[P2P-F] Fwd: Peace Culture or Economics

Sat Mar 28 12:56:48 CET 2015

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Bob Reuschlein <bobreuschlein at gmail.com>
Date: Fri, Mar 27, 2015 at 11:47 PM
Subject: Peace Culture or Economics
To:

Link to send to others by:

https://bobreuschlein.wordpress.com/2015/03/27/peace-culture-or-economics/

*Peace Culture or Economics*

by Dr. Bob Reuschlein

The problem with Marcella’s article on the Culture of War or Peace is that
military economics often precedes and causes many of the cultural
conditions to be amplified. So this press release is a point by point
addition to the seventeen quotes on the chart in the Marsella article:
Marsella, A.J. (2011). The United States of America: “A Culture of War.”
International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 35, 714-728. Anthony J.
Marsella, Ph.D., Professor *Emeritus*, University of Hawaii, Honolulu,
Hawaii 96822

Going clockwise around the Marcella chart he makes the following 17 points,
which I have bolded, followed by my comments on each point in non bolded
text.  The ninth point, the large military budgets would be my main point
and would be the main cause of the bad points or obstacle to the good
points Marcella lists.

*1)  Peace, Non-Violence, Diplomacy, Conflict Resolution, Social
Responsibilities and Duties Taught at all Education Levels*

It is an excellent thing to teach these things, but they do not often stop
a military industrial complex determined to perpetuate its existence
through wars.

*2)  Lobbying and Lobbyist Activities Reduced and Monitored. Special
Interest Groups Transparent*

Lobbying is part of democracy, but excessive lobbying by commercial
interests seeking large government favors needs to be curbed.  Journalist
and forensic accountant Greg Palast has found that each dollar of lobbying
or campaign donations get returned about 350 times that amount in
government favors, tax breaks, or spending.  Since 1978 when I began
following politics in earnest the growth of campaign spending has been
exponential, doubling again every few years.  Then Japan was famous for
money politics, now I doubt anywhere else is nearly as bad as in America.
I saw the death of investigative journalism in the Reagan years in Eugene
as one radio station that covered all four political forums in the early
eighties was covering none in the late eighties.  Even then their were
44,000 lawyers in DC to about 2000 journalists to cover 535 congresspersons
and the president, with about 5000 congressional staff and 15,000
government information officers of which 4500 were from the pentagon.
Congress is hopelessly outnumbered then and it’s much worse today.

*3)  Isms (e.g., Sexism, Racism, Ageism) are to be Resolved. Diversity is
prized**.*

This will help, but high military budgets and the social decay of empire
fights against this process.  Politicians use the fear based brain of half
the electorate to foment division and seek expensive national security and
local police security solutions to problems.

*4)  Populace is Active and Participatory in Citizen Affairs. Grass Roots*

We in Wisconsin had over ten thousand a day for four weeks including three
peak Saturdays of 40,000 to 150,000 and a recall election, but nothing
stopped Walker from stripping labor rights from teachers and public
workers.  15 million world wide protested the Iraq War February 15, 2003
and it did not stop Bush or even stop his re-election.  Remember that
Gandhi and King were both shot to death after leading successful nonviolent
revolutions.  Still this is a good goal, not a panacea.

*5)  Collective, Sociocentric, and Ecocentric Selves are Accepted*

Yes we must make room for all.

*6)  Leaders are Principled, Transparent, Open, Guided by Law and Ethics,
Responsible to People*

I Haven’t seen much of this, lately, in the advanced stages of decline of a
high military spending empire.  Poll after poll shows the public wants one
set of issues, while the donor class gets what it wants instead.  Many
politicians are unprincipled, opaque, guided by greed and donors.

*7)  Sustainability and **“Small is Beautiful**” are Ethics*

In some parts of America this happens, but much more so in low military
Europe.

