8/9/2019 Greed and Power Are the Truest Evils

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Greed and Power Are the Truest EvilsBy Rafael Guerrero

Greed and power are the truest evils. Many times, war is a cause of greed and thedesire for power. Stronger nations will attack a weaker nation in the hope of gaining

more power or status and usually in the hope of getting spoils of war. Spoils of warcan be gaining land, business contracts (the Iraqi War), reparations, and control of anation through a puppet government. Take a look at all of the wars that haveoccurred throughout history and in most of them you will find a reason (possiblyhidden by the government) that involves greed and/or power. The War ofIndependence it was all about power the British wanted to have colonies abroadwhich equals power however the colonies wanted to become their own countrywhich also equals power (Im not saying that is the only reason the colonies wantedto become independent). The Civil War- the Southern states ceded from the Union,which caused the war. The Union did not want to lose their power like that and so thewar began. The Spanish-American War, the war which helped the US get recognizedas a major power. That war was all about power and greed because the US kept thePhilippines and freed Cuba (although Cuba remained under US influence fordecades after). The war in Afghanistan- yes, it was about terrorism, however, the USgained plenty of influence there since we now have a US-friendly president andtroops stationed there. The Iraqi War- I know many will disagree with me here, butits hard to deny that the war had anything to do with oil when US companies areenjoying millions of dollars in revenue due to oil contracts. We also have a US-friendlypresident in Iraq and thousands of troops stationed there hows that for influence inthe Middle East?

Famine is attributed to abusive governments, imperialism, and a lack of resources.Abusive governments do not care about their population. Saddam Husseins peoplewere starving and suffering from a lack of resources while he had numerous palacesand millions of dollars. Imperialism, which is not as obvious now as it was a hundredyears ago, still exists. Powerful countries extract resources from weaker countriesthis is done either forcefully or by other means. Some countries also have a lack ofnatural resources. Imperialism is the reason why Africa is so poor. During thecolonization era Africa was the most exploited part of the world. Europeans werebuilding colonies in Africa and taking their rubber and minerals.

Hatred stems from what I have mentioned above. The US has many enemies becauseof its imperialism. Famine, abusive regimes, etc. have caused unrest in countries. Allof these things lead to bloodshed. Intolerance is also a very important reason whythere is so much hatred. Countries with different governments cannot stand eachother. Religions are not tolerant of each other. Many wars, too many, have beenfought over religion. This intolerance leads to war the winner is then the mostpowerful? My opinion is that this form of choosing the most powerful is barbaric.Greed and power are the truest evils.