Our next Connecting the Dots webinar will explore the intersection between militarism and the economy and militarism’s role in perpetuating poverty. OPW director Rev. Jimmie Hawkins and Rev. Liz Theoharis of the Poor People’s Campaign will speak.
Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. once named militarism as one of the three evils of society. He said, “A nation that continues year after year, to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death.” In fact, only 10 percent of world military spending today could eliminate global poverty.
We see this in our own nation, the United States. In 2020, the U.S. military budget was $756 billion for 2020. Further, for every federal discretionary dollar, 53 cents went to the military and only 15 cents went to anti-poverty spending.
Why are we investing so heavily in military spending when we are daily confronted by urgent problems like poverty, broken infrastructure and environmental catastrophes? What does this say about our society, culture, and values? What does this say about who we are as people of faith? Or about the God that we worship? This webinar will explore the relationship between militarism and the economy in the context of our faith and help us engage in faithful action.