Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
“A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual doom. “
Martin Luther King warned us decades ago of the dangers of spending our national resources on the military. The resulting effects on education and healthcare, especially compared to other developed countries is striking. Some education in the United States is among the best in the world, but many people here suffer from the low level of education available to them. Some people, especially those who have large financial resources, receive the best health care; large numbers of people in the United States have none.
The money the government spends on the military would make a vast difference and would put the US on a par with other developed countries in these regards. Instead of a lifetime of college debt, our young people could, as I did in France, pay $25.00 a year for university. No one would be bankrupted by a medical emergency or condition. I spent two months in the hospital in France where one of the best surgeons on the planet took care of me. The total cost for two surgical interventions and all other expenses including meals for my sister was $6,000.00, about the cost of a weekend in the hospital in the US at the time.
Things do not have to be this way in the United States. We can, even at this late date, heed Dr. King’s warning.