Let F-35 noise be a reminder
VTDigger Commentary, August 22, 2018
Editor’s note: This commentary is by Phil Hammerslough, a Burlington resident since 1969.
A year from September the first of the F-35 jets are supposed to arrive (that is if they gets the bugs out).
Even though Burlingtonians have voted to keep the F-35s away, the Air National Guard is in full swing preparing for their arrival with increased number of flights of the F-16 with afterburners on full throttle. I guess this is to prepare us for the crescendo in which the F-35 will engulf us.
Putting aside the pros and cons of the argument, has anyone ever asked themselves where these noisy things will go? Will they be banished to some wilderness to do their noise and environmental damage to large and small creatures? Will they be sent to some other city with more or less clout than our political representatives in Congress? (Who wholly supported their arrival?)
The fact is we are part of the system which helped create these war monstrosities at a cost we all should be ashamed of, since each of these death machines could help rebuild our health, educational and infrastructure to “Make America Great Again.”
As a Swiftian style proposal, I suggest we accept the burden of these machines so that each time they surpass the environmental noise level and stop all ability to speak or hear, we recognize that we play a role in their existence and give a moment (or possibly more), to consider whether or not to perpetuate the thinking and actions that created them.
Our military budget is bloated out of control and we are further away from feeling safe and secure than ever. In this upcoming election, consider the axiom, “Repeating the same action and expecting a different result is insanity.”
This is an opportunity to vote for those who will work to bring common sense and sanity by putting health, education and infrastructure as priorities ahead of the overfunded military budget.