On January 8, 1964, in his State of the Union address, President L. B. Johnson, declared "War On Poverty." As a result of being born two years later (1966), legally and honestly, I like millions of other people, were conceived while 'America' was at war. Historical facts indistinguishably show the United States of America, as a nation, came into fruition through, revolution, rebellion, and, warlike tendencies; so, much so, that it's first president was a General. America's cornerstone to it's foundation is the hardened cement of war and rebellion. World history, as well as, American history depicts this country's warlike nature and policies since it's inception to the present.

Many American citizens take pride in military strategy, fighting wars, and patriotism, but, the "War on Poverty" was not a conventional war filled with battle riddled conflicts where lives and body parts are lost. Understanding war in the conventional sense sparked my creative side to contrast "the war on poverty" to the conventional most thought of type of warfare; the type which inculcates combat. An unfortunate aspect of combative warfare came to my mind, the "prisoners of war." In every war, there are always prisoners from all sides. Think about it, haven't we negotiated prisoner exchanges, like in the Civil War and others ?

I began pondering the question, who were the P.O.W.'s of the War on Poverty, and, whether or not, I could be considered a prisoner of that war. Yes, that's right a P.O.W. ! Can I and others similarly situated be the prisoner's of war in the War on Poverty ? Are we at the very least veterans or combat veterans ?

Today, I wear a patch on articles of my clothing which indicates prisoner of war status. I was not awarded this patch or status through government recognition, nor, from military combat. Yet, in my opinion, I like millions of others are entitled to wear this P.O.W. patch, you may or may not agree. However, you may change your mind after this reading, and then again you may not.

In order to make a determination (acceptable or unacceptable to do so) we need to first establish a working definition of what a prisoner is, and, then, see, how, or, if the denotations or connotations are applicable.

According to dictionary dot com, a prisoner is:

1. A person held in custody, captivity, or a condition of forcible restraint, especially while on trial or serving a prison sentence.

2. One deprived of freedom of expression or action: "He was a prisoner of his own personality—of that given set of traits that . . . predisposed him to see the world in a certain way, to make certain moves, certain choices" (William H. Hallahan).

and,

According to Merian Webster a prisoner is defined as:

1. One who is confined in a prison
2. A person under arrest, or in custody, whether in prison or not; a person held in involuntary restraining, a captive; as a prisoner at the bar of a court.

Now that we have accepted definitions of a prisoner, all we have to do is apply the "of war" to it; bearing in mind, in this instance, "on poverty."

Is it applicable or possible for "poverty" to have a person "in custody" or "captivity" ? How does being poor cause a condition of forcible restraint, or, can it ? Will being poor predispose a person to see the world in a certain way, to make certain moves, or certain choices ?

Claiming prisoner of war status, may cause many Americans to be uncomfortable; and, more likely than not, some people will scream at their highest vocal pitches "outrage" at my doing so.

Not a problem for me though, because I understand, our minds (have been and are) conditioned in so many different ways; so much so, I wonder if there really is freedom of thought, not to mention, "freedom of speech." Governments are theoretically responsible for the leadership of it's citizenry / it's people. Is this accomplished through brainwashing by skillful utilization of media channels (i.e. Television and Radio) ? It is a well known fact, through the many media channels, which are regulated by the FCC in the U.S., human minds and emotions are manipulated, influenced, sometimes controlled, led to believe, programed, and/or conditioned to adopt positions and concepts we would not otherwise have. Often times the message will prompt the audience into verbal or even physical action.

If you closed your eyes and attempted to picture a prisoner of war being held, would a subliminal image conjure up Men (and Women now) being abducted or kidnapped by an extremist sect claiming to be under the banner of Islam ? In your picture, were they holding them hostage at an undisclosed location in Middle East ?

Maybe, for some (imagining) the images would be, Hollywood scenes from one of the Rambo movies, where Sly, single handed rescues American soldiers from Vietnam. The point is though, we have images stored in our minds that originate from television for the most part.

Thinking of P.O.W. brings to our mind visions of men with missing limbs, tortured and beaten, mal-nurtured, skinny bodies, and/or their staging hunger strikes in protest of treatment while being held in captivity. These are a few of the subliminal impressions that have been embedded in our minds through the media: The P.O.W. in the 'historical' 'conventional' sense of war.

Today's prisoner of war, might bring to mind images of electro-shock treatment or the water boarding techniques used at Guantanamo Bay. Further, images of men and women being publicly beheaded on live "television." It is perplexing seeing how far we have advanced in civilization and simultaneously equally regressed in civility. Can we attribute this phenomenon to the balance of life in application ?

My point, is simple really, for me to utilize or claim P.O.W. status based upon the 'War on Poverty', will somehow, I am sure, be considered insensitive to those military personnel of the Vietnam, Korean, Iraqi, and Afghan war eras. Nevertheless, because I am a creative, critical freethinker, I challenge if the "prisoner of war" status should be or even can be, restricted in application to the particular type of war that involves combat between two opposing forces. Who, defined and/or declared it to be so ?

Should it depend upon whether we acknowledge and/or allow P.O.W. to be used in other manners ? Obviously, there are other kinds of wars than just physical combat: where, men women, and children are slain by acts of violence upon one another.

How unfortunate that Hollywood never shot a scene from the War on Poverty like it did in Rambo movies. Those scenes if Hollywood had, would not have taken place in a foreign location. The prisoners of that film would be American citizens on American soil.

This war on poverty, without question, was not a 'conventional war', it was therefore an 'unconventional war'. What were the perimeters and boundaries established for "The War on Poverty." In this unconventional warfare, fairly new warfare, are there guidelines for rules of engagement. Our leaders and great thinkers of old have sat in many counsels to determine rules of engagement for violence, killing, and maiming !!! History illustrates "The Geneva Convention" is where men sat to decide and draft rules of conduct in warfare involving combat. I've found no such convention/assembly that decided upon the rules of conduct or engagement in the War on Poverty.

According to Constitutional Law, Congress alone has the authority to declare war; therefore, interestingly enough, as president, Lynden Baines Johnson did not have the authority to declare war. However, Congress subsequently declared the war on poverty, therefore, the war on poverty is a legitimate American War, just as the War on Drugs.

These are wars forged in American History that have been forgotten for the most part. There is no national recognition for them. My questions to you then are:

• Where is the veterans day celebration for the men, women, and children who served on the unconventional battle fields?
• Better yet, are there veterans of these types of war ?
• Are there Prisoner's of War ?
• How does poverty effect national security ?
• Who is the enemy ?
• How many would gladly send their sons and daughters into the military service to fight the war on poverty ?
• Did we win that war ?

Just a few things, a couple of ideas to ponder ! My thought is, it is a sad day when, Think Tanks are established by Joint Chiefs of Staff, and, the likes, sitting around the Pentagon and elsewhere, to draw up war plans of obliteration; but, no attention or effort is given to the poor, sick, and suffering.

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