Our tiger, by the Tail

THOSE BARBARIC EUROPEANS! Always fighting among themselves. thank heavens we americans are separated from them by a vast pond, otherwise we might be dragged into their senseless wars.

That attitude was typical of a patriotic american before world war two. Its amazing how littlw we americans used to love war. Our army and navy used to be small in times of peace, and we used to brag about their smallness, and our love of peace. Believe it or not, it was standard, before world war two, for the united states to maintain a small army and navy. Now there are no times of peace; america is permanently at was, with somebody, somewhere, anywhere will do, our war of the month.

Then came 1950, and Harry Truman's decision to keep up the size of the military leftover from the war, and the National Security Act of 1950, and the national security state we have had ever since. Senator Vandenberg of michigan said to Truman "if you sant to spend all this money on the military, you'd better scare the hell out of the american people." And thus we did, and still do.

"The Russinas are coming! The Russians are coming!" went out the  hue and cry, the alarm sounding from the hallowed corporate halls of washington, to the most remote regions of the fruited plain. Hint; the russians never were  coming, never could come, and never thought to. IN 1945, with twenty million dead, all cities and factories badly damaged or destroyed, they had to stay where they were, in the vacuum of eastern europe, to rest and rebuild. That takes a while. They're still doing it today. Don't hold your breath, the russinas will never get here. We can come out from beneath our wooden school desks now. 

Top military brass used to have little influence in the nation's capitol. Corporations which manufactured the weapons of war were often called "merchants of death". America was a peace loving nation, with a memory, and a conscience.

Now, the arms industry is one of the few which makes really big profits. they profit so greatly that they can afford to purchase political office for people who, when elected, keep their promises to scare the hell out of the american people, and to increase public expenditures for weaponry. These weapons are not yet paid for; we have decided to permit our grandchildren the honor.

The corporate controlled media feeds us fear and violence, to seduce and frighten us into accepting and embracing a permanent wartime economy and security state. Throw in enough sex to make sure the violence and weapons seem plenty sexy. that always works.

At heart, the american people are tired of the mighty global empire they have had handed to them, but they know what to do about it, other than to turn on television, and turn off all thoughts about the tiger thay have by the tail.