War

It has been said many times, war is hell.  There; we just said it again.

That doesn’t make it any more meaningful, just continuing on and on in our lives. It menaces. It haunts. It conjures terror. Fear. Of life lost, ours; of life lost, others. And destruction. Buildings, roads, cars, factories train tracks and landscapes. Entire hills gone. Plains once flat are now not so much.

And for what reason war? Why power. Of course, power. Mankind dwells on power. It feeds on it and sustains dark hopes for better things by taking something from others. Territory. Natural resources. Influence at its simplest. Just power. Ability to cause another person or large numbers of them to act in ways we want of them.

Nations are built this way. So are empires. For good or ill, power is wielded for someone’s gain. Those who wage power to build peace may attract our attention and gratitude. But they wield power as well. Just for a better purpose in our mind than someone else. Which is better? Which is worse. That depends on your place in the order of things.

USA’s influence on the global stage was built from helping win two world wars. Since then, however, our influence was waged with the threat of war. For what purpose you ask? The answer depends on the moment and the then current interest. The love of peace in its simplest form, asks us to wage war to quell those who started hostilities. Play acting is involved, too. We use various antics to avoid hostilities and the taking of life. Those acts if failures, mean life is lost no matter what.

Meanwhile, humankind says it loves peace, but you and I know mankind hankers for shows of power and the violence that most likely accompanies them. Bombing a city at night makes for an awesome light show. In the morning we observe the scattered bodies, the hospitals too full of injured and dying patients. The families torn apart are an element of the tragic tales told. They are the stuff of novels and plays, as well as art forms celebrated through the ages.

Military matters create a demand for defense systems and personnel sufficient to wage wars of reluctance. The military/industrial collaborations develop a larger industry that employes millions and supports stable lifestyles of countless millions of families. Creating military bases and infrastructure means more jobs, property values and larger staffing of military forces. The military industry just continues to grow.

It is a must. The question always is ‘how much?’ How much do we need? Should we commit these resources for peace? Is there any other benefit from these commitments? Might we stroll absently into a hot war just because we could, or imagine the benefit from such activity? Has this every happened in America’s history? Are we guilty of being the destabilizer?

I bet we have. I don’t know such is true, just that human nature is a construct that hides ugly facts from our peering eyes. I wonder what folly we have played with. Our enemies would say much about this. But I’m asking us to be honest with ourselves and answer with truth. Have we started hostilities for any purpose other than peace?

I wonder who knows these answers? If we are guilty of starting wars, the question grows into “what we should do about it? And then, the question becomes, how do we wage peace without hostilities while also motivating economic production of good? Hmmm. Some interesting points to think about.

October 20, 2023