If only we had
listened to George W.
No, not the most recent iteration of George W. I mean his predecessor and widely regarded as the Father of the United States, George Washington.
Washington knew a thing or two about war, having fought in one as a junior officer, and then leading the entire American army during the War for Independence. He had been thoroughly educated about the politics and
opportunism of war, not to mention it's flat out draining of resources, in lives, finances, emotions and otherwise.
So when Smedley Butler, a highly decorated Marine general wrote a short pamphlet titled War Is a Racket in 1935, folks took notice. Just as Washington warned about the dangers of overcommitting a nation's military through "entangling alliances", Butler echoed a lot of the same sentiments, even quoting Washington a few times in his
book.
War
Is a Racket has been an important resource for me in clarifying my own understanding of war and proper uses of a nation's military, so when I came across it almost by accident recently, I thought I may as well record it and put it on the podcast.
Be warned: this book contains a good deal of cynicism, albeit from one who has earned the right to be critical of war in general, and the U.S. military in particular. I say this because I strongly believe in the Law of
Attraction, meaning that which we put our focus ultimately becomes our reality.
It is easy to read or listen to something of this nature and become pessimistic. That is not my intention at all in sharing this. My hope is that you'll become educated, and like General Butler, come up with your own creative solutions to the problem of war-profiteering.
And what a problem
it is.
Here's the episode for you: https://jamesdnewcomb.com/crave047
One more thing: If you'd like a PDF version of War Is a Racket, I've prepared it with my business JNS Media's packaging. If you'd like the PDF, just reply to
this email and I'll get it over to you right away.