You know how they say America is Exceptional, among all the world's nations ...
though many are loathe to admit it -- Here is the primary reason Why:
Website: List of countries by military expenditures -- From Wikipedia
Data Source: SIPRI -- Stockholm International Peace Research Institute
When I was growing up, there were Bullies on my bus, and in the school-yard too, who had 'exceptionally large' opinions of themselves, as well.
They demanded habitual 'homage or tribute' in order to pass unscathed -- or else risk suffering their consequences.
While such Bullies are often "Legends in their own Minds" -- in real life they are simple viewed as Jack-asses, to be avoided at all cost. Whenever humanly possible.
That is what 'Exceptional' meant to me, growing up -- someone with exceptional power, hell-bent on forcing their will on others, on those with little option but to 'take it'.
With such out-sized investments of their citizen's blood, sweat, and tears -- toward each nation's own respective Military Might -- it kind of makes me wonder: WHAT are they are all investing in?
-- Some 'brass-knuckles' to take on the school-yard Bullies;
-- Or a down-payment on global Armageddon, once predicted by Fools?
In either case, the long-term ROI on such in global investment strategies, seems to have not lived up to the global growth-rate hype. Such investments are fool-hardy at best.
Investing in Fear, Pain, and Death, and the means of distributing it, have typically been a losing bet,
-- especially for those poor souls left on the receiving end, of such over-sized ways and means.
Or so it seems to me, as someone who quickly learned to avoid those school-yard, get-off-my-turf, never-address-the-real-problems, perpetual fights.
Fight Club was just not for me. There was no future in it ... as far as I could see.
Of course, evolution occurs much much too slowly, to side-step these in-grained pugilistic instincts, for most nations. Much too our on-going and long-term, humanly loss.
Or so it seems to me, as some nave who still believes in the out-sized power of the pen, to ultimately be the grand mover hearts and minds ...
Investing in War showcases the worst of Humanity. Someday the Bullies among us, must just STOP -- stop and grow-up -- if we are ever to see Humanity at its Best.
That would be a Return on Investment, worth 'fighting' for ... with our always persistent words and worthy deeds.