Eisenhower?S Warnings Essay, Research Paper

In Eisenhower?s Farewell Address, the president gave warnings to his people regarding the influence of “the military-industrial complex.” After engaging in three of the four major wars of the century, America arose as the strongest nation. In response to the world?s turmoil, America built up the armament industry. The nation began to prepare for war before the threat arose instead of waiting until wartime to make ready the weapons. There was also a technological revolution during these post-war years. During this revolution, the government began to conduct and direct research.

With these two advances in American history, Eisenhower felt there were a number of possible negative outcomes, and therefore, he warns his people about the distruction that these new develops have the potential to cause. Some of the dangers of the complex that he mentions in his speech include: rise of misplaced power, endangering our liberties or democratic policies, public becoming a captive of a scientific-technological elite, and becoming a community of dreadful fear and hate. Eisenhower feels that the country?s move to preparedness for war is taking them farther away from peace. In his perfect world, people would not solve their conflicts by fighting, but by peacefully negotiation.

I think that his view is admirable and would probably be the best possible way to deal with things, but I do not find it to be all that realistic. The possible scenarios and problems that he came up with are all possible, and I agree that they are all probable, but I do not feel like peace among all nations will ever exist until we are at war with other worlds. People need war and conflict to survive and if we take that need away, we will in essence be defying nature and that seems to also end in anarchy. Is it better to be in turmoil as one nation or as an entire universe?

Bibliography

my brain and stuff