A Question Of Priorities.
Friends, given my current situation I thought I’d investigate a few facts and figures about the amount of money the world spends on developing ways to kill other humans and contrast it with the amount that it spends on other things including health care. Some interesting results were revealed.
The pie chart at the top of the post shows the amount of money spent on arms by countries in the world. You’ll note of course which country spends the most.
The chart below shows the amount of money spent on other items.
| Global Priority | $U.S. Billions |
|---|---|
| Cosmetics in the United States | 8 |
| Ice cream in Europe | 11 |
| Perfumes in Europe and the United States | 12 |
| Pet foods in Europe and the United States | 17 |
| Business entertainment in Japan | 35 |
| Cigarettes in Europe | 50 |
| Alcoholic drinks in Europe | 105 |
| Narcotics drugs in the world | 400 |
It’s interesting isn’t it that spending on narcotic drugs, alcohol and military spending dwarf the other consumer spending.
But, ironically, the table below shows what was estimated as additional costs to achieve universal access to basic social services in all developing countries:
| Global Priority | $U.S. Billions |
|---|---|
| Basic education for all | 6 |
| Water and sanitation for all | 9 |
| Reproductive health for all women | 12 |
| Basic health and nutrition |
13 |
So what this means is that 6 billion dollars would cater for basic education for everyone in developing countries and 13 billion for basic health and nutrition.
I guess the sad part is that we humans spend heaps more money on war and drugs and alcohol than we do on trying to find the cure for serious medical conditions or trying to solve problems of inequality, poverty and starvation (see Global Issues link at the end of the post for more information and my thanks to them for the charts).
Makes you wonder about our priorities, doesn’t it? It seems we love killing our fellows and getting stoned and drunk more than anything else.
We even give medical research programmes that try to prolong our lives insignificant funding.
How crazy is that?
http://www.globalissues.org/article/75/world-military-spending
Yes, US military spending is obscene, and I’m doing what I can not to contribute. Throwing in the substance issue really obfuscates the reality that many of us have no choice about spending our money on education, health care, providing housing, and other basic necessities. I smoke pot, and I don’t think that has a damned thing to do with funding warfare or not caring for others. Indeed, if I didn’t smoke, I might have been driven to kill myself by now, given the decrepit state of American culture. Despite my “priority” to get high, I devote a substantial proportion of my time, much of it unpaid, to teach and to volunteer my services as a biologist. David, sometimes your points are well made, and other times you really miss hitting the target with your red herrings. Stop your insinuations that those who drink or get high are somehow responsible for the ills of the world, otherwise you’re nothing more than a deluded fraud!
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David G Reply:
July 22nd, 2009 at 4:08 pm
Peter, were you stoned or drunk when you wrote this comment? Perhaps it was both.
Try to keep in mind that my posts are not directed at you but at a wider audience. Cheers.
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I read a story about how we here in america spend less than 8% of our pay on food. That’s a good indication or at least one, that priorities are wrong, that people can’t purchase decent and real food.
When I hear, especially this week about spending millions of dollars to go to Mars, I wonder, if all this money that is spent freely on items such as this, why are so many people starving, out of work, have no jobs, well, you get the point.
As I get older, these thoughts bother me more and more ; (
Hope things are getting better for you.
Cheers!
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David G Reply:
July 23rd, 2009 at 9:33 am
Coffee, our priorities are arse-backwards. We live as if war and killing was the number one priority and being caring and compassionate and peace-loving was a mortal sin!
Those who run the world are evil!
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Narcotics, taking such a large slice of the global priority pie, is a meditation all in itself. Why so much need for pain relief, hm? That is what narcotics do. They make unbearable pain, bearable. A world – in emergency-room levels – of pain!
The problem with lumping pot in with other drugs, is that it has suffered for at least 90 years from politically motivated prohibition. There are different strains that have different effects, much akin to viticulture or the study of wine. Indica strains can help increase appetite and make a person sleepy; excellent for persons that suffer related afflictions. Then there are Sativa strains that expand the mind and increase physical energy while acting as a tonic for physical pain; best for nerve damage. Smoking has been proven to reduce the amount of pills that patients consume and generally increase their quality of life. Also, it is excellent, I would even call it magic, for motion sickness.
