Letter to the Editor
Many say that the U.S. cannot provide good health care, education and other basic needs for its people. The U.S. is considered the richest country in the world so what prevents it from providing these basic services to its people?
Aside from giving the wealthy about $1 trillion in bail out money, the U.S. has spent over $1 trillion dollars on two invasions and occupations, and trillions more will probably be spent on these ventures. This is a waste of not only money but the lives of thousands of our young and over a million more people in Iraq and Afghanistan.
We are told that we need to protect ourselves from the terrorists in these countries. However, we have terrorism in our own country. Over 65,000 Americans are injured and 30,000 Americans are shot to death with guns each year right here in the U.S. (The Harvard Injury Research and Control Center)
We have terrorism in our own back yard yet we ignore this, and send our young abroad armed to the teeth to invade another countries to "stop terrorism," and then cry when they come home mentally sick, maimed for life and many times dead. Is this really what we want to fund with U.S. tax dollars?
We have yet to learn that the way to provide for peoples’ needs and stop terrorism is by doing good things to all, including those who do harm to us. This is what Christ told us to do. (Matt. 5)
If we truly wanted to help the people of Iraq and Afghanistan we would help them to get their basic needs of life. Acts of terror in the U.S. increase when Americans lack their basic needs, and the same is true in other countries. If we continue to threaten, maim and kill others we only exacerbate the problem. If we terrorize those who terrorize how can we say we oppose terrorism? If we say we care about the people and then take away their means for survival how credible are we?
Instead of spending trillions on weapons, invasions and training of our young to do violence to others I suggest we use that money to provide for the basic needs of people both here and abroad. Then and only then may we call ourselves followers of Christ.
Rev. Don Timmerman