Warmongering
1. A Quick Overview
The U.S. industrial military complex is drowning in federal cash while our people are hungry, lack medical care and can’t pay the rent. Are we simply barbarians? Do we choose war over community?
The Free Republic of California Constitution and Budget provide the ‘weaponry’ for change.
Avoiding warmongering begins in the Mission of the Constitution:
We, the People of California, in order to form a more perfect and peaceful society, establish justice, ensure tranquility, preserve the earth, promote the general welfare, and secure our collective liberty and posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the Free Republic of California.
Article 4, Section 4, sets a high standard for the government to send our citizens into harmful and violent situations:
Decisions on California’s participation in matters of war are made by Act approved by a two-thirds majority of the Congress and signed by the President. It is the responsibility of the Department of Peace to consider all routes of diplomacy, assist in all manners of non-violent protest, and assist in amnesty and immigration to California for those at risk in war torn areas prior to deploying any armed force to a foreign arena of war.
Article 4, Section 9 limits the freewheeling power of the Presidency, entrusting significant duties to the Department of Peace:
The President of California is the commander-in-chief of the defense forces and appoints the officers of the defense forces, to the extent allowed in this Constitution and under the oversight of the Department of Peace.
The Department of Peace is responsible for the international obligations of the State as well as oversight of defense. Domestically, public safety duties of the Executive branch are under the jurisdiction of the Department of Public Safety, which shall, as appropriate, work in coordination with any relevant intelligence agencies and local officials and in conjunction with the Department of Justice.
The Budget addresses the financial structure of the military directly. Maintaining a large force, while adjusting priorities and funding to social services, education and other community programming.
It allocates nearly 23 billion dollars to defense spending, a reduction of seventy-five percent from California’s support of the U.S. military. That level of spending still would rank California in the top fifteen countries in the world. While the savings would allow for many new public services, such as, universal healthcare, free higher education and low income housing support.
It is possible to become a peaceful, diplomatic and fruitful nation, while keeping our citizenry safe.
2. Influence Your Representatives
Write them all. It takes five seconds.
Here is some suggested text to use:
Dear _______________,
For over fifty years, we’ve spent the bulk of U.S. discretionary federal revenues supporting the military industrial complex Eisenhower warned us about. The annual U.S. military budget is currently almost seven times that of the second biggest military in the world.
As our soldiers are sent across the world to be murdered or become a murderer, we are struggling to survive and provide for our country. Poverty is rampant, the middle class is disappearing, the roads are crumbling and healthcare costs are crippling. Yet, every year with bi-partisan support, the military is gifted a blank check to build bombs.
We cannot be defined by warmongering. Please think of our citizenry and advocate for the allocation of the discretionary budget monies to support healthcare, employment, infrastructure and education.
Pacifism is good trouble.
Sincerely yours,
X
