"Why is the world so g-d violent" or "War? really???"
War is delightful to those who have no experience of it.
--Desiderius Erasmus (1466/69-1536), Humanist, Theologian
If the mind pays no attention to that which plagues it, the body will still suffer the consequences unbeknownst to the victim. The same goes for a nation that blindly leads its citizens into war and chooses to ignore it. When colonies of people start dropping like flies, citizens become more scrupulous in their observations of current events. No matter how many leaders plead ignorance or say they are winning, the suspecting people grow no more foolish than they were before. There is a large population which still believes that war cannot be won. The only way to win in conflict is by choosing a peaceful initiative. As one humorous bumper sticker reads, “Killing for peace is like screwing for virginity”.
The inevitability of losing one’s life is enough to turn many an individual away from violence, but that single snowflake is easily drowned out in an avalanche of survival driven aggressors. The prospect of financial gain is as important a catalyst as is the need for limited resources. But patriotism is a whole other set of ideals entirely. Classic patriotism has always meant standing up for what is best for one’s nation, whether it is for or against the governing body; whether you stand alone or in a crowd. It is the opposition to unreasonable government policies that has historically marked the true patriot. Unfortunately, Patriotism has lost its meaning in the modern context of collectivist nations. Fighting and dying for one’s country is as absurd an idea to some, as it is simple truth to others. Albert Einstein plainly stated his opinion on the matter when he exclaimed, “Heroism on command, senseless violence, and all the loathsome nonsense that goes by the name of patriotism… How passionately I hate them!” Regardless, everything is open to interpretation but relativity is grounded in theory. If there were no borders or countries, as many idealists would have it, would patriotism exist in the context of kinship? Kinship is the rule rather than the exception for human beings in every part of the world, therefore it is quite logical that a brotherhood of man would develop in a form somewhat reminiscent of patriotic fellowship, but modern patriotism is some different. Patriotism today has strong nationalist undertones and causes some very angry reactions from the excluded party.
It is equally important in wartime context to consider the strong possibility of blow-back, which comes most commonly in the form of terrorist attacks and guerrilla forces. Blow back is very real and very dangerous. Somewhere in the chaos of war-time orders being handed down through the ranks, a sense of responsibility and even common sense is lost, this is where the rules of engagement come in, and just as quickly come right back out. Desensitization is another form of blowback. Violence is a drug and an aphrodisiac to people who are bored and restless. The people of the world get fed up with happy endings and they crave bloodshed, turmoil, and conflict as much as they crave their most addictive pharmaceutical.
The jumbled confusion of ulterior motives, testosterone fueled aggression, and self-righteous ideology is what we have come to know as violence. In its more extreme context it is full-blown war, which isn’t as pleasant as it may seem when seen in plain vision.
