America Is in a Constant State of War, and Its Founding Values Are Approaching Annihilation

September 21, 2016

Once, war was a temporary state of affairs—a violent but brief interlude between times of peace. Today, America’s wars are everywhere and forever: our enemies change constantly and rarely wear uniforms, and anything can become a weapon.

As war expands, so does the role of the U.S. military. They no longer just “kill people and break stuff.” Instead, they analyze computer code, train Afghan judges, build Ebola isolation wards, eavesdrop on electronic communications, develop soap operas, and patrol for pirates.

In her book How Everything Became War and the Military Became Everything, Rosa Brooks offers an urgent warning: when the boundaries around war disappear, we risk destroying America’s founding values and the laws we’ve built as well as undermining the international rules that keep our world from sliding towards chaos.

Watch Brooks address this issue at her recent book launch in the video above, or listen to audio below.

Book Launch: How Everything Became War and the Military Became Everything (September 14, 2016)

Topics

National Security and Counterterrorism, Rule of Law

National Security and Human Rights

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