Addicted to War

this is really powerful.

I spent the first hour at work glued to reading Addicted to War. I’m left with now what? Wanting to send it to all the military supporters I know, but even if they knew, how would that empower them to change, quit their jobs? leave military service? What is the action step for us to encourage stepping away from this addiction and creating a new way?

I wish there was an option in the tax code to allow one to preference where their tax money was spent. Its so frustrating to know that of the couple thousand dollars I pay in taxes every year, over half will go to defense (which is really offense) and we don’t have a choice about it. Its not a very empowering space to be!

At the same time, I’m left with all the anger the book described. Widows and orphans angry at the US, US military/politicians angry at foreigners who don’t live according to their dictates, anti-war protester angry at the deaths of friends and family. There is so much anger. I don’t want to add to that, b/c I know it is part of the problem of why we can’t figure out another way, b/c we’re so focused on retaliation and violence. Peaceful co-existence can’t exist in that consciousness.

So how can we move to a place of forgiveness, real peace, compassion and love? Yes I know the internal is the place to start. I guess that is what our lives our meant for. To encourage the development of internal peace practices that can inform a new social policy, foreign policy and collective, sustainable society without war. I see that it is possible when I stand in this space. I see that many are shifting and that 200 years of war has brought this country to its overdose point. We are shifting and that is good. I trust enough of us will be there to catch the others and provide direction when the curtain falls on this addiction.