America can’t begin to heal itself until it confronts a hard truth: our modern wars have been not only tragic, but futile. 

In earlier eras, from ancient Greece onward, war was a burden borne directly by citizens —farmers, laborers, neighbors — whose lives were immediately at stake. Battles were brief because society itself couldn’t function otherwise. Today, war has been abstracted. Our professionalized military, drawn largely from communities many of us don’t know, fights conflicts many of us don’t see or feel.

This distance has made us numb, and the human cost is staggering and often senseless. Decades of policy have obscured the trillions spent, the hundreds of thousands of civilians killed and how little of lasting value was achieved.

Meanwhile, a permanent military-industrial apparatus continues to grow, incentivized not by peace but by perpetual conflict. The result is a cycle of endless unwon wars that drain resources urgently needed at home.

If American democracy is to reflect the will of its people, this must change. Our foreign policy requires a fundamental overhaul rooted in restraint, accountability and moral clarity. Political leaders must oppose not just unauthorized wars, but unnecessary ones.

We can’t rebuild America while exporting destruction abroad. The first step toward renewal is ending the cycle of war.

George Simonson
Harpswell