Blog Post 6

Antiwar in America 

    When we were in school in America, we often heard about what the U.S. troops were up to overseas in our history classes. They never really talked about us being "at war" with other countries, but more like our troops were fighting to protect American freedom. None of my teachers ever said anything negative about our troop movements or actions. Instead, they said that international conflicts brought jobs and industry to Americans so we could make the stuff needed for battle. This idea stuck with our teachers when they were kids and then got passed down to us, even though it's not entirely true. It all goes back to the government being interested in war for a long time.

     

    When the U.S. government says they're at war with another country or group anywhere in the world, they get a lot more power than what the founding fathers had in mind for each branch of government. During wartime, the President can send troops without needing Congress's OK, thanks to the War Powers Resolution. This means the government can do more surveillance, both at home and overseas. Agencies like the NSA, FBI, and CIA can spy on threats and gather info with fewer rules. But a lot of people see this as the government sneaking into our privacy and getting into stuff that's none of their business. War powers even let the government mess with our basic rights, like freedom of speech, the press, and assembly. They can keep an eye on and control groups they think might be a threat to international security. Just these three powers alone give the government a big peek into our lives. These extra powers help the government do its job and stop sneaky political stuff from happening without them knowing. 

   When we watch or read the news, they talk a lot about wars in America, but they hardly ever talk about all the people who are against them or the bad stuff that comes with them. I recently found out about websites like ANTIWAR.COM and The American Conservative (TAC), and it's no surprise I hadn't heard of them before. Even when I searched "stop war" on Google, those sites didn't show up until way later in the search results because of how Google ranks stuff. The writers on those sites have really different views from what we usually hear from both sides of politics. They see war as a really bad thing, almost like legal murder that starts a recession. And they say they're talking about what's best for America, not just what helps one political party. That kind of talk can scare American politicians who often do stuff that's more about helping their party and their candidate than what's actually good for the country.