Letter: If you removed profiteering from the equation, wars across the world would not happen

Then post graduation we feel lucky, nay privileged, with proud parents if we attain a job in what basically is a missile factory, or an arms company.

We know from the recent conflict in Gaza that the UK and the USA will continue to sell weapons to Israel even being aware of the events which have happened over the last six months.

I remember hearing an employee of the then Shorts Missile Systems saying how he was working on the development of air-to-ground missiles, so therefore they wouldn't be able to be used by terrorists, etc. Ignoring the naivety of this comment, although I know what was meant, we know that Iraq had an air force, Libya had an air force, Russia has an air force. These are the terrorist states we're conditioned to think of as terrorist.

Also, the UK, the USA, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, etc, all have air forces. These are the terrorist states we're conditioned not to think of as terrorist although their levels of terrorism are astounding compared to the states we're conditioned from birth to see as being terrorist.

Vast wealth is accumulated from war and from selling arms and from the reconstruction post-war, post-conflict. It's all one big scam, but from cradle to grave we're taught this is normality.

But there's subtle, and not so subtle, manipulation all the way along. Many of us are pitifully unaware of this.

Take out the profiteering from the equation and these wars would not happen. If mass movements of progressive thinkers demanded arms factories be turned into factories producing health equipment, for example, then we could be producing health equipment rather than lethal weapons.

Where are all the Christians in this argument? We know the quotes from the Bible. Where are all the Christians?

Too busy possibly patting their little children's heads for doing well at university and getting that job in the local missile factory, or training to be a sniper in the national army.

Many of Britain's MPs are seeking the revolving door between government and the arms and security industries, instead of representing their constituents and being decent people.

I started by talking about physics A level. Well, what about teaching peace studies to all students from primary stage through to university?

What about pledging allegiance to never ever fighting in a war or never ever aiding and abetting in war in any way, rather than pledging allegiance to the necessary illusions we're traditionally conditioned to pledge allegiance to.

Louis Shawcross, Hillsborough