Has anyone noticed that if America doesn't like something, they'll declare war on it? War on poverty, war on hunger, war on terrorism, war on drugs, etc... Gods I'm surprised there isn't a war on education by now. What is America? Just a constant war?
by 
Lonewolf_001
ANSWERS: 31
-
Oh yes! We are the land of the Armchair Warriors! Such activists....hand me the remote will ya?
-
We fight bad things like cancer. We declare war on things that make us uncomfortable. War implies an end to something while a fight is just a constant struggle against it. Also, war means $$$. Take that as you will, I see how it works every day. :(
-
lol thanks for pointing it out :)
-
Maybe its because that's the only way the government can solve problems with.. fighting, instead of just fixing the problem. Well, I guess its a little more complicated than that. But maybe its just the American culture/history "obsession" with war. I'm reminded of the movie "Canadian Bacon" where the president of the USA needs to go to war to distract the American public from domestic troubles, and their best choice is Canada, because no one else is left to go to war with. I think one of the lines was, "All of the good American presidents took the country to war and won"
-
The United States is founded on the principle that if something doesn't work, or if it is broken, you fix it...The americans try to take action instead of just sitting around complaining about it (although the politicians wouldn't let you know it.) ... and they use the word "war" because that implies that there will be an end to it...and they do have an excellent record of winning... ... So to sum it up, i think when the americans use the word "war" (against drugs, poverty, hunger, etc.) they simply mean that....ok, this is a problem, we are going to fix it.
-
It's all part of the jingoism, meant to drum up support for a 'worthy' cause by giving it what they think is a noble and unifying spin. They haven't won any of these non-military wars, though, have they?
-
This is kind of an unfair question, but my understanding is it's more a term that politicians use to show that they are taking an issue seriously and are going to "fight" with it until they "fix" it. The truth is poverty and hunger and terror can be fought and most of the time minimized but never completely "fixed." Basically if you want to lump every individual in America into one person then yah we struggle to fight against a lot of things we can never hope to solve, but at least we are willing to make the effort to effect change. Sometimes that's good more than often these days bad, but we have to try.
-
I think there are two aspects to this: 1) In the wake of WWI and WWII, going to war meant mobilizing all of society's assets and sharing sacrifice in the cause of prosecuting that war. This makes the people feel good and proud. Politicians like to invoke that image even though the time/effort/money/sacrifice spent on all of our Wars on [fill in the blank] combined is probably less than our military spending during those times. 2) By invoking the concept of war, politicians stifle dissent for their policies. How can you possibly be against the invasion of Iraq? After all, we are fighting a War on Terror. Do you want the Terrorist to win? People will accept all sorts of privations and losses of liberty if they think it's going to a "war" effort. . . .
-
Wow I never thought of it like that..but you are correct! Yes USA is war addicted.
-
I think you have to look no further than General's Patton's speech that he gave when he took over the 3rd Army during WWII to find the real answer, even though many lib's today won't like it. WHen he said, " All real Americans love to fight, all real Americans love the sting of battle . . ." Americans generally are more willing to stand up and fight instead of trying to find a hole to crawl into to avoid conflict. While since the 60's many have tried to curb that instinct, I don't think that general American tradition of kicking ass and wanting to win will ever truly be taken away. Patton also said, " . . When you were kids you all admired the champion marble shooter, the big league ballplayer, the toughest boxer, Americans love a winner, and will not tolerate a loser." I think that speaks volumes to our general competitive spirit that Americans have always had. So for the sake of it, yeah, a war on something is good as long as we kick ass and win!
-
Yes, it's silly to invoke war metaphors for everything we're trying to correct. What's worse, that mindset can actually undermine effective action by distorting our view of the "enemy" and isolating it conceptually from the conditions which produce it. Most tough problems are tough because the conditions which cause them are deeply interwoven with things that can't be changed, or things which we want -- i.e. the problems are side-effects of our actions, addictions, and attachments. To wage "war" on such a problem is to ignore those causal loops.
-
Unfortunately, you are confusing "America" with the foolish policies of some politicians. The thing I hate most about using the "war" designation is that means we are losing most of the time.
-
Actually, ... yes, I have noticed that. I don't believe that all Americans are guilty of being for war on everything they don't agree with, though.
-
I believe it comes from the fact that we like to conquer or be in control of everything..It's some kind of illusion our leaders have.
-
You've got a point there.
-
Yes, the war on education, as mounted by the NEA. Education is not anywhere nearly as important as increased pay and pensions for teachers, without any threats to their jobs because of their own laziness and incompetence. Some individual teachers still have the old values, but the NEA is ruining the profession and turning US public schools into daycare centers where basic skills and knowledge are less important than nationalized test scores, and "advanced skills" are too rudimentary to qualify in schools of most foreign countries. Spelling and grammar are becoming lost arts (can anyone diagram a sentence anymore?) and basic math skills remain a mystery to all but a select few. As for the other "wars"? It is simply empty rhetoric used by politicians to give the impression that they are capable of understanding the problem.
-
What happens when you have a War on War? Prevent the resources used to make war from being used! Stop the flow of materials and people into their insanity!Show the world that all of the above are better used for Peace! War is a disease and there has to be a cure before they make war with the entire world! Too bad there isn't an international law that those that attempt to make war are to be dropped into the middle of the battle field by chute with no weapons or ammo! They would be in support of Peace if that were possible!
-
Actually yes now that you mention it, Michael Moore is being treated like an individual who committed an act of treason with his documentary SICKO when all he did was tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth.
-
We are a nation founded on war, its the only way we seem to know how to handle problems.
-
I declare war on the original asker
-
How about the people have a war on politicians.
-
I understand your point, but you also have to understand the majority of those things are just expressions. ( Except for actual war of course. )The main definition of war is fighting for a cause, correct? So technically those are yes all wars, but they arent the same kind of wars that you are making them out to be. And whether America is just a "constant war" or not, our country is much better off than many of the other countries in the world.
-
''a sustained effort to deal with or end a particular unpleasant or undesirable situation or condition. War''
-
You gain wisdom, grasshopper. War is the least best answer to solving problems.
-
There's too much violence in America, it's a kind of a problem. We need a War on Violence!
-
Hey do you also know that war is never a solution for the matter it is just a route of bitterness and destruction?It is only good in games. http://www.Gamewar.com/
-
And the answer through war is never a solution...it just increases bitterness and destruction that's all..I wish they understood that sooner. http://www.Gamewar.com/
-
War is Hell! America is Hell!
-
think about this. the last time america won one of those wars was in 1945 - world war 2. we have declared war on illiteracy, although the # of illiterate keeps increasing, as does the # of lawyers - coincidence? i think not!!!
-
Brilliant question,Sir...I have a lot of sympathy with your view. Lonewolf:RESPECT!! There is certainly a great war brewing at the moment over healthcare. America thinks it's a law unto itself and that America rules the planet,and every time someone disagrees America throws a hissy fit and starts another deadly conspiracy.
-
with ROCKETS and BOMBS and PERILIOUS FIGHT and RAMPARTS in the national anthem, would you expect any less???
MrJosh 
Moongrim RELATED QUESTIONS
Copyright 2023, Wired Ivy, LLC