Not so National Guard

      It all started in 1636. The nation needed a better defense against the Indigenous Pequot people, which then led to the formation of the National Guard. They were created as a group that would be sent out to help fight in different wars. Some of these include World War I, World War II, the Korean War, and many more. They became a defense system that the government could rely on for backup or assistance to help people all over the world.

     The National Guard is made up of soldiers and airmen who have been used by the United States as a form of protection for almost 400 years now. They have the ability to be deployed both in the United States and overseas in other countries, but are only activated when the President demands them to be. This means helping and assisting with domestic emergencies, natural disasters, large-scale events, war, and serving overseas. But lately, this is not how they have been used throughout the country. President Donald Trump has been deploying them to cities all across the nation. They have been asked to go there due to the high crime rate, but this isn’t the only reason they have been sent there. Trump has recently assigned some National Guard troops to help clean up the streets in Washington, D.C., as a beautification project. This has brought much confusion and an uproar on social media, as many view this as not a valid reason for the National Guard to be deployed. According to CNN, it costs the federal government roughly one million dollars a day for the National Guard to clean the streets. With all this money going towards something that can be done as volunteer work or community service hours, many people are wondering why Trump made the decision to do this.

     While they have been sent to D.C. to help clean up the city, they have also been sent out to other major cities to help lower the crime rate, which has become an increasing problem. Many city officials are unhappy with Trump’s decision and are now attempting to file a lawsuit against the government. But, due to the concern from the President on the crime rate, he has also decided to further the deployment of the National Guard to more cities, including Chicago, Los Angeles, Memphis, St. Louis, and Baltimore. But if he gets his way, there is going to be an increase in troops all over. 

     Although the country has been able to see some decrease in the crime rate, there is some uncertainty about whether this is the correct plan of action to take. All this money going towards something that is only solving a small portion of the problem seems kind of pointless, right? This is why many citizens are getting angry at Trump for sending the troops out. I believe that the government should use its money towards causes that need it more. These troops are forcing homeless people off the streets, when we could be spending money on building more homeless shelters for them to live in, funding mental health research, or making houses more affordable. In my opinion, the government needs to look at the nation as a whole and change its priorities, because the streets will always be dirty, but the impact individuals can make on each other is what we really need to worry about.