Blog #6: Antiwar Opinions

 Blog Post #6: Antiwar Opinions

(FilippoBacci).

Antiwar Websites

I spent some time perusing both Antiwar.com and The American Conservative. The first thing I noticed when reading through the Antiwar website was that, at first glance, it could appear to be very bare bones, but as I continued to click around, I learned that it was extremely well-organized and was a fountain of information I had never heard of. One thing that piqued my interest was a section on recent antiwar news for almost every nation worldwide, even Vatican City! After some more snooping, I learned that they allow anyone to submit articles about antiwar topics, which clarified how they publish so much information in so many different places. Most mainstream news publications would only let someone from the general public submit a potentially controversial article if they were a government whistleblower or highly educated. 

 

I also looked through The American Conservative. I noticed that this website was more well-designed than Antiwar.com. I found it hard to believe that I had never heard of this publication when they are even published in print. At initial inspection, this website provided important information, and the journalists took their word research very seriously.

 

After looking through both websites, I began formulating ideas about why antiwar publications are so hard to find online and in print these days. 

Why Are We Anti-Antiwar?

(Category:George Washington portraits by Gilbert Stuart).

 

One theory as to why it is so challenging to access antiwar information on the internet is that it benefits the United States. When George Washington left office in 1796, he left a farewell address to the nation, in which he wrote, "prepare for danger frequently prevent much greater disbursements to repel it, avoiding likewise the accumulation of debt, not only by shunning occasions of expense, but by vigorous exertion in time of peace to discharge the debts which unavoidable wars may have occasioned, not ungenerously throwing upon posterity the burden which we ought to bear" (Washington). What he meant by this was to preserve our nation by not getting involved in unnecessary wars. Every battle is not ours to fight, but unfortunately, this is not the case nowadays. 

According to USA Today, the U.S. is the world's largest defense spender, and total arms sales topped $398 million, the highest number for the third consecutive year (Stebbins and Comen). Multiple U.S.-based companies thrive because of our constant involvement in war. For example, Lockheed Martin Corporation makes a profit of $2 billion each year because it is the largest defense contractor in the world. If our country did not continue to fund these wars and position our troops inside enemy lines, companies such as Lockheed Martin or Boeing would be making nowhere as close to as much money as they are right now. 

 

(Michon).

Something else to consider is the concept of a war economy.

A war economy is "the organization of a country's production capacity and distribution during a time of conflict" (Kenton). The United States has always done substantially well during wartime, such as World Wars I and II. Still, our economy suffers when wartime ends because we no longer put effort into wartime production and the job market shifts. While we have not entered a wartime market as strong as during the 1940s, it still benefits our economy in new ways when we stay invested in wars. Plus, it's even better when we only fund wars that don't harm the physical state of our country, just others. 

Works Cited

Antiwar.Com, www.antiwar.com/. Accessed 9 Feb. 2024.

“Category:George Washington Portraits by Gilbert Stuart.” Wikimedia Commons, commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:George_Washington_portraits_by_Gilbert_Stuart. Accessed 9 Feb. 2024.

FilippoBacci. “People Are Marching on Strike against War in the City. They Are...” iStock, www.istockphoto.com/photo/people-are-marching-on-strike-against-war-gm1378786760-442703744?utm_campaign=srp_photos_limitedresults&utm_content=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pexels.com%2Fsearch%2Fantiwar%2F&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_source=pexels&utm_term=antiwar. Accessed 9 Feb. 2024.

Kenton, Will. “War Economy: Definition, Priorities, Example.” Investopedia, Investopedia, www.investopedia.com/terms/w/war-economy.asp. Accessed 9 Feb. 2024.

Michon, Heather. “How the War Changed the Economy for Good.” ThoughtCo, ThoughtCo, 19 Aug. 2019, www.thoughtco.com/world-war-i-economy-4157436.

Stebbins, Samuel, and Evan Comen. “Military Spending: 20 Companies Profiting the Most from War.” USA Today, Gannett Satellite Information Network, 21 Feb. 2019, www.usatoday.com/story/money/2019/02/21/military-spending-defense-contractors-profiting-from-war-weapons-sales/39092315/.

Washington, George. “George Washington’s Farewell Address.” George Washington’s Farewell Address (1796), www.georgewashington.org/farewell-address.jsp. Accessed 9 Feb. 2024.

Whitlock, Jeff. “Home.” The American Conservative, 6 Feb. 2024, www.theamericanconservative.com/.