The word 'war' has been corrupted and watered down

It's a shame what we have done to war — not the activity, but the word.

"War" was once among the most meaningful and somber of words. Most people dreaded even the thought of war. The founders of our nation were so reluctant to apply the word that they made it difficult for the United States to declare war, giving that responsibility exclusively to Congress, where they knew it would be openly debated and, in most cases, actively resisted. They had designed Congress to represent the people, to consider all points of view, and to guard against the nation being misled by a single individual.

The American people consider war such a significant event that we set aside a day each year to honor veterans who fought in the nation's wars . . . and another day to remember those who gave their lives in wartime.

But Congress has not declared war in more than 60 years. President Harry Truman sent American troops to Korea and called it "police action." President John Kennedy hired and trained surrogates to invade Cuba. Presidents Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon sent 50,000 Americans to their deaths in Vietnam without ever asking Congress for a declaration of war. President Ronald Reagan invaded Grenada with no warning to Congress. The first President Bush invaded Iraq and called it our response to a U.N. resolution. President Bush Junior again invaded Iraq and Afghanistan and called it "War on Terrorism," even though it cannot possibly be a war according to the Constitution.

But while most presidents judiciously circumvent the term "war," the American people and history books freely refer to all events mentioned above as "war."

Meanwhile, presidents have perverted the term "war," using it to describe campaigns which clearly are not war at all.

Nixon declared "War on Cancer." It was never a war and not much of a skirmish. It was and is primarily a barrage of words, with a small amount of research money thrown in for cosmetic purposes. The front lines are defended by researchers in our universities, and they often spend as much time fighting for money and resources as they do fighting the disease.

Reagan declared the "War on Drugs," a war where the enemy is our own people, where Congress plays no role other than to fire endless words and a little money at the problem and where no one will ever know whether we are winning or losing. Mostly, we are losing because we reject remedies that might do some good but will cost a little money. Our political leaders take aim at largely meaningless responses designed to conquer public opinion. Instead of treating the illness that causes drug abuse, we throw victims of the disease in jail.