Finding Enemies

THE NORTH KOREANS are always trying to make bombs and fire rockets, and that sort of thing, and usually none of it works very well. The bombs never get built, and the rockets often fall over on the launching pad and explode, much like the american rockets did in the early years of the space program.

But this time evidently they got one to work right. A long range one, in fact. And, not unsurprisingly, the united states is pitching a fit about it. The Department of state said something to the effect that north korea can either beef up its military with advanced weapons, or feed its people, but not both.

Of course, hillary clinton has been ill the past couple of days, so no telling what's gonna come out of the state department, or who's going to be responsible for it. A choice between guns or butter? Like, really?  

Look who's talking! The united states of america has forty million people in poverty, and a one trillion dollar annual "defense" (code for "offense") budget. The united states is looking more like a third world country each and every day, with a stout wealthy aristocracy, a bloated military, hardly any middle class at all, and masses of impoverished peasants.

In regard to the great eternal choice between guns and butter, the united states has long since made her choice, and the choice is guns, and world domination. Poor little old north korea is just trying to scare up enough trouble to frighten the world community to help it pull itself out of its impoverished funk.

True, it (north korea) would indeed be much better off to invest its meager resources in the staples of life to keep its people from going hungry, but so would the rest of us, wouldn't we? Do we the people of the united states really want a trillion dollar military and a sixteen trillion dollar national debt, or would we prefer a bit more domestic prosperity?

We could maybe vote on it, but our corporate masters would never allow that. After all, military procurement means corporate profits for the fat cats who manufacture and sell the shiny new expensive weapons systems.

Something like half the world's wealth is poured into military, and there is no sign of slowing down. Meanwhile both american military-corporate political parties, which is really one party, the party of corporate control and property, continue to haggle over exactly which programs for the people will be sacrificed at the alter of american emperial military supremacy.

In the meantime, the year steadily ebbs away, the "fiscal cliff", which is code for keeping more assistance away from the meaningless masses, looms ever closer. But one thing is certain: whether we all jump off the cliff or not, those evil north korean communists will be held in check by the arsenal of democracy.

You must have an enemy somewhere, anywyere, to keep the people scared, and the military well stocked. And the more the merrier.