In President Dwight Eisenhower’s farewell address to our nation in 1961, he warned about the danger we faced from the power of the military/industrial complex.
Today, as some of our leaders and media make war talk about Russia and Ukraine, we can see the ripples from those who have vested interests and investments in corporations producing military and intelligence materiel. Throughout our government there are warmongers embedded within both political parties.
“In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex,” President Eisenhower said. “The potential for the disastrous use of misplaced power exists and will persist …..
“Akin to, and largely responsible for the sweeping changes in our industrial-military posture has been the technological revolution during the recent decades. In this revolution, research has become central; it also becomes more formalized, complex and costly. A steadily increasing share is conducted for, by or at the direction of the federal government.”
Ukraine serves as a distraction from the real problem we face at our southern border. Thousands of our people are killed every year by drugs and fentanyl smuggled through our southern border.
More thousands of people enter illegally and escape to the interior, where unlike legal immigrants, they will not assimilate peacefully to become productive, responsible citizens.
We have always been the nation that is most welcoming to those who come legally.
Sending our troops to our own southern border doesn’t sound glamorous to the news-hungry media, and it doesn’t seem profitable to manufacturers of the war machine. But what we really need is to protect our own country against invasion. It’s a short journey to get to our open border and make a real difference.
President Eisenhower’s farewell speech may be found online in its entirety.
Gretchen Kieding
Solvang
Editor’s note: You can read President Dwight Eisenhower’s farewell speech at www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=false&doc=90&page=transcript.
