“In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.”
- Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1961
For the first meeting of our monthly movie group, four of my friends and I watched the documentary Why We Fight. The film is inspired by President Eisenhower’s famous Farewell Address in which he warned Americans about the dangers of the “military-industrial complex.” Filmmaker Eugene Jarecki takes a brutally honest look at the American war machine, using interviews with ordinary Americans and Iraqis, as well as commentary by military and Congressional insiders. Jarecki takes us to a munitions factory, a military trade show, and an Iraqi morgue.
We all agreed that it was an excellent documentary. According to Amy, “It leaves you furious!” And Aubrie commented that she learned many things that she had never heard reported in the mainstream news. Aubrie also noted how many times the word “supreme” was used to refer to America and asked, “Aren’t we who are Christians supposed to believe that God is the only supreme one?” Amy observed that when America was referred to as the “greatest nation on earth” that “greatest” always seemed to mean “the most powerful.”
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03-16-2007 |
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