War is not only morally wrong, it's dumb

Republican presidential candidates' views to the contrary, militaristic machismo is not only costly and deadly, it's dumb.  America has engaged in over a dozen significant wars, invasions and other conflicts since WWII and only one of them - the invasion of Grenada - can be considered, at least by militarists, a success and no one remembers it.

Meanwhile the three major military powers on this earth have wasted huge sums of money maintaining their military front while their economies have less and less to show for it. China's economy, for example, is at a 25 year low. And the American economy is shaky at best.

Meanwhile America, according to one study, has killed over 20 million people since WWII, and has hardly anything to show for it.

Quietly, however, and without any admission of past wrong and stupidity, war is becoming less deadly, symbolized by drones replacing infantry divisions. Leaders like Obama and Kerry maintain a  macho facade while secretly negotiating with the Iranians to replace militarism with les deadly economic competition.

It is a step forward and supports my thesis that war could turn out to be the slavery of the 21st century: a venal sin we finally admit and discard.

But unlike slavery, even as Obama and Kerry attempt to move away from war, they can't publicly admit they are also turning away from grand philosophical evil. War abolitionists are still considered kooks and neither politicians nor the media give a moment's notice to voices of peace. The best in their view, as with Iran, is a temporary settlement.

If that's the most we can do, so be it, but the saner and more intelligent supporters of peace could help the cause by more strongly making the point that war is not just evil. . . it is just plain stupid, as are those who support it.