How will reducing our military and defense budget to increase spending in other areas help in the fight against war and terrorism?
As we read in this week's chapter, the budget for military and defense has skyrocketed over the years. The author does a great job explaining how the budgets are used to defend our country and also help others around the world when necessary. Having a strong military and all the equipment necessary to defend our citizens is a very important matter and should not be discounted. The US military budget is by far the highest in the world and in fact accounts for 43 percent of the world’s military spending. (War, 16.2) So why is the United States outspending other nations by billions of dollars and do we need to spend that much when others around the world only spend a fraction?
The author goes on to explain the downsides of all this spending and explains that we could use some of the money allocated for military and defense in better ways. He quotes Oscar Arias by saying: Americans are hurt when the defense budget squanders money that could be used to repair schools or to guarantee universal health care (Arias, 1999, p. A19). Throughout this entire course we have talked about lots of different social issues we face and some of the things we can do to alleviate these problems. This last chapter on war and terrorism is a perfect end to the semester in my opinion as it gives us the answer to all of our problems. I have gathered all the information I have learned throughout this course and have come to this conclusion.
This entire semester the most relevant answer for me to most of the social problems is education. We need to educate the next generations while they are still young and help them achieve their potential in life. We need to educate them about poverty, having a good education, the potential stresses and triggers that accompany family life, having safe and up to date schools, inequalities in society, discrimination, the pros and cons of alcohol and/or drug use, the prison system and the consequences that will follow them their entire lives if they end up there, sexism and the fact that there should be no discrimination when it comes to gender and identity, our elderly and making sure they are taken care of as it will be their turn one day, gaining good employment, having health benefits, air pollution, the environment, and the effects of war. All of these things can be taught and retaught throughout elementary school, middle school, high school, college, and beyond. We can hire more teachers to specialize in these particular problems that face our society so that future generations can be more aware and able to participate in being the solution. We can break cycles of ignorance, poverty, hate, and discrimination with education that is attainable for all no matter their background.
How can we accomplish all this you may think? We need to cut our military and defense spending to a reasonable amount that will still protect us as a nation and we use that money instead and pour it into our future generations and educate them to be better than we are now. Defense analysts who think this budget is too high have proposed specific cuts in weapons systems that are not needed and in military personnel at home and abroad who are not needed (Arquilla & Fogelson-Lubliner, 2011; Knight, 2011; Sustainable Defense Task Force, 2010). Making these cuts would save the nation from $100 billion to $150 billion annually without at all endangering national security. This large sum could then be spent to help meet the nation’s many unmet domestic needs. (Preventing War And Stopping Terrorism, 16.4)
If we start at the source, with young impressionable minds, and teach them their entire life how to be a good human being, they can be the difference in the world. Over time we will see that this investment will make our nation more tolerable, healthier, more educated, less poverty stricken, and a better society overall to battle anything that comes its way. There will be less conflict and we could battle terrorism at home and abroad with sharp minds that have been educated on how to take care of every American and not just those they look like or interact with. These are our future generations that will become our governors, elected officials, and presidents that will make decisions for the entire country and I would have a lot more faith in them knowing they have been educated about all the social problems in the world and the solutions that can solve them. We will have less wars, conflicts, and acts of terrorism when we come together as a global community to fight the same fights instead of each other.
https://open.lib.umn.edu/socialproblems/chapter/16-2-war/
Arias, O. (1999). Stopping America’s most lethal export. New York Times, June 23, p. A19.
https://open.lib.umn.edu/socialproblems/chapter/16-4-preventing-war-and-stopping-terrorism/
Arquilla, J., & Fogelson-Lubliner. (2011, March 13). The Pentagon’s biggest boondoggles. New York Times, p. WK12.
Knight, C. (2011). Strategic adjustment to sustain the force: A survey of current proposals. Cambridge, MA: Project on Defense Alternatives.
Sustainable Defense Task Force. (2010). Debt, deficits, & defense: A way forward. Cambridge, MA: Project on Defense Alternatives.
[Paper written for SOC 1020 class UVU Spring 2023]
Amy Brouwer . 2024 . All Right Reserved
