Reading the recent articles about the U.S. military and the support they receive, I passionately feel there are greater questions that need examination, larger issues crying out to critical minds and boundless opportunities to weave understanding.

First, I beg we each ask: What are we supporting? I think it is crucial to meditate on what the military’s missions and actions are. What transpires when leaders fail to peacefully make amends or one country covets another’s resources or territory? Men and women go to war, fighting battles chosen by their leaders, ones they may not personally support. Are these soldiers fighting for freedom or for causes you may or may not support? We need to ask: Who are the “bad guys”? We base the answer to that question off of TV stations and papers, an inundation of bias and misinformation. Who funds these mass medias giants? What interests are being kept safe?

Second, we need to question what events unfold to secure those interests. I sympathize with soldiers who are gone, “protecting our freedom,” but I do not support the killing of humans, the destruction of cities, bullets and bombs raining from the sky and the raping of another country’s resources. Is it any wonder why many despise the U.S. and see the Stars and Stripes as a symbol for bloodshed? (Can you imagine other countries invading the U.S., with our homes being the ones you see war-torn on TV? Would you buy into the idea their invasion was solely for freedom?) These freedoms we have gained have been at the enslavement and destruction of others. “Liberty and Justice for All;” “All”= United States citizens. Certainly, militaries do some good in foreign countries, but we must question how constructive their work is. Thus, who profits from war?

Reflecting on U.S. history, we see this destructive trend from the time our iconic pilgrims set foot on the shores of the coast, swiftly moving to annihilate the natives that greeted them, perpetuating the largest genocide the world has ever known. I question: Do we from the U.S. possess an inherent “right” to lay claim to this world? What are the true repercussions for our lifestyles? What are the conditions for the workers who ensure we have oil in our cars, bananas in our markets, and spices in our cabinets, etc.? Ask yourself: how is my lifestyle affecting my global neighbors? (Because it is!)

Our potential to understand, to balance our relationship with the natural world, to think independently, and to become our own leaders are a human’s finest capacities. I believe we live in an apex of human history. Are we living for short-term gain or for long-term prosperity? Ask yourself what kind of world you wish for your unborn children. What world are you sculpting for them? What world are we sculpting? We are the most fragile of earth’s species, our dependence inextricably linked to the earth and its resources. For thousands of years, we humans have fought and slain another to rule those resources. This can change!

Let us cast the bigotry and trivial party lines to pages of history. I ask each and every one of us to be critical, to question the gravity of what it means to “support,” to perceive from a full human perspective, and to endeavor for a age when militaries become obsolete. Impossible? I think otherwise.