Choose: guns or butter

Elaine alerted me that our local PBS station is asking its viewers to contact their Washington representative, as federal support for PBS is on the chopping block.  She included the phone number for me to call.  (Isn't she a wonderful friend?)

Guns or butter.  That's the example used in economics.  Which do you favor: three more dead in Afghanistan or Masterpiece Theater?  "That's not a fair example," you say.  My reply?  "It is."  These are the very choices that our Congress is debating now.

Let Egypt be an example to us.  Let the people of each country be self-determined.  Bring our troops home.  There will be plenty of money to provide health care for all, fund social security, fund pensions, and much more.

What would YOU do with $1 trillion?  Would you protect the future of our children?

What Would You Do With $1 Trillion?

by Hannah Lythe 02-16-2011 from the Sojourners website

 

The United States has already spent $3 trillion on the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. With no end in sight for Afghanistan, and ongoing operations in Iraq, this number will only increase, hurtling its way to becoming the most expensive war in the history of the United States (chasing WWII, which was almost $5 trillion with inflation).

What would you do with $1 trillion?

The National Priorities Project and the American Friends Service Committee asked youth around the country to answer this question by making a three-minute film in their own community. You can view the winning videos of the contest at the AFSC website. I encourage you to listen to their stories. Each video answers the question from a unique perspective, incorporating each student's own interpretation. Whether using pure journalism or spoken word, each story highlights a generation which is keenly aware of how our money could be better spent.

In my activist experience I have watched dozens of videos, read articles, and stared at countless photographs. I scour through fact sheets, charts, arguments, and briefs. I have listened to arguments on both sides of aisle, but nothing was as affecting as these three-minute videos of young men and women grappling with the inequities of war and challenging themselves to understand how Congress keeps inflating our defense budget....
 
As we’ve recently seen in Egypt, the youth of a nation are often the rhythm which propels a movement. Maybe Congress should start listening to the young men and women in these films as they spend the next couple of weeks discussing the upcoming federal budget proposal.

Hannah Lythe is a policy and outreach associate at Sojourners.