I was born during the presidency of Dwight Eisenhower. His first term. For those unaware of Eisenhower, he was the General that led us through World War Two, in Europe. He lead the military defeat of Germany. He became the hero of that war, to the extent that he was elected to a second term as president. At the end of that term, president Eisenhower gave a speech to the country known as his Farewell Address (1961). That address has become prescient, decade over decade. Why?

Eisenhower warned us of the Military Industrial Complex and how they’d lead us into wars that had nothing to do with the national security of the United States.

In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.

Think about that. Ever since then we have been involved in large and small conflicts all around the world. Why? Politicians and arms makers arm-in-arm through history. Presidents that wanted to keep us from these conflicts? Only one I can think of in my lifetime and he was limited to a single term in office. Can you guess who that was?