The blog prompt for this week was quite shocking, in my opinion. Professor Smith seems to make some interesting points. I have NEVER heard of Antiwar.com or The American Conservative. Not from the mainstream news or my independent research. Everyone has their own opinion on war and their reasons for supporting or dissenting it. I think one of the primary reasons these platforms aren’t in the mainstream media is because of the amount of funding that goes towards our military.
Billions, probably trillions of dollars go towards our military each year. I have linked a budget proposal down below that shows a fraction of their budget and how much it spends in each department listed. It shocked me to see how went to missiles alone.
When a person turns on the news, it is almost guaranteed that they will see something involving the military or war. In fairness, the news is not always talking about supporting wars, but they rarely, if ever, talk about peaceful ways to end the war.
Antiwar.com describes itself as a research tool for citizens to keep people informed about the overseas plans of the American government. I think that this is a great tool for people to use whether they oppose or support the war. I am a firm believer in looking at both sides of an argument to stay educated and informed. It's not fair to keep this side out of the mainstream media, we only hear about antiwar protests and not the full reasoning behind it.
In this day and age, it is crucial for people to do their own research and stay informed on prevalent topics such as war. Between smartphones and google, there is no excuse to be uninformed with the amount of technology at our disposal.
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