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| "The Walking Dead ain't got nothin' on me" - Zombie Thomas Jefferson, unknown date |
However, I think Zombie TJ would be most concerned with the exorbitant amount the US spends on the military annually. After all, Jefferson objected to excessive military spending when he mildly asserted, "The spirit of this country is totally adverse to a large military force." Jefferson would be astonished by the US' position as the biggest defense spender over the next 10 countries combined. It's understandable that he would be: after gaining freedom from the imperialist British, Jefferson and other forefathers were wary of the government using a standing army for defense in fear of misuse of power.
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| I'M BRINGING THE CHARTS Mrs. Cranston! |
http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/wed-april-8-2009/full-metal-budget
References
Younghusband, Cormac. Zombie Thomas Jefferson. Digital image. Society6. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Sept. 2013. <http://a1.s6img.com/cdn/0011/p/3191378_14709614_b.jpg>.
"U.S. Defense Spending Compared to Other Countries." Pgpf.org. Peter G. Peterson Foundation, 13 Apr. 2013. Web. 24 Sept. 2013. <http://pgpf.org/Chart-Archive/0053_defense-comparison>.
"47. The Military & the Militia." Jefferson on Politics & Government: The Military. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Sept. 2013. <http://famguardian.org/Subjects/Politics/ThomasJefferson/jeff1480.htm>.
Pemberton, Miriam. "Foreign Policy In Focus." Foreign Policy In Focus. N.p., 16 Feb. 2012. Web. 24 Sept. 2013. <http://fpif.org/new_economy_transformation_obama_budget_wont_help/>.
"Full Metal Budget." The Daily Show. N.p., 8 Apr. 2009. Web. 24 Sept. 2013. <http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/wed-april-8-2009/full-metal-budget>.
Arjun, you're right!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteI think Jefferson would be "appalled at the amount of autonomy the military possesses" like you said. For example, in the video below you can see how inhumanely soldiers killed innocent civilians in Iraq. Also, he would be appalled that the government jailed the releaser of this video because Jefferson believed in limited government. This is a great example of the government having too much power.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rXPrfnU3G0
Jefferson even stated that, "I abhor war and view it as the greatest scourge of mankind," so I think he would be extremely mad about today's large and powerful military. Also, he would hate the current military industrial complex.
As John Avlon said in his article in the Daily Beast "As the iconic Washington Post investigation detailed, there are 1,931 private companies working on counterterrorism, homeland security, and intelligence. Throughout the D.C. area, 33 buildings containing 17 million square feet of office space have been built since 9/11—the equivalent of 22 Capitol buildings. But despite the growth of government national-security workers, some 500,000 private contractors also have top security clearances." http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/06/12/the-military-industrial-complex-is-real-and-it-s-bigger-than-ever.html
Therefore, Jefferson would not only be appalled at the inhumanity of the military, but also how the government is forced to spend billions of dollars while military companies profit upon the war.
The chart is beautiful. Though I agree Jefferson would be annoyed at our aggressive foreign policy, I think he would be understanding after he watched the media. I think he could be swayed by the persuasive and fear-mongering news of our day. I believe he would be extremely pro-military if he knew of 9/11 and the war on terror. I think he would draw parallels to the Barbary pirates and the terrorists.
ReplyDeleteArjun I totally agree!
ReplyDeleteI think that Thomas Jefferson would be against excess spending on a large military force. Again, I agree that Jefferson would be against the amount of autonomy that the army has. I also think that Jefferson would be against a strong foreign policy, since he was against foreign entanglements.
Awesome chart by the way! It definitely highlights the outrageous spending that the United States has on defense in context to other nations.
Overall, great blog post!
I completely agree.
ReplyDeleteNot only would Thomas Jefferson dislike the sheer size of the military, but he would also be opposed to the effect of the military budget on our national debt. As someone who was fundamentally opposed to big government, Jefferson was also opposed to the government taking on debt. In a letter to John Taylor, he remarks "I sincerely believe... that the principle of spending money to be paid by posterity under the name of funding is but swindling futurity on a large scale." In the current stage of an ever growing debt, Jefferson would not approve that about 19% of our tax dollars were spent on defense in 2012.
Also, Jefferson would probably dislike covert intelligence as well. He would definitely be opposed to the NSA's policy of spying on the American people, since it infringes on people's right to privacy and is reminiscent of the overweening British colonial government.
I agree in the idea that Thomas Jefferson would be most upset or disappointed with our huge defense efforts and expenditures. Since Jefferson was so against foreign entanglements and was all about working on our domestic duties, I agree in the thought that a "Zombie TJ" would feel bummed that everything he believed about the U.S was lost in time. I also agree in your thought that Jefferson would be angered by the government's overpowering the people and to see how much power the federal government has gained since his days of government.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I believe that something he would be most upset about would be our country's agricultural stance in the nation and in the world. Thomas Jefferson was a farmer and the United States' current agricultural positions and how we view farmers would probably really disappoint our ex-President. Nowadays, farming is a job that nobody really wants to do. Farmers are at the bottom of our economy, yet they are the producers and sustainers of our food supply.
Although that was off on a tangent, Thomas Jefferson would be sorely upset about several things in our society, the most potent disappointment would be the U.S's agriculture and governmental strictness.
I completely agree with you that the US military spending would not be something TJ would approve of. From this Huffington Post article (2012): "The United States spends 58 percent of the total defense dollars paid out by the world's top 10 military powers [...] the US outspends China, the next-biggest military power, by nearly 6-to-1." As the US grew as a dominant superpower in the past few years, it has also created the idea that developed nations have an obligation to be policemen for the world. Consequently, the US military spending has risen dramatically. In addition to his disappointment in US military spending, he would also probably be upset about the loss of individualism in society. The idea of the "common man" is not as embraced nowadays as it was during his time. All these changes would cause TJ to dislike the current structure of society and the government.
ReplyDeleteSource:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/06/defense-spending-fact-of-the-day_n_1746685.html
I agree with you. Yikes! That chart... so much $$$. Thomas Jefferson certainly would not appreciate the sheer amount of money the US spends on the military. He was always against the idea that the government should be tied in with foreign affairs, so he certainly would not approve of our current stance in the world as a policeman with a "big stick" policy. But I think he would not approve of the media's stance on many of the current news and blogs, and how Americans have a very polarizing, black-or-white stance on politics, since he wasn't much a believer in partisanship.
ReplyDelete