War Is A Racket – A Song by Ed Ciaccio

by Ed Ciaccio
Dandelion Salad
Featured Writer
April 18, 2012

Image by tsweden via Flickr

“War is a racket,” warned the retired Marine,
Veteran of wars, sick of what he’d seen.
Planned and ordered by the callous and mean,
It’s brutal and savage, and truly obscene.

“A gangster for capitalism” is what he became,
In his own words, years later, after his fame,
The book “War Is A Racket”, above his name,
Told how he was used in that deadly greed game.

The foreigners slaughtered, their countrysides raped,
Ignored for the plunder by those who escaped
To the boardrooms and stock market, all ticker-taped,
Gloating their success in the sick world they’d shaped.

Major General Butler, that retired Marine,
Decorated highly for the combat he’d seen,
Taught us all about the cruel War Machine
And the big business that war came to mean.

But corporate executives still push for more war
To add to their enormous profits galore.
Their servants in Congress won’t resist nor ignore
The lure of more wealth, in spite of the gore.

Lockheed-Martin, Northrup-Grumman, G.E.,
And others too numerous to mention, all agree
That the business of war, throughout history,
Is a sure way to success, profits guaranteed!

Weapon-makers’ billions remove any doubts
That wealth, not “defense” is what war’s all about.
When bombs fall, Wall Street celebrates with shouts
As the screams of the dying and maimed are drowned out.

Corporate media cooperates, hiding the facts.
Greed has replaced the integrity they lack,
Distracting our attention, not reporting the acts
Carried out in our name and paid for by our tax.

So our “gangsters for capitalism” still train and fight,
Brainwashed to believe it’s all for what’s right.
Calling them “heroes”, flags blinding our sight,
We ignore that what’s now “right” is only cruel might.

“They fight for our freedom,” we’re told once again,
And, “Our country must come to the aid of a friend.”
But clear history and facts won’t let us pretend:
It’s power and riches we want, in the end.

So the war racket lives on, as does the cruel lie
That serving your country equals willingness to die
For corporate plunder and a President’s pride,
As democracy withers and we all die inside.

“War is a racket. It always has been,”
Warned Smedley Butler, but to our chagrin,
We refuse to learn from committing this sin
That only the war profiteers ever win.

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Ed Ciaccio’s first book, Heartlines: Selected Personal Works 1966-2011, is now available at http://www.createspace.com/3722975 or www.amazon.com/.

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War is a Racket by Smedley Butler

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