You up for a little history lesson? No? Too bad. It’s my party and I’ll cry if I want to . . .
Not long after the United States became the U.S., we got involved in an obscure and nearly forgotten naval conflict with France over money we owed to the French for their assistance in winning our Revolutionary War against Great Britain. This little fracas is known to history as the Quasi-War. Mercifully short and with few casualties, it largely ended because France, now under the iron hand of Napoleon, had much bigger fish to fry in the form of conquering Europe on land and trying to sink Britain at sea.
If there’s one thing that’s best remembered in this county about the war, it’s probably the defiant declaration of Congressman Robert Harper: “Millions for defense, but not one cent for tribute.” Harper was outraged because French diplomats had suggested that the dispute could be smoothed over and war avoided with the payment of bribes. The dustup became known as the XYZ Affair. The Quasi-War broke out shortly thereafter.
The More Things Change, The More They Stay The Same
9/11. Of course, those digits are indelibly etched in our minds by the September 11 terrorist attack that took down the World Trade Center, scorched the Pentagon, and caused nearly 3,000 deaths and over 25,000 injuries. But, test yourself: what are the last two digits of that talismanic number?
If you’re like me, it’s been so many years that I have to google it to be sure. And yet, here we are, still at war in the Middle-East. We still have 1,000’s of troops in Afghanistan and Iraq-although President Trump has mercifully ordered the withdrawal of many of those by year’s end. Note, however, that Trump’s plan to pull out is now opposed by the same military geniuses who, despite tens of thousands of U.S. casualties and trillions of dollars, weren’t able to win these forever wars.
Is it just me, or is it beginning to look like tribute might not be such a bad idea after all?
It’s Not Just How The Money’s Been Spent. It’s How It Wasn’t Spent.
But while we’re incinerating truckloads of Benjamins year after year on fruitless wars in the Middle East, we’re largely ignoring our own people who are fighting their own very private wars with mental illness. In 2019 mental health spending in this country was about $225 billion. Certainly not an inconsequential amount. But given that much of this spending is paid for privately by individuals who can ill afford it, mental health needs in this country often go unmet. This is especially so since 8% of the U.S. population, or 26 million, don’t have health insurance. Annual per capita spending on mental health in this country ranges from $37 in Florida to $375 in Maine. No, not huge sums. Unless, of course, you’re out of a job with the COVID pandemic. And you’re forced to choose between food and rent and getting the mental health counseling and anti-psychotic drugs that might, literally, spell the difference between life and death.
So, I have a simple proposal. How ’bout we bring our boys and girls home? And declare victory in a part of the world that, at least for the time being, seemingly has no interest in living peaceably with its neighbors? What makes us think that blowing up more stuff and killing more people is going to make peace magically break out?
How hard can it be to find better ways to use those trillions of dollars taking better care of people here at home?
