Tempted...again and again...

"The war in Vietnam is but a symptom of a far deeper malady within the American spirit, and if we ignore this sobering reality we will find ourselves organizing clergy and laymen-concerned committees for the next generation. They will be concerned about Guatemala and Peru. They will be concerned about Thailand and Cambodia. They will be concerned about Mozambique and South Africa. We will be marching for these and a dozen other names and attending rallies without end unless there is a significant and profound change in American life and policy. ...."I am convinced that if we are to get on the right side of the world revolution, we as a nation must undergo a radical revolution of values. We must rapidly begin the shift from a 'thing-oriented' society to a 'person-oriented' society. When machines and computers, profit motives and property rights are considered more important than people, the giant triplets of racism, materialism and militarism are incapable of being conquered. ...."A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death. (Martin Luther King, April 4, 1967 "A Time to Break Silence: Declaration of Independence from the Vietnam War")

So...the U.S. House of Representatives approved a $636 billion military spending bill on Wednesday that funds the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. It reminds me of these quotes and the temptation of Jesus by Satan.

"Over grown military establishments are under any form of governments inauspicious to liberty and are to be regarded as particularly hostile to republican liberty." -George Washington

"The means of defense against foreign danger have historically become the instruments of tyranny at home." -James Madison

"If tyranny and oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy." -James Madison

Nation building as a result of a policy of American Interventionism is more than likely simply Economic Colonialism at the heart. I know that protection from foreign terrorists, liberty and democracy are the mantra of the war machine...but I am growing more and more convinced that there are far greater agendas at play in this Empire's actions in the world theater. Satan always offers kings...Bread (Economic Power)...the Kingdoms of the World (Military Power) and Public Piety (Religious Power).

Money, Military and Religion...all three powers are at play in full force in this era.