $3-$5 trillion from US taxpayers in long-term costs while killing and crippling our soldiers. More…
i don't support the wars. i'm saying you brought up the case of Lincoln, whose actions, not words, fall more in line with Bush doctrine.
you, sir, are putting words in my mouth. i did not ever promote treason, i was offering a critique to your position.
Funy:
The so-called Bush (and now Obama) Doctrine is unlawful and treasonous as it initiates war on our soldiers and country while attacking this nation as we know it under the US Constitution. You promote this treason by allowing the option to “wait” while the mass-murders continue.
If you don’t support the wars, then be clear that they are unlawful (if you can see that clearly) and it is the duty of men and women in government and military to immediately refuse all pertaining orders and arrest those who issue them, if they are to honor their oath to the US Constitution.
Care to be that clear, or is your purpose to deflect attention from the known lies that began war in Iraq, the known lies that foment war with Iran, the conclusion of treason and response of government and military?
i apologize for not being more clear. i don't disagree with your stances, and if it seemed like i was deflecting it was simply the fact that i disagree with your using of Lincoln for that purpose.
like Bush, Lincoln suspended the writ of habeus corpus, among other violations of constitutional guarantees.
to me, Lincoln is one of the first modern day politicians- saying one thing, doing another (often the opposite of what was said), denying liberty for the sake of "safety".
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