The war in Ukraine is a perfect war for the corporations who are supplying the materials and services, while we in America can watch the spectacle as spectators with no real skin in the game. All of this in the hopes of weakening Russia so we can dominate the world. It is a great distraction from the real issues of the world while income inequality only grows.

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The upside of war has always been that the process of warfare requires a lot of materials, weapons, technology and support services, all of which are potential money makers for those who supply them.

The downside of war is that there are casualties with the resulting social consequences of their effect on families and communities. There is also the destruction of war if it is on your own soil. Finally, there are the social consequences of the necessary sacrifices and the fatigue of continually hearing about and seeing the destruction of war on the media.

It is easier to sustain public support if the war is being fought on foreign soil and you have no troops at risk. Another means of sustaining social support for a war is to present the enemy as evil and who can therefore be demonized in the media as somehow not really human, but instead outside the pale of humanity and therefor deserving no human concern. It is simply good versus evil.

The war in Ukraine is, in modern terms, a perfect war.

· It has all the financial benefits for those who supply the necessary war materials that any war uses.

· It is being waged against our archenemy, Russia, easily portrayed as a true empire of evil, deserving no real human concern. Great for propaganda.

· Since we are sending only funding, supplies and weapons and no "boots on the ground", there are no casualties and therefore no particular social backlash.

· In addition, the casualties are at the hands of the evil empire and therefore deserve our sympathy and support. (It also helps that they are white and mostly Christian so we can identify with them as opposed to the civilian casualties in Iraq, for example.)

· The coalition of the willing in this case are identified by an expanding NATO which the US dominates. It is the West (more civilized) against the East (more barbarian).

· We, as citizens, fund the war without realizing it, with the military spending that already takes up over half of our national budget. (There will be more coming which we will be told is necessary, spending for a noble cause.)

· We can sit in our homes and easily support the noble Ukrainian, "good guys" against Putin and his evil hoard for the foreseeable future.

· Meanwhile, domestic spending can continue to be put off a while longer as we watch the income inequality grow even larger, nationally.

· Finally, we have achieved some kind of national unity, in that it is nearly impossible to hear any voices that might possibly question the nobility of this war.

Why, this could go on forever with continuing support, providing the necessary noble distraction that keeps us from ever confronting the national and global issues that only continue to grow in severity as we watch this perfect war as spectators as others die to support our national objectives of damaging and weakening Russia.

Authors Website: http://substack.com/@bobpassi

Authors Bio:

I have been a lifelong observer of American democracy and a passionate advocate for civic engagement and social responsibility. Born at the start of World War II, I grew up witnessing the high points of the New Deal, the promise of postwar democracy, and the slow erosion of those ideals in the decades since. I am a retired educator, consultant, and social commentator, and I am able to bring decades of reflection and historical perspective to my work.
My new book is Saving Democracy: From the Warnings of 2016 to the Urgency of 2025, an updated and expanded edition of his original 2016 book that examines how the United States arrived at its current political crossroads-- and how citizen action can help reclaim the democratic promise.
I writes regularly at www.perspectives-bobpassi.org and on Substack at bobpassi.substack.com, where I write about democracy, personal empowerment, and the deeper cultural narratives shaping our time.