This was originally printed in the Christian Science Monitor and made its way onto Yahoo! News:
Few Americans share Iraq war's sacrifices Five years after President Bush declared war on Islamic extremism, the military has lost 3,599 troops and spent $503 billion in Iraq and Afghanistan. Yet unlike past wars, even unpopular ones, most Americans have contributed little directly.
Every time someone says "the government spent" or "the military spent," a righteous populist neuron in my brain feels compelled to scream, THE GOVERNMENT NEVER SPENT A FUCKING PENNY ON ANYTHING! THE GOVERNMENT EXTORTS MONEY FROM CITIZENS, TAKES A CUT FOR ITSELF, AND THEN REDISTRIBUTES THE MONEY.
At this point, "most Americans" have been FORCED to pay nearly TWO THOUSAND BUCKS EACH for that counterproductive bloodbath. I could REALLY USE that two thousand bucks right now. And fuck knows what quotient of that two grand goes to bankers' interest and the government payroll.
Hey, Uncle Samâ??I realize you have the guns pointed at our heads as well as at the Iraqis, and if we don't give you our lunch money you'll throw us in jail, but can you at least, for once, ADMIT it?