This years 4th of July coincides with my reading of Howard Zinn's "A people's history of the United States."  Now, I've never been the flag waving, cozy patriotic good feelin type of guy, but I've figured that checks and balances are good at least. 

Reading this book has shown me how America has basically pushed around the entire planet for its own financial gain.  And it's not even the country's gain that is sought after, it's just about 1f the country's gain. 

Right now, I've started the chapter on Vietnam.  I know what the average college educated person knows about vietnam, and I've seen the movies, but reading the cold hard atrocities that were committed with little to no motivation have really made me unable to want to go to sleep tonight. 

I just read how the US soldiers would round up villages of about 500 women, children, and old men and force them into ditches so they could start shooting them one at a time.  This was justified as successfully defending the world against communism. 

What it seems to come down to is this.  After World War II, big business saw how profitable war was and created a plan with the government to maintain a constant state of warfare.  Ater WWII The Cold War began.  Then Korea, then Vietnam, then more Cold War, then Iraq, then Eastern Europe, then Afghanistan, then Iraq again. 

The government keeps selling these wars in the exact same manner.  The enemy is a threat to our security and the world's securty.  They are different than us and that's a bad thing.  Their beliefs do not work with freedom and democracy and we must liberate their peoples.

And the worst part is that the American public is so uneducated as to believe it every time.

At this point, I can't help but feeling hopeless.  It seems like war won't end until it starts becoming unprofitable.  People will continue to be killed in more methodical and efficient manners.  Pretty soon, the weapons being used will be so big as to destroy pieces of the Earth until it's too late.

I'm sorry for being such a downer, but all this really makes it hard to enjoy sparklers and hamburgers.

Currently listening: A Ghost Is Born By Wilco Release date: By 22 June, 2004