#84 / Plan B

Plan B is a registered trademark. Actually, I think the official trademark is for the phrase "Plan B One Step." You can click the link below or contact Planned Parenthood to find out more. Here's a brief description:

PLAN B ONE-STEP

Plan B One-Step emergency contraception is a backup plan that helps prevent pregnancy when taken within 72 hours (3 days) after unprotected sex or birth control failure. The sooner it’s taken, the better it works. It contains levonorgestrel, the same hormone used in many birth control pills—just at a higher dose. It should not be used as regular birth control, because it’s not as effective.

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I am, personally, quite happy that a "Plan B" contraception option is available for those who may need or want it. However, I actually got to thinking about the "Plan B" idea in a rather different context, based on a couple of articles I have recently reviewed. 

The Resilience website, for instance, recently posted an article titled, "Europe Needs a Plan B: Radical Political Change is Coming." That article is well worth reading.

In addition, I have also recently read an article by Gregory Foster, who is a professor at the National Defense University in Washington, D.C. He is a West Point graduate, and a decorated veteran of the Vietnam War, and Foster makes the case for "demilitarizing the military." He believes that "Pentagon Excess Has Fueled a Civil-Military Crisis," in which "civilian control of the Military has become a fantasy."

This is a serious thought to think! I also recommend Foster's article. 

If Foster is right, or is close to the truth, and the military is more and more escaping from any effective civilian control, there is undoubtedly a reason for that. Here is the reason I would advance: our current, and rather limited, imagination seems to suggest that a "military" response is the only available response to almost every kind of national or international crisis. In an uncertain global environment, we need to have protection. At least, we think we do. The military are the nation's designated protectors, and who knows more about what the military should do to provide that protection, than the military itself? 

Once the first concession is made, and we have decided that the solution to most of our various problems is, almost certainly, a "military" solution, then we have really ceded the power over almost everything to the military. 

We definitely need a "Plan B" to address the challenges and threats we face. What is true in Europe is true here, too, and our "Plan B" has got to be a plan that does NOT include the need for military action.

If the only options we consider are military options, the military is going to be in charge, and we might as well admit we're screwed. 

When you're screwed, you do need to do something about it. You need a "Plan B."

Image Credit:

http://www.123rf.com/stock-photo/plan_b.html