*8)  Wealth Sharing, Reduced Salary Gaps and Wealth Accumulation,
Charitable Donations Encouraged*

We are getting the charitable donations, but the wealth divide, that has
quadrupled the 1% income compared to the 99% rest of us the last thirty
years from 1979 to 2007, continues to grow significantly since the 2008
recession.  High military spending correlates stronger than income
inequality, using the *Spirit Level* (2010) statistics.  This all started
with #1 nuclear weapons contractor General Electric spokesperson Ronald
Reagan getting elected president.  Actually may have started with the Lewis
Powell 1971 memo to organize industry against all the liberal successes of
the New Deal to Great Society period.  The reaction to the post Vietnam
cutting the military in half was to set up think tanks like the Heritage
Foundation and the American Enterprise Institute and the lobby group
American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC).

*9)  Carriers of Militarism Discouraged (e.g., arms sales, large military
budgets, gun laws)*

The arms sales are a trivial fraction of the large military budget, and the
legend of the NRA only grows under the stagnancy, fear, and lack of sharing
growth with the middle class.   This is due to the advanced stage of
decline of a high military spending empire.  Meanwhile our police are
acting more and more like an occupying army.

*10)  Religions Honor Differences and Encourage Knowing And Respecting
Others*

Wisconsin Governor Walker has been caught on tape talking about “divide and
conquer” strategies to achieve his goals.  Militarists love to use religion
as a wedge issue.

*11)  Spirituality as Connection, Awe, Reverence for Life and Others is
Important. *

*Prizing of Engi (i.e., Interdependecency)*

With all the religions trying to achieve world peace, why don’t we have it
by now?  High military spending and empire is the answer.

*12)  Democracy Considered Standard But Not Imposed*

We can see in Iraq and the Arab Spring how premature attempts at democracy
can be disastrous.  Many institutions are necessary for democracy,
including a free press and humble politicians like George Washington.

*13)  Cooperation & Collaboration are Important*

But these arise best in an achievement oriented society not a power
oriented society, meaning low military spending enhances these
characteristics and high military spending enhances authoritarian control
instead.

*14)  Peace, Harmony, Social Interest, & Justice at Person & Societal
Levels*

All wonderful things destroyed by high military spending control oriented
empire societies.

*15)  National Department or Ministry of Peace.*

The big blunder was the 1947 National Security Act renaming the War
Department the Department of Defense.  The CIA was created in that Act
leading to covert operations abroad creating endless wars and Operation
Mockingbird subverting the domestic press.  Now the allies of those
institutions are determined to undermine the United Nations.  We have the
National Institute of Peace thanks to peace Republican Senator Mark
Hatfield of Oregon when he was Appropriations Committee Chair from 1981 to
1986. Reagan’s first military budget passed 99-1, he was the one.

*16)  Peaceful and Non-Violent Entertainment are Promoted *

I once heard that the average child saw 18,000 murders on television
growing up.  That was twenty years ago.  How many people do they kill on
video games today?  That’s worse.

*17)  Hegemonic Globalization Discouraged **– Cooperation with United
Nations*

The pentagon seeks to control the world’s resources as an obsolete notion
left over from World War II.  But China trades all over the world without a
deep water navy.  War with China is impossible with all the subcontractor
work done there.  The logic of today’s military falls apart on close
examination.  World trade is already controlled of, by, and for, corporate
profits; why not complete the job of world governance and give the people a
direct voice in a new international democratic institution.  Today’s UN is
just an association of governments.

For more information about how stages of empire apply to America:

https://www.academia.edu/5415354/STAGES_of_EMPIRE

More on control, militarism, and the social decay of empires:

https://www.academia.edu/11421799/MILITARISM_CONTROL_EMPIRE_DECAY

Statistical basis for the connections of military spending to socioeconomic
problems:

https://www.academia.edu/4044456/SUMMARY_Military_DisEconomics

Dr. Peace, Dr. Bob Reuschlein, Real Economy Institute
best contact to ask Bob to speak to your group: bobreuschlein at gmail.com
to leave message: 608-230-6640
for more info: www.realeconomy.com
(*Real Economy* and/or *Peace Economics* free pdf on request by members of
the press)
an archive of this yearlong press release campaign can be found at:
http://bobreuschlein.wordpress.com/

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