Richard Hutton says We could have an expanded Peace Corps sending thousands of young Americans throughout the world as goodwill ambassadors
Silence Of The Democrats
February 21, 2004
What is so sacrosanct about the $400 billion-plus of the so-called defense budget - a 7 percent increase over last year's allocation, which does not include a penny for the continuing war in Afghanistan and Iraq?
That addition will come later, we are told. Not one of the contenders for the Democratic presidential nomination has challenged this budget. Is it possible this reliance on war as defense will be their policy also?
President Bush has already identified himself as a wartime president. Perhaps it is time to rename the Defense Department as the War Department and Donald Rumsfeld as secretary of war. Reputable military consultants have often advised that a $200 billion annual budget would be more than adequate for defense needs. When we reach $400 billion, we have a budget for war.
Just think how that extra $200 billion could be spent if it was not allocated for war. We could have an expanded Head Start program rather than the planned contraction of what we now have. We could have smaller classes in all schools which would do far more for the No Child Left Behind program than additional testing.
We could have health care for the 44 million Americans who have none and prescription help for seniors and all Americans. We could have an expanded Peace Corps sending thousands of young Americans throughout the world as goodwill ambassadors. We could recompense them for a couple of years of service with adequate financial help for their educational futures. We would have a friendlier world and a more adequate partnership with all countries - something that war and more killing will never accomplish.
Perhaps we should remember that the United States has only 5 percent of the world's population and that percentage is decreasing. Being such a small minority, we can dominate the world by force for only another decade or so. Our manufacturing superiority has already disappeared. Our technological and educational advantages are being minimized. Our future and that of the entire world depend upon peace and cooperation among all countries, all races, and all religions and cultures.
Richard B. Hutton, Southington
