The Case Against War
Isolationism in America is not new. As far back as the 1930s, Americans opposed the involvement of the United States in World War II. People thought that the government should focus on domestic issues, particularly since the stock market crashed in 1929 and the economy of the country was devastated. But wars tend to be good for the economy because all of the industries associated with them, companies that make airplanes and tanks, guns and ammunition, boots and uniforms, to name just a few, increase production. When production increases, jobs are created. Many economists actually think World War II was a major factor in pulling the United States out of the Great Depression. So while just about everyone would agree that war is ugly and costly in terms of human lives, wars can be especially profitable for lots of businesses. And those businesses have powerful voices that tend to be louder than the antiwar voices.
War is also good for the mainstream media because it gives them stories to report. For some reason, people are drawn to gory, the bad, and the tragic, like the car wreck that people have to slow down to look at as they pass on the highway. So the saying, “If it bleeds, it leads” is very true, and this means that there is never a shortage of “leads” when a war is being covered and people tune in to watch it all on tv which means that the ratings go up. When ratings go up, stations can charge more for commercials, so once again we see money and profit as reasons to prevent the antiwar voices from being heard.
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