I keep getting asked to help explain to friends what I think is happening and what to do about this endless war.

It’s not that there’s an Illuminati that makes the decisions on how the world is run. It’s just that like the person who likes the corner office and parking spot, our representatives like power. And corporations like profit and need to keep representatives there working for their end game.

The biggest profits are in multi-national corporations such as finance, defense, oil, big pharma, and agriculture; therefore, our representatives are going to make rules that make the biggest donors to their campaigns richer.

Or if you prefer to use senior George W. Bush advisor Karl Rove’s own words back in 2002: “That’s not the way the world really works anymore,” he said. “We’re an empire now, and when we act, we create our own reality. And while you’re studying that reality — judiciously, as you will — we’ll act again, creating other new realities, which you can study, too, and that’s how things will sort out. We’re history’s actors … and you, all of you, will be left to just study what we do.”

So if the U.S. is an empire or a plutocracy, why do I make stopping the war my No. 1 issue and not campaign finance or climate change to make a difference?

Because I believe my taxes are going to the killing of innocent lives, injuring children, creating more homeless and destroying generations. I believe murder is wrong, and I can’t live with myself indirectly killing people. Even if it doesn’t make a difference, I can’t turn my back on my own evils.

I’m 56 and witnessed the lies for each of the wars where none were for imminent attacks. We fought in Afghanistan, the country where all empires go to die, and 14 years later are still not winning. In Iraq for oil. Against al-Qaida and now ISIS.

So when we drop bombs on cities, villages, hospital and schools, are we killing the good guys, too? But we don’t see that. We are told we need to stop these barbarians, but what is your definition of a barbarian? I think I am if I let genocide occur.

Vote Arn Menconi for U.S. Senate

My #1 reason for running for U.S. Senator is to end endless wars. And in explaining why, I simply quote Pope Francis’ speech to Congress last September:

“Being at the service of dialogue and peace,” he said, “also means being truly determined to minimize and, in the long term, to end the many armed conflicts throughout our world. Here we have to ask ourselves: Why are deadly weapons being sold to those who plan to inflict untold suffering on individuals and society? Sadly, the answer, as we all know, is simply for money: money that is drenched in blood, often innocent blood. In the face of this shameful and culpable silence, it is our duty to confront the problem and to stop the arms trade.” -Pope Francis

The Trillion-Dollar military industrial, congressional, security, media couples is running the U.S.’s foreign policy, economy and stealing from providing domestically what our country needs most for infrastructure, health care, education and climate justice.

More than anything, it’s killing innocent people, breeding terrorism and destroying countries and cultures. No country can be great if we sell our moral principles for the profits of war.

Over the past year, I interviewed scholars, journalists and former National Security officials on how the U.S.’s foreign policy has evolved to be so misguided & corrupt.

Here are some of my interviews from my YouTube station:

Also, listen to my interview with Daniel Ellsberg — America’s first whistleblower .

Take a moment to listen to Amy Goodman from Democracy Now explains Obama’s Trillion-Dollar Nuclear program.