WAR?

Every gun that is made,Every warship launched,Every rocket fired signifies in the final sense,
a theft from those who hunger and are not fed,
Those who are cold and are not clothed.
This world in arms is not spending money alone
It is spending the sweat of its laborers,
The genius of its scientists and The hopes of its children
-- Eisenhower

War, no matter how noble the cause will always be a reason for grief, hunger, fear, and proliferation of evil in all its forms. I cant help but think of the not so recent US-led war in Iraq. I must admit, I was very open to the idea of war, I even thought it was a great idea to finally force Saddam Hussein to let go of Iraq and let them be. I was ok with it because I thought that the end will justify the means. But I realized that one major reason why I was ok with it was the fact that there is little possibility that I will be directly affected by such a war. By merely watching CNN and watching all these documentaries about the war, I began questioning if it’s really worth it. Is “freedom” really a long and painful process? will the emergence of democracy in Iraq be worth the lives of not only the soldiers from both sides but also of the innocent people who happen to be caught in the middle of these dark days?

There is a trade off to everything, besides the lives shed, I believe that it really snatches away the opportunity from people who would want to be in school, of unemployed people waiting for help from the government, of production. As an economist, I have always been firm with my decision, WAR is inevitable but its advocates should ensure the people that its reasons are valid. And that in the future, when we look back, we will all nod in appreciation at the thought that we made the right choice in the past.