DailyThought #33 - Money & Time

What could we accomplish with $886 billion and 250,000 of the worlds most dedicated and intelligent people? I would say anything is possible, whatever the initiative. Excellence would be surpassed and bystanders would be awed. I know this because $886 billion is the United States’ annual budget for military operations and 250,000 is the total number of individuals that work directly or indirectly for U.S. military and defense related research and development. Everyday a new military weapon is uncovered that blows my mind. Whether it is the CIA’s Poison Dart Gun which fires slivers of frozen saxitoxin into the victim, leaving no trace of foul play, and ultimately causing a fatal heart attack or the F-22 Raptor jet which is near-invisible to radar and can reach speeds up to 1,500 mph. The U.S. military’s creativity when it comes to killing our adversaries is truly amazing, in the most terrifying way.

Do not get me wrong, I am truly grateful to live in a country that is well and able to protect those living within its borders. But what is the end goal? Are we fighting for peace? Or fighting for power?

I would like to believe that peace is possible - to an extent. If $886 billion and 250,000 people were tasked with finding peace, I believe we would all surprise ourselves.

Masters of War by Bob Dylan