THE NEW NORM(ative)

War exists.Peace is rare,precious,hard to find
It should be valued like gold and diamonds-an instrument of exchange
We do this when we bribe Taliban with suitcases of dollars
or Egypt with millions in bail monies(Iran the same)
We bribe North Korea with food for peace
is expensive-but war always costs more!
Fewer casualties in Afghanistan-but many more disabled veterans
draining military funds via health benefits
Same as Austin Council put a dollar value on their trees
we need to assign our values to peace
To violate the Noise Ordinance in Austin costs $400
That is the price of quiet.Domestic violence is subject to civil
as well as criminal penalties-up to millions may be paid for damages
This is the current price of domestic peace.
Billions have been spent on weapons-made redundant like USS Enterprise
Sting purchased a rainforest in the Amazon-then demanded it be left pristine
This is the price of property peace.Prosperity can bribe peace
Poorer nations attract more savage violence-Sudan,Yemen,Somalia etc
Prosperity schemes like Marshall Plans and micro-loans may pay for peace
It always costs less than wars.May we invest in peace now-it pays dividends
for our children and our ancestors...