The language used to describe the pot experience is archaic. It is because we were not raised to have expanded consciousness and increased awareness of the moment. People often don’t have the adequate language to describe their experience. So people saying things, “like, whoa, dude!” are often chariactures of the “stoned” person.
Because of political culture, true knowledge of the medicine that is marijuana is grossly misunderstood. It is another result of (our) indoctrinated thinking to immediately judge the pot smoker, yet not the wine drinker.
That said, I would not like my brain surgeon to smoke a big fatty before cutting my skull open! Also, I would be happy if my son considers pot as medicine for sick, old people and never touch the stuff till his brain has finished its major development at age 25.
Peace, peeps.
G.
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Glad to see you posting, David. Hope that you’re feeling well.
One of the reasons that so much money is spent on narcotics is that narcotics cost a lot of money! And the money spent on narcotics goes to fund nefarious projects like the CIA, their buddies, the mafia, helping to keep criminals in power in various governments like in Kosovo, etc.
How dare they outlaw plants!! We humans live on a planet abundant with life, including plants that enhance our lives by altering our perception. I read a National Geographic article talking about the human delight in perception alteration – it’s pretty universal.
The outrage of the US attacking South American farmers with herbicides under the rubric of drug prevention makes me so angry. How dare the US destroy peasant crops in another country!
This shows how distorted our thinking is, that we accept the right of the government to outlaw plants, that we accept the right of the government to attack farmers in other countries, that we accept the right of the government to imprison millions for using plants in the US, that we ignore the vast sums of money to be made and the corrupt CIA and other government entities that siphon off profits and the criminal banks that launder the money.
We are being used by criminals who try to convince us that we are the criminals.
And that’s not even addressing the money spent on weapons.
As to the food issue, we are paying for cheap food. And I don’t mean in the poor health that we suffer from eating it.
I mean in the agribusiness subsidies that the taxpayers pay. We give billions to millionaire “farmers” who live in Nob Hill or Manhattan and rent out their land to others who produce enough corn to feed all Americans three times over. This corn is fed to animals who live trapped in tiny cages all of their short miserable lives, and are then brutally murdered on assembly lines moving so fast that they are frequently skinned before they are dead. They are then chopped, reassembled in various forms, deep fried and sold very cheaply to consumers. This is the efficient American form of farming. It has thrown millions of farmers off the land in the last thirty years, caused untold suffering to animals, and ballooned American girth by convincing them to consume way more calories than they need.
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Therese Reply:
July 24th, 2009 at 4:13 pm
Oh yes, wagelaborer. I share your outrage! And, do think that David G. should be entitled to marijuana.
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Grace, your thoughtful, logical comments are always welcome on this site. I’ve never been a pot smoker. Perhaps it’s time to consider it!
Wagelaborer, the unfolding of my health issues hasn’t begun yet so, though I’m stressed and in a state of shock, I’m currently doing alright. Posting helps me to keep my mind on other things.
I love your sentence about ‘being used by criminals who try to convince us that we are the criminals!’ and your observations about the way we treat animals sadly are true.
Take care, both of you!
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You said it, Wagelaborer! All of it!
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One of the benefits of altering our perception with plant medicine, is that is helps keep us connected to the living, green earth. Something that our survival is perhaps dependent upon.
I read about a group of art students in Chicago that are ending up with farming degrees. The artists are naturally endowed with an ability for expanded vision and they see that organic farming that includes bringing back heirloom varieties of plants, is the most valuable thing they could do!
I think that learning to slow down now and integrating a natural life with our technological capabilities, is our best chance of surviving any survivable, coming changes. Not freaking out and ending up in the caveman days all over again.(If we don’t nuke ourselves to oblivion!)
Stay well , David. These are indeed interesting times.
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