Philip Berrigan - "King - Making" (March 19, 1975)

As it was for Samuel’s people, who wanted a King to rule over them in economic and militaristic power, America wants to rule in greed, power and waging war. (Abstract created by Duke Divinity School staff.)

Key quotation: Since 1946, our kings have spent 13 trillion million dollars of your money for war-making, more than all the rest of humanity combined during the same period. Our kings have dropped atomic weapons of Japanese flesh as a threat to the Russians. When japan was tottering on sewing for surrender. Our kings wage perpetual war on Indochina and that’s an orgy of scorched earth and genocide. Still continuing, to the volume of 610 thousand dead since the signing of the Paris peace accord, our kings have escalated the insanity of the thermo nuclear arms race… Now, if Americans want prosperity, they want a King and they want war. Our kings have been all too faithful to the desires of the people.