Hauptmann Kauffman
October 4th, 2007, 09:32 PM
Could you guys critique my essay? Its ready for my teacher, but Its not due until Teusday. i would love it if some other could critique it too!:D
“Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired, signifies in the final sense a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed. “
Dwight D. Eisenhower
That famous quote, to me, describes the twisted priorities of the major world powers such as the U.S. Such gigantic nations spend only a small percentage of funds on schools, cures for ailments, and help for the poor. And a huge percentage of the rest of the nation’s funds go towards funding current wars, and maintaining war readiness.
For example, the US spends 51% of its GDP on the military, and only 49% on education and other social programs. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have cost us $315 billion up to September 2007. Those funds could have been spent to help find cures for cancer, AIDS, and other deadly diseases. It could have helped fight poverty, and help expand opportunities for people of less developed countries.
Congress is only worsening this problem. In past years, Congress has given the Pentagon over $30 Billion more than it asked for, while cutting back substantially on job training, environmental, housing and health programs. In 1980, the US spent $2 on the Pentagon for every $1 it spent on aid to cities. Today, over a decade later, the Pentagon gets over $4 to the $1 we spend on aid to cities.
For another example, after the Cold War, Russia reduced its military spending by three-fourths. The U.S., under the Reagan administration, kept our post cold war spending at cold war levels, and over time, the budget slowly sank to 83% of what it was during the height of the cold war. But in 1993, Clinton passed the "Bottom-Up Review,” which replaced our Cold War enemies with new ones, such as Iran, Libya, and North Korea, so we could keep our military spending at the high levels they are today. That’s not counting our current Iraq and Afghanistan wars. I can only imagine how amazing this world would be if that money had been spent towards education and other public functions.
In summary, Eisenhower’s quote means many things to me. It reveals the obvious imbalances in U.S. spending. The Gargantuan amounts of money accorded to the military, compared to the miniscule amounts provided to education, reducing poverty, and fighting disease, really doesn’t help me view the U.S. as a people-loving, war-hating nation. I hope that we can realize what is truly important in this world, instead of spending billions on the military and defense.
Thanks for your help!:D
“Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired, signifies in the final sense a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed. “
Dwight D. Eisenhower
That famous quote, to me, describes the twisted priorities of the major world powers such as the U.S. Such gigantic nations spend only a small percentage of funds on schools, cures for ailments, and help for the poor. And a huge percentage of the rest of the nation’s funds go towards funding current wars, and maintaining war readiness.
For example, the US spends 51% of its GDP on the military, and only 49% on education and other social programs. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have cost us $315 billion up to September 2007. Those funds could have been spent to help find cures for cancer, AIDS, and other deadly diseases. It could have helped fight poverty, and help expand opportunities for people of less developed countries.
Congress is only worsening this problem. In past years, Congress has given the Pentagon over $30 Billion more than it asked for, while cutting back substantially on job training, environmental, housing and health programs. In 1980, the US spent $2 on the Pentagon for every $1 it spent on aid to cities. Today, over a decade later, the Pentagon gets over $4 to the $1 we spend on aid to cities.
For another example, after the Cold War, Russia reduced its military spending by three-fourths. The U.S., under the Reagan administration, kept our post cold war spending at cold war levels, and over time, the budget slowly sank to 83% of what it was during the height of the cold war. But in 1993, Clinton passed the "Bottom-Up Review,” which replaced our Cold War enemies with new ones, such as Iran, Libya, and North Korea, so we could keep our military spending at the high levels they are today. That’s not counting our current Iraq and Afghanistan wars. I can only imagine how amazing this world would be if that money had been spent towards education and other public functions.
In summary, Eisenhower’s quote means many things to me. It reveals the obvious imbalances in U.S. spending. The Gargantuan amounts of money accorded to the military, compared to the miniscule amounts provided to education, reducing poverty, and fighting disease, really doesn’t help me view the U.S. as a people-loving, war-hating nation. I hope that we can realize what is truly important in this world, instead of spending billions on the military and defense.
Thanks for your help!:D