My Political/Religious Rant

Ok, I've never been a politically active person, and I'm not claiming I know the intricacies of global politics, but I do know that war is never good. Regardless of cause and reason, war has only one guarantee, DEATH. Death is not good. Therefore, war has only ONE guaranteed outcome, DEATH. True, wars have benefits, such as liberty, increased prosperity, etc. These results of war are not guaranteed though, so cannot be associated as an absolute of war. ANYWAY, the reason I'm even writing this is that I'm shocked that no major news corporation in America is reporting on the possible war that is brewing in the Korean peninsula! I go onto CNN.com and I'm greeted with a headline of some Hollywood sob story, or other base material. I cannot believe that the possibility of war with one of the last communist nations, by one of the most notoriously oppressive regimes that has association with next the predicted superpower, China, carries less weight with the media than the most recent diet trends, Black Friday steals etc. This is at once disheartening and pathetic. Do Americans really care more about how to lose weight during Thanksgiving, save money on stuff they'll throw away in a month and what rich, out of touch people in Hollywood are doing than the possibility of another war? Has American forgotten we are already engaged in a war? One that has some crying that America has repeated the disaster at Vietnam, and others saying were not doing enough? I certainly hope that this is merely the failing of journalists, who for whatever reason, feel that pointless junk is of greater value to the American people than the possible stability of the international community. I feel that America cannot afford another war. We can't even afford to keep up the war we are in. We are a nation of debtors. We have let our nation fall by ignoring and denying the basic principles of provident living. In the political circles, my statement "provident living" would immediately label me as some rifle-slinging, Tea Party-loving, conservative. That accusation is frankly unjust and ignorant in and of itself. Just because I, or any other non-liberal, mentions a loss of basic principles, values or, heaven forbid, religious sentiment among our nation, we get branded as hicks from the woods who have a 10th grade education and believe that evolution is an evil idea from godless scientists. This is at once unjust and untrue. Granted, not all liberals are so quick to denounce those who profess that America maybe, JUST maybe, might benefit if we were to reestablish basic values. Admittedly, many right wing conservatives exhibit their fair share of bias and ignorance as well. I don't mean for this paper to be a partisan-centric discussion, or to show the correctness of one party over the other, but I do want to exert that we as a nation, regardless of party or religion, have tossed aside the most fundamental of principles that contribute to successful living and in their place have chosen quick-and-easy schemes, fleeting pleasures and vanity. This is my personal opinion on why our nation has in the past decade encountered financial, international and political turmoil. I would love to hear the counterargument of how the principle of not living above your means led to the current financial crisis, or how the attributes of humility and hard work taught by many Christians, has resulted in the staggering unemployment rate. I’m positive that I don’t have all the answers, and I know that if this paper were to enter through the doors of any foreign policy, political science, or likewise school of thought, that it would indeed be ripped to shreds and proved wrong on incalculable levels. Regardless of the supposed proofs and hypothesis that would label this paper as ignorant and heavily biased, I believe this idea: that ethical, just and sound values will never cause a people to come into destruction. Regardless of religious affiliation, these values bring about good things. When we love our neighbor as ourselves, are humble, hard working, living within our means and charitable we are prospering. When living these values causes a person to become unhappy with themselves, or diminish their standard of living, then this idea will be flawed. Until that instance, I hold these values as necessary to securing a peaceful, prosperous society. Not a perfect utopia, but a society that is one with God and one in intent.