2 Paragraphs 4 Liberty: #149 “War Is Not Glorious”

         War is not glorious!  And with war, of course, comes coldly arbitrary destruction, deaths and serious injuries which, in turn, exact a lasting cost not only for combatants who sustain both visible and non-visible wounds, but also to many of the people who have been left behind.   So war is devoutly to be avoided, if at all possible.  Nevertheless, and even with those understandings firmly in mind, there are some values that must constantly be fought for.  And foremost among those are our national safety and protecting our national interests, which vitally includes Liberty!  But tragically – and realistically – there are and have always been people in power around the world who see a reluctance in others to go to war as a sign of weakness.  And almost never can those people be appeased!  So sometimes the threat of war, or even war itself, is necessary.  But it is the sacred obligation of our national leaders only to pursue war when our core issues are truly involved.

So under what circumstances can war be pursued?  The Founders of our Great Country yet again showed their brilliance in Article I Section 8 of the Constitution, which requires a Declaration of War to be publicly presented, debated and voted upon by Congress before war can legally be declared.  “Resolutions” and other delegations of Congress’ responsibility are not enough!  A Declaration of War almost certainly means that the country or people against whom we are declaring war and the threats they are making against us will have to be identified.  Then this will invariably mean that we would be able to state what our goals are and know when they had been attained, and thus when peace can once again be restored.  Regretfully, Congress has abrogated that critically important responsibility for all of our police or other military engagements since World War II: Korea, Vietnam, Panama, Kosovo, Iraq, Afghanistan and more.  Army General Raymond Thomas, commander of U.S. Special Operations Command, said that, just in May of 2017, about 8,000 U.S. special forces were deployed in 80 countries!  And in the year of 2016, we sent special forces to 138 countries!  And all without declarations of war!  This is virtually treasonous to the Constitution!  All Americans who love and embrace Liberty should stand together to keep this ever from happening!  No war unless Congress has formally declared it!

Judge Jim Gray (Ret.)
2012 Libertarian candidate for Vice President,
along with Governor Gary Johnson as the candidate for President

 

** Here’s another of the daily posts from the gasoline station in Gauteng, South Africa: “When you make a commitment you build hope. When you keep it you build trust.”

 

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