Not the sounds of freedom

Lets stop pretending that the frequent, unbearably large explosions coming from JBLM are “the sounds of freedom.”

The reality is that they are the sounds of squandered opportunities and wasted resources. They are the sounds of schools not built or repaired, children not feed and homeless not housed. They are the sounds of roads, bridges and water and sewer systems not maintained. They are the sounds of polluted lakes and rivers not cleaned up, and of crumbling facilities and unmaintained trails in our national parks.

The United States spends more on the military, weapons and war than the next seven countries combined, most of whom are our allies. According to the National Priorities Project, over 50 percent of America’s annual discretionary budget is spent on the military.

As Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. nearly 50 years ago, a nation that continues year after year to spend more money on the military than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual doom.

No, the noises coming from JBLM are not the “sounds of freedom.” They are the unsettling reminder of a fading empire with misplaced priorities, the sounds of a once great country rotting from the inside.

This story was originally published November 8, 2016 at 9:24 PM with the headline "Not the sounds of freedom."