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Marianne Williamson on Homeland Security
Author & Democratic Presidential Challenger
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Fix budget to keep, maintain and create sustainable peace
This department will focus on reallocating existing budgets in more appropriate and coordinated ways to keep, maintain and create sustainable peace. The key funding question for the U.S. Department of Peace is simply a matter of
changing where the money goes, with a renewed focus on peace-building, humanitarian aid, and development as a key to our national security.
Source: 2024 Presidential campaign website Marianne2024.com
, Jun 6, 2023
Make suicide prevention a top priority for veterans & VA
Every day, an average of 20 U.S. veterans commit suicide. We must not stop working until every veteran and service member has access to the best mental health care and community support. I will direct my VA Secretary to make suicide prevention a top
priority.When our service members come home from service, it is critical that they get the support they deserve. As our brave women and men of the military are transitioning out of service and reintegrating back into society, the right support
can make all the difference during their transition and in the ensuing months and years. Many veterans don't even know about the variety of services that are available to support them, nor do they know how to take advantage of them.
Solving this lack of outreach to veterans will involve coordinating efforts between the military, the veteran's administration, and outside non-profit groups and community centers.
Source: 2020 presidential campaign website Marianne2020.com
, Apr 8, 2019
Remove pathological romanticization of the military
During the run-up to the invasion of Iraq, I was one of many Americans saying, "This is Vietnam all over again." At the time, we were described by officialdom as facile thinkers who simply didn't understand the severity of the situation. What we did
understand was that Iraq had absolutely nothing to do with 9/11; there was no Al Qaeda in Iraq; and even if Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction, let us be adult enough to remember we do business with countries that have WMD every day. Oh, and
Saddam Hussein killed his own people? So have the Chinese, and we did not invade them.We need a miracle of God to remove from us what has become an almost pathological romanticization of the military. I have a great respect for the men and women of the
U.S. Armed Forces, but their idealization as ultimate and exclusive saviors in times of national distress is a disservice to them and to us all. If America spent more time and resources waging peace, we would find ourselves waging far less war.
Source: Healing the Soul of America, by Marianne Williamson, p.105-6
, Jul 24, 2018
Military expenditures are 54% of all discretionary funding
President Eisenhower [warned in 1961 that] "we must not fail to comprehend grave implications. [of] an immense military establishment and a large arms industry We clearly did not heed his warnings. Our military expenditures have steadily increased to
the point where they are 54% of all discretionary federal funds.World military spending totaled more than $1.6 trillion in 2015, and the U.S. accounted for 37% of the total. The budget of our Defense Department, for instance is $600 billion, 24 times
more than the $26.5 billion allotted to the Department of State.
Are we being served or are we being robbed? Are we being protected or are we being turned into a militaristic nation whose citizens are being led to believe that brute force rather than
adherence to our values is the fulcrum of security?
In truth, our military budget is more an expression of the financial appetites of our military-industrial complex than it is a truly wise response to admittedly very real threats.
Source: Healing the Soul of America, by Marianne Williamson, p.167-8
, Jul 24, 2018
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