“The United States needs a foreign policy that puts steel in the face of our enemies,”said Gov Walker of Wisconsin recently. This is a very popular sentiment among conservative, that our strength can come only from the weapons we posses and our willingness to use them.
I wonder what Gov Walker would say of a man with a wife and children; that spends his days strong arming the people he disagrees with, quick to brandish a gun and threaten violence. And if that same mans family became a burden on society because he did not ensure they were fed, clothed and educated. How would he judge that man? Perhaps a simply analogy but sometimes simple is better.
So what is the measure of strength of a nation? How much is spent on the military? What about the percentage of the population in poverty? What about high school graduation rates? College and technical school graduates?
I think it is time we had leaders that recognize we must be strong in all areas. That military might does not exist in a vacuum and that a nation much like a chain is only as strong as it’s weakest link. Currently we are failing our next generation of soldiers by not investing in them now; failing to give them the best education the world has to offer.
I really hope that people understand that we are very pro military. However, we believe that the money should be invested in the men and women of our military rather than some of the other things military spending goes for. I loved your point that investing in the education of our next generation of soldiers is only going to make our nation stronger!