AMERICA AT WAR FOREVER?

Will the United States of America, forever be at war? No matter whom you are, from whatever country I am sure this thought has crossed your mind at one time or another. I mean there comes a time when it has to stop. How many enemies can one country have? And for a country with so many religious (Christian) people you would think that someone would have asked or told the ‘powers that be’, to ‘turn the other cheek’ by now. I am a South African and I am 34 years old. As far as back I can remember I have always associated this great nation (The USA) with war. I think back to early history lessons in junior school talking about being America at war. I started taking notice when my teachers taught me about World War 2. Then it was Vietnam: this war has certainly been a great part of the American psyche. From there it was the ‘Cold war’ with the Soviets. When that was done it was time for Saddam Hussein and Iraq and the first Gulf War. The second Gulf War has not been concluded yet, although we are constantly told of a troop withdrawal then never seems to quite materialize. Afghanistan followed quickly after Iraq. Does the bloodshed never end? When I left high school and started to read more, to my horror I discovered that these were not the only wars that the US had been involved in. It is well documented that America had a small role in the conclusion of World War 1. But then I learnt of The Korean War and also America’s involvement in wars across the South American continent. More and more details of this involvement ,especially that of the C.I.A. and other covert operations, are still coming out to this day. What is up? What makes this even more astonishing, is that Hollywood seems to be a major part of the storyline. Hollywood together with the media machine have glorified and defended America’s use of force , even when it has been unwarranted. Wikipedia has 57 pages of American war movies. That’s 57 pages. This is mind boggling; to say the least. To be fare not all of these movies support or justify war, not by any means. But they serve, whether intended or not, to normalize this constant war machine. This intrigues and terrifies me at the same time. Eventually I got to find out about the business side of war, the penny dropped, and it started to make a lot more sense. According to the Washington Post( January 7 2013) America’s Defense budget has, since 2001, jumped from $287 Billion to $530 Billion, up till now. And that is excluding the costs of the Afghanistan and Iraq 2 wars. This is completely mind boggling. Absolutely amazing to be exact. This is what led me to write this article. I saw these defence budget figures on the net and I was taken aback. Has war now become a business? This is a rhetorical question. Of course it has. What amazes me as an outsider is that so few American citizens oppose this. It has become normal. This is truelly frightening. It just makes me wonder of what will happen when the Muslim countries stop constituting a threat to America’s ‘National Security’. What will happen then? Will the US come knocking on my country with a few tanks, or maybe drones? At this point I just have to ask: WILL THERE EVER BE ANY PEACE???

Happy Birthday Nelson Mandela

It is July 18th 2013. 95 years ago a great man was born: Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela.
Over the past month you have been of ill health. Sick and bedridden in that hospital in Pretoria. We in South Africa, and the whole world, have been thinking of you. We extend our thoughts and prayers to you and your whole family, in this time of need. We are your your children, and we love you.
But this is also a very special day. It is a day to celebrate the incredible life that you have lived and all that you have achieved. Happy birthday Tata!
You have lived a long and extremely challenged life. You have had a good innings though, and you have shown us all how to live. You are an inspitarion to us and millions of people all the world. When your time comes to leave this earth, rest assured that you will be remembered for eternity.
Once again as one of your children Madiba I would like to say: HAPPY BIRTHDAY SIR!!!