Rep. Paul outlined the ridiculous, bureaucratic maze that the War Powers Resolution makes Congress find its way through in order to stop a hawkish President from going to war without their permission. Jim Baker shoots down the congressman's ideas on technicalities without addressing the real issue (Imagine that: the issue at hand NOT being discussed in Congress). Rep. Paul shot back at Jim Baker with, at least to me, the defining quote of his argument: "I put most of the blame on the Congress for being derelict in their responsibility, but if presidents just go out and start wars, well then sure the Congress should have something to do with it. They shouldn't fund him, and if necessary, they should impeach the President." This comment was met with incredulity from the panel, specifically Baker, who was appalled that Paul would go as far to talk about impeachment of the President over something as petty as war.
I think, as a country, we need to take a collective step back. In fact, on the subject of war, we need to run backwards for a few miles. You see, that's the problem, it's always the subject of war. It's never the subject of peace. The War Powers Resolution, The Summit on War, War Regulations, Terms of War, War Crimes. This is what Americans hear from the media and the government in a daily, constant stream. Congressman Paul mentions that the U.S. has been in an almost perpetual state of war since World War II. Many conflicts have been unpublicized (because the government didn't want them getting out, and the media is their lapdog); many have been swept under the rug.
As a country, many of us are, sadly, used to and hardened against the daily reports of our proud soldiers dying overseas. It's part of war, we think. While it is a sad reality of war, war does not have to be a sad reality of everyday life. War should be an anomaly, not a political strategy. It's a horrible, disgusting thing that wrenches human rights away from the poor citizens of whichever side that has less military might. We don't experience that because we're mightier than all (The media has no problem reminding us just how powerful our military is). But even in our case, thousands of families have wept for lost loved ones, and thousands more, including my own, have feared and continue to fear for family and friends stationed overseas. Perhaps we are used to it as a country, but ask those individuals who have lost those they love to needless war, and see just how accepting they are of it.
I believe Congressman Paul's oratory is, at its heart, an outcry for peace. He believes with the power to declare war firmly back in Congress' hands, it will be much more difficult for any President to start conflicts for inadequate reasons. As a people, we're jaded; how easy it is to name war a "conflict" for a "reason," a reason that, of course, must be adequate because our deeply compassionate government would never send a steady stream of young, capable men and women to die for something not worth fighting for.
Wrong. The government is indifferent, and always has been. It is military commanding officers who have to walk up the driveways, sidewalks, and dirt roads of America to hand folded flags to the hands of hysterical mothers and fathers wailing and standing in disbelief. Not the President. Not the Congresspeople. They sign the bill and hope they get votes for it in the end.
War should not be political maneuvering. Look throughout American history. The candidate who runs on a platform of peace consistently wins every four years. Yet have any of them lived up to their campaign promises? Hardly (There's another surprise). War is a horrid, revolting thing and like so many other horrid, revolting things, both the media and government have made it a sorry fact of everyday life in America. Elvis Costello's question seems like a simple one, but from the way the government reacts whenever it's posed to them, you begin to wonder: Just what is so funny about peace, love, and understanding?
Mike Gilch is a freshman at Rutgers University. He is a member of the Rutgers Libertarians and plans to major in Journalism and Music Education.
