Is the school out of toilet paper again? If so, it’s not
because of the depleted supply of South American trees, but because
the government is probably spending too much money on the military
and not enough on schools and necessities.
So says Joel Andreas, a Ph.D. student in sociology at UCLA, in
the second edition of his 64-page illustrated exposé titled
“Addicted to War: Why the U.S. Can’t Kick
Militarism.”
Andreas’ book takes readers through a journey of American
history using his own cartoons, photographs, snippets from secret
documents and sarcastic comments to present his view of the United
States’ dependency on militarism.
“I wanted to show how the U.S. is an extreme militaristic
power,” Andreas said. “It’s our policy to define
our relationship with other countries in terms of military power
and always act as an expansionist authority.”
Born in Normal, Ill., Andreas grew up in a pacifist household
with an activist mother. He moved to numerous places during his
youth including Pakistan and Detroit until settling down in
Berkeley, Calif., and attending Berkeley High, where he created his
first comic book “The Incredible Rocky.” This comic
book illustrated his views of how the economic system favors large
corporations and the rich, and how they in turn influence foreign
policy.
After graduating from Berkeley High, Andreas journeyed to Peru
for a year, acting as an observer in numerous demonstrations.
Returning to the United States with newfound momentum, he targeted
the KKK and police brutality in Alabama and Louisiana.
Andreas’ newest comic book looks at the underlying reasons
he sees for the United States’ success: the powerful military
and the wars that keep the country alive and thriving.
“There are numerous reasons the U.S. keeps going to war
““ the main one being economic gain,” Andreas said.
“With militaristic people such as (Dick) Cheney and (Donald)
Rumsfeld in the White House, we will continue to wage futile
wars.”
His book takes political cartoons to a different level, using
his personalized drawing style, coupling satirical comics with
chilling photographs.
One such pairing shows Harry Truman saying, “We pray that
God might guide us to use (the Bomb) in His ways and for His
purposes,” next to a photo of Japanese civilians maimed by
the atomic bombs.
From comments such as “There’s no business like war
business,” to propaganda ideas for the Council on Foreign
Relations, the book aims to capture the simple facts (and as the
book might imply, stupidity) of the U.S. government that, according
to Andreas, goes overlooked in many history books.
Andreas said that a lot of high schools and colleges are now
using his book, and major bookstores like Borders have made deals
to carry “Addicted to War.” The book is being
translated into Spanish, Korean, German and is already in its third
printing in Japanese.
“My book is really a history book of some sort,”
said Andreas, who hopes to be a professor of history. “I want
people to know what’s happening so they realize the great
power they have to do something about it and change it for the
future.”
In his plea to the American public to take action and become
aware of the situation, Andreas also wants the public to become
better educated on reasons for the United States’ military
dominance. He says that many citizens don’t know or care
what’s going on overseas, so they don’t realize how
that affects them.
“I want people, especially Americans, to realize their
great responsibility and power in keeping the anti-war movement
strong,” Andreas said. “Though the majority of the
world is against this war ““ we as Americans are the only ones
that can do anything about it.”
To learn more about or order “Addicted to War,”
visit
www.addictedtowar.com.