WHAT SHALL WE SACRIFICE FOR NATIONAL SECURITY?

By Marjorie Musser Mikels

Shall we sacrifice our freedom, our elderly, our youth, our health and the heavens themselves for "national security" in the "war on terrorism"?

Since 9-11, some Americans hide in fear and silence, afraid to fly, shop, open mail, and, worst of all, to participate freely and openly in our democracy. Many feel isolated and depressed as we are sent the message that only blind acceptance of the five trillion dollar defense budget that is to be spent over the next ten years is "patriotic". Any mention that we are sacrificing our freedom, our elderly, our youth, our health and the heavens themselves is seen as "supporting the terrorists". Recent rulings enable FBI undercover agents to infiltrate public meetings, even our church services, making taxpayers even more afraid to question how our own dollars are being spent. Social security and education funding is slashed, clinics are closed and public health care is becoming more scarce as public funds are diverted to the use of the military-industrial complex by elected representatives such as the Texas-oil financed, twenty two-year incumbent Congressman David Dreier (CA-26th CD). (Dreier also received heavy financing from Enron whose machinations contributed to California's energy crisis, and caused thousands to lose their hard-earned company pensions).

Who is going to pay for these massive military expenditures (which, by the way, have proven to be completely ineffectual against a few determined individuals carrying only boxcutters)? This vast military "defense" against "terrorists" does not come cheaply. Are we to allow a few military corporate moguls to garner untold profits while millions of Americans sacrifice their Constitutional rights and liberty, health care, education, social security, clean air and water? As we awaken from the horror of 9-11, we wonder if this is a time when questioning of these policies is judged, at best, "unpatriotic" and, at the worst, justification for incarceration without due process? Will we then, out of fear, silently acquiesce to the sacrifice of all that is most important to us, and write a blank check for "national security"?

SHALL WE SACRIFICE OUR FREEDOM?

The USA Patriot Act, hundreds of pages in length, runs roughshod over our most important rights and liberties. The Bill of Rights as enacted by our founders protects us from the police powers of our own government. The Patriot Act was pushed quickly through Congress before those voting had time to read it. It essentially gives police the power to search and seize private property without probable cause. Persons may also be detained and held without due process. Surveillance powers are enhanced to the point that even attorney-client conferences may now be "bugged".

There is no doubt that the events of September 11, 2001, represented a gross failure of our intelligence agencies to protect the American people and that the murder of thousands of our citizens was a heinous crime. But our response to that tragedy is incomprehensible.

The agencies responsible for failure to act on information available at that time, and to intervene to protect us, have not only never been fully investigated, but have been rewarded with billions more of our money. Worse yet, our Attorney General and FBI Director are using those intelligence failures as grounds to further infringe on our civil rights and privacy.

The alleged criminals, such as Omar and Osama Bin Laden, have never been brought to justice in a court of law. In fact, our President has (for the first time in history) unsigned a treaty--the International Criminal Courts treaty--which, had it been ratified by the Senate, could possibly have served as a forum for the prosecution of these crimes against humanity.

The action we did take, bombing Afghanistan, of which country not one of the hijackers was a citizen, does not in any way appear to make us more secure. Nor does spending almost $500 Billion on weapons systems, such as the $200 Billion awarded recently to Lockheed-Martin for F-35 Fighter Jets, truly enhance our security against suicide bombers.

Benjamin Franklin once said, "A society that would trade a little liberty for a little order will deserve neither and lose both". Our founders fought and died for the freedom and order guaranteed by our Constitution. Let us not lose both.

SHALL WE SACRIFICE THE ELDERLY?

If we let them, to meet the anticipated defense-spending budget over the next ten years, Congress will dip into our Social Security trust funds in the amount of Two Trillion Dollars. This will leave little money for prescription drugs, medical care and nursing homes. Most industrialized countries of the world have free universal health care for their citizens. In the United States, we have the most sophisticated weaponry, but not enough money to provide for the basic security, living and medical needs of our elderly. This situation promises only to worsen if we continue to spend more of our tax dollars on military while seniors are faced with the ghastly choice between life-sustaining medicine or food, as many cannot afford both.

