How Much War is Enough?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_wars_involving_the_United_States

Normally I prefer not to use Wikipedia as in information source, but in this instance I think I'm safe.

The US, which gained its independence in a war, early on recognized the great value of it. War is good for business. Also, it unites the people against an enemy out there and takes the focus off of internal issues. And while people's attention is focused "out there" all kinds of chicanery can take place much closer to home. The ruling elite know this.

Whether a war is bona fide, or one manufactured out of thin air, like the Spanish American War, is irrelevent. What is important is the unifying mass psychology aspect of the word. Be it a "war on poverty", a "war on drugs", a "war on crime", a "war on terror", a "war on hate"....

Yep, "War" is a very powerful metaphor. Although the cynics among us no doubt notice how often the magical words "War on..." fail to deliver on their promises.

But just say "war" and people will begin to focus their energies on others rather than the real problem: which is themselves. That and perhaps even more importantly, at least from their perspectives, the czars, industrial and political, make million$. And all those peons laboring away in the forges of bureaucracy for their own subjugation, do so obediently and quiescently.

People are happy to have a supposedly righteous cause to fight for, and will undergo all sorts of privation in order to inflict suffering or even death on "the enemy". With the added benefit that war is a reliable cash cow for the elites. So yeah, a happy confluence of interests there.

Which is likely why the US has been involved in some kind of military action against others for about 95% of its history. And if you include the various "social wars" we've engaged in, the number is probably more like 99%.

Fitz