Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsWar, What Is It Good For? Absolutely Nothing. Literally
The last 15 years demonstrate that no matter the military strength at your command, war no longer translates into power.
It may be hard to believe now, but in 1970 the protest song War, sung by Edwin Starr, hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. That was at the height of the Vietnam antiwar movement and the song, written by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong, became something of a sensation. Even so many years later, who could forget its famed chorus? War, what is it good for? Absolutely nothing. Not me. And yet heartfelt as the song was then War, it aint nothing but a heartbreaker. War, its got one friend, thats the undertaker it has little resonance in America today.
But heres the strange thing: in a way its authors and singer could hardly have imagined, in a way we still cant quite absorb, that chorus has proven eerily prophetic in fact, accurate beyond measure in the most literal possible sense. War, what is it good for? Absolutely nothing. You could think of American war in the twenty-first century as an ongoing experiment in proving just that point.
Looking back on almost 15 years in which the United States has been engaged in something like permanent war in the Greater Middle East and parts of Africa, one thing couldnt be clearer: the planets sole superpower with a military funded and armed like none other and a defense budget larger than the next seven countries combined (three times as large as the number two spender, China) has managed to accomplish again, quite literally absolutely nothing, or perhaps (if a slight rewrite of that classic song were allowed) less than nothing.
http://billmoyers.com/story/war-what-is-it-good-for-absolutely-nothing-literally/
Bernie is right, the era of regime change and war as a first option is over. Another great read by Bill Moyers. Thought I'd drop it here to share. Enjoy!
InfoView thread info, including edit history
TrashPut this thread in your Trash Can (My DU » Trash Can)
BookmarkAdd this thread to your Bookmarks (My DU » Bookmarks)
2 replies, 798 views
ShareGet links to this post and/or share on social media
AlertAlert this post for a rule violation
PowersThere are no powers you can use on this post
EditCannot edit other people's posts
ReplyReply to this post
EditCannot edit other people's posts
Rec (3)
ReplyReply to this post
2 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight:
NoneDon't highlight anything
5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
War, What Is It Good For? Absolutely Nothing. Literally (Original Post)
NorthCarolina
Feb 2016
OP
thereismore
(13,326 posts)1. It's a great racket. nt
1939
(1,683 posts)2. We should have stayed out of WWI and WWII
Those wars never accomplished anything.
We could have saved one hell of a lot of lives if we had not fought the Civil War and just "let the erring sisters go".