My generation has known nothing but war.

We’ve grown up expecting to see updated body counts in the newspapers every day for over a decade. Who was killed today? Where was he from? Declaring war and committing troops to faraway places has become part of the president’s job description, it seems.

It wasn’t always this way. But lately, how much has U.S. foreign policy really changed from one administration to the next?

Barack Obama and Mitt Romney would like you to think that this election is pivotal in shaping the future of America. Unfortunately, when it comes to foreign policy, it’s hard to distinguish between the two candidates. And they both have it wrong.

A lot of statistics have been thrown around this campaign season: Romney’s “47 percent,” Occupy Wall Street’s “99 percent,” unemployment above eight percent. But the most important number – which no one is talking about – is that 6500 Americans have been killed in Iraq and Afghanistan since 2001. 6500.

Each U.S. casualty is not just another stat like GDP or unemployment – it is an unquantifiable instance of immense human suffering. It is a ruined home, a family destroyed, a father or daughter lost.

Therefore, if given a choice between a president who would instantly end this annual massacre of thousands of humans versus a president who might be able to raise GDP by three percent in eight years, who would you choose? Yes, the economy and health care are important issues, but voters’ highest priority should be ending these lethal, costly and unwinnable wars. What could possibly be more important?

Ron Paul was the only serious presidential candidate in recent memory who understood that these war-mongering tendencies could spell doom for the American empire. Dr. Paul understood that U.S. foreign policy since World War II has been tragically flawed, and that misguided interventionism is the greatest incentive to expand the already bloated federal government (almost $1400 billion of taxpayer money has been spent on Iraq and Afghanistan).

What if the U.S. had used that money not to kill, but to improve the human race in some way? What if our government spent as much time teaching citizens about geography, history, communication and diplomacy as we currently spend training soldiers how to slaughter other humans?

Ron Paul understood that terrorism is largely a result of the U.S.’s repeated over-extension in the Middle East. Terrorists don’t attack us because we are free and rich and Christian, but because we routinely set off bombs in their backyards and kill their family members. Even soldiers recognized this: earlier in the campaign, Paul outstripped all Republican candidates combined in donations from active duty personnel.

We must view our foreign policy mistakes with a more reasonable perspective; we must ask ourselves, “What if someone else was doing this to us?” We must humanize these people. Who is the real enemy: the Iraqi civilians who yearn only to be left alone, or the Washington fear-mongers who spend your hard-earned money on frivolous killing sprees?

Although bullies like Palestine, Iran and Pakistan undeniably fear strength and toughness, they decry the bloodthirsty American notion of strength through oppression. Since World War II, every “war” the U.S. has fought has inflicted massive civilian casualties: murder is indeed the nature of modern warfare. Predictably, current U.S. strategy in the Middle East goes something like this: commit thousands of troops, overthrow the government, kill civilians, and then hope to stop a handful of radical terrorists in a cave from plotting to bring down the West.

Call it the “War on Terror,” “Operation Iraqi Freedom,” or whatever. Really, this is just government-sponsored and taxpayer-funded mass murder. To most of the world, we are the terrorists.

But the wars in the Middle East have slipped silently into our national subconscious. It’s background noise. We are left with two candidates who differ only on the exact number of dollars and lives to be spent before we make our inevitable dishonorable exit from the Middle East.

Ron Paul threw us a life-preserver in these tragically deep waters. And congrats, America – you’ve turned away. You’ve thrown the best presidential candidate in my lifetime off the ballot. You’ve chosen to continue sinking in debt and drowning in the blood of your countrymen.

Henry Downes is a sophomore majoring in economics. His column runs on Tuesday.