SHALL WE SACRIFICE THE YOUNG?

In the United States, more money is spent for police and prisons that for colleges and teachers. Qualified teachers are being laid off and replaced by persons less qualified who can be paid less. A school's funding is now reduced if the students do poorly on the new standardized tests. Of course, homeless and other at-risk students tend to score poorly due to hunger and unsafe living conditions. These students are the ones who can least afford under-prepared, low-paid teachers and insufficient books, materials and supplies. 20% of our country's children now live in poverty. Let us not increase the number of poor children by decreasing educational services to finance the war machine.

SHALL WE SACRIFICE OUR HEALTH?

The manufacture, proliferation and deployment of our weapons of mass destruction and the waste generated thereby causes cancer, mutation and disease. Lockheed Martin, Aerojet and other weapon manufacturers have polluted our water with perchlorate and trichloroethylene that is difficult, if not impossible, to remove. The military contractors consume billions of our tax dollars for their profit, but bear no liability for the cleanup of our precious resources, or for the long-term health impact on our citizens. The Department of Defense is now demanding laws exempting them from all environmental laws.

In May, the House of Representatives (including Congressman Dreier) voted to allow the nuclear industry to transport thousands of tons of nuclear waste, from dismantled power plants and weapons manufacturers, on our highways and railroads to Yucca Mountain, a tunnel in a volcanic mountain in N/W Nevada. Waste will be shipped in through the Alameda Corridor, and then east on the I-10 and north on the I-15 freeways, potentially exposing millions of our citizens to cancer and mutation-causing ionizing radiation. People do not immediately contract cancer upon initial exposure. The incubation period can be anywhere from two to fifty years after exposure. The long-range health effects on our population will be staggering. Each of us must contact our Senators and demand they vote against Yucca Mountain and the accompanying "Hiroshima Highway" when that legislation comes before the Senate in June or July.

Thus, while we are building weapons for the mass destruction of peoples overseas, we are also poisoning ourselves. The American people deserve clean air and water and an affordable health care system. These treasures, necessary to sustain our lives and those of our children must not be sacrificed in order to finance more weaponry.

SHALL WE SACRIFICE OUR WORLD?

We are presently provoking a massive new global arms race. We surround China with our missiles and in May resumed bombing Iraq. Most of the world is beginning to notice that the "evil" countries we are targeting for retribution are those rich with oil, natural gas and other resources that our largest corporations wish to exploit. We spend more for this "defense" than almost all of the other countries on the earth combined. Sadly, and ironically, none of our weapons of mass destruction will stop the kind of attack we suffered on September 11th.

Howard Zinn, noted historian, recently said: "We must now rethink and reassess our strategies in the world; we must use our resources for humanitarian purposes instead of military purposes, so that the United States may not be looked upon as a threat around the world, but as a powerful, yet benign friend." Let us be a friend and not sacrifice the world to the gods of greed and never-ending military buildup.

SHALL WE SACRIFICE THE HEAVENS?

NASA and The United States Space Command are now planning to put nuclear and orbiting laser weapons in space. According to the Space Command's publication, "Vision for 2020", our military intends to dominate Space. They are already working with certain members of Congress to violate international treaties, so that with the assistance of the Space Command and our tax dollars, private corporations may mine the planets, the moon and asteroids for huge profits from rare minerals and helium. In order to finance these operations, the Space Command intends to cut the "fat" from social security, medical and Medicaid systems. Legislation has been introduced which would make commercial activities in space tax-exempt for the giant corporations who will be profiting from the mining of the heavens, while our populace sinks deeper into poverty, homelessness and starvation. This is insane.

WE HOLD THE SOLUTION

Let us not then remain silenced and paralyzed with fear as our lives and all that we hold dear is swallowed up in the momentum of the war machine. Let us honor the bravery and courage of our country's founders by using our great system of democracy wisely. We must not waste our most cherished power, our votes. We must determine to elect officials who will represent personally the interests of the American people, not greedy, out-of control corporations and the incumbents who empower them.