I miss the time when wars were fought by governments. It was easy then. Clear. There was no such thing as rebels with missiles or terrorist cells with high explosives. Whether started by governments, rebels, or individuals, however… war never ends in a world full of humans.
I’m a progressive. That usually means I seek progress, and change, and “The Future”, whereas conservatives are the group who normally pine for the past. While there is no chance of my switching political parties, I do find myself aligning with conservatives in a theoretical sense of longing to bring back the familiar and easy times of the past.
I hate SAMs. Damn stupid invention. I also hate people who kill in the name of religion. I hate people who seek only money, and I hate people who seek only power. Now that all those biases are known, let’s move on: where does war end? How does war end?
In Gaza it doesn’t. In Russia it won’t. In terrorist cells it can’t. All three negations are due to how each defines itself. To stop war is to stop being a part of who they believe that are.
Of all things humans are capable, we always return to killing one another
We’ve never turned back to anything else. We didn’t return to living off the earth. We didn’t return to wearing bear skins as the height of fashion. We didn’t return to the sun revolving around the earth, and we didn’t return to single-cell organisms kicking it in the ooze.
But we always return to war. No matter how many times we swear we won’t – we always return to war.
We always kill for borders, for power, and for God. Those who claim to be the most advanced creature in the Universe (those who tend to war the most) turn around at a moment’s notice and kill each other in the name of God. Kill in the name of an invisible line, and kill in the name of acquiring more power. More, more more.
Someone out there must wonder why we’re so incapable of being something more.
The first time I met someone from Israel was in New York when I was a teacher. He was 18 or 19 years old and had put off his mandatory military service for a year so he could come to NYC to study. I can’t picture him ever being in uniform, nor do I have any idea where he is now. That’s the extent of my direct experience Israel: all citizens are military. Even geeky, short, happy, music-loving ones who are alway ready with a corny joke. Every one of them. Israel is a military state. Good, bad, ugly, not politically correct, whatever you want to label that statement, that’s what it is. It’s not a moral judgement. It’s not a judgement of good or bad or right or wrong: it is what is. It’s the reality of the citizenry that everyone serves as a result of the constant, never-ending battle against a religious-motivated foe. And that’s exactly the same way their foes see Israel. It’s impossible to win a war against a religion, and religion against religion is even more impossible (if such a concept exists). Thousands of times in history that has proved to be true. And it’s the one lesson we never learn.
And yet millions around the world try. Over and over and over again. When people war in the name of religion the only result is the death of the Savior. Any chance of that happening again? Yeah, well, then. There is no end to religions at war. A believes B is already damned to an eternity in Hell in fire and endless pain – why not help them along the way? Where there is mass religion there will always be war. Was is the inevitable end to religion. It’s how most religions began.
Russia. Well, Russian is just Russia. Anyone would look to expand when the majority of your land is the Tundra. I lived in Wyoming once, and that was enough to make me want to expand my borders. All we can wish there is that they blame their distant ancestors who decided to trek there instead of all the rest of us. Live for a dozen generations in that weather and all people become stubborn beyond imagination. It’s the only way to survive.
Terrorists? They fold religion into their motive, but war is the very heart of who they are. They can’t stop because that means not living anymore. Why be terrorists? Because their lives suck. When you have nothing to lose, you try to create meaning through martyrdom. Look at history, this isn’t rocket science. Some people have kids, others make bombs. In the end, both are remembered after they die. That’s the goal.
Until humanity can find meaning in something else besides religion, power, and being remembered after death war will never end. War defines being human almost as much as being born with big brains and opposable thumbs.
Someone out there must look at us and wonder: with all they are capable… this is how they choose to live. Oh well. Better luck next time, I guess.
