War
Oh, what madness
Infests some men’s brains
A madness that kills
That lusts to profane
The sweet earth with the life blood
That drains from the veins
Of his servant the soldier
On some foreign plain
Who dies for his country
But to whom it’s not plain
Whether he dies for its freedom
Or stock market gain.
–Tommy Acosta
How scary it must be to know you must fight to the death with another human when war calls upon one to do so.
Mortal combat has existed since the beginning of conscious time, since the beginning when humans realized they could kill, either to take something that they want from someone, or to defend oneself against another who wants to take it from them.
There is no greater contest than that between armies whose sole intent is to kill as many of their enemy as they possibly can on the battlefield stage.
One can deduce that war began when the necessity to take something one wants from another overcame mercy, and violence became the shortest path to its acquisition.
Picture a time, very long ago, during which two tribes lived peacefully along a bountiful river that provided for both all their needs; fish, water, irrigation, etc.
All went well for hundreds of years until something upstream blocked the flow of the river and only the tribe living upstream was able to have water, while the tribe downstream did not.
Facing thirst and starvation, the downstream tribe asked the upstream tribe to share what was left of the water flow, but the upstream tribe said no, because they needed it.
Now the downstream tribe became desperate, knowing they could not survive without the water.
So, the downstream tribe devised a plan. They would wait for the night and attack the upstream tribe while they slept, kill them, take their water and enslave who was left alive.
Thus, the first pretext for war.
Through history that became the norm. Those with the strength and will simply took by force whatever they wanted from those who were weaker.
Empires were built, empires were destroyed. But the one thing every empire shared in common were the families that ruled and profited from war through the ages, and have done so, from prehistoric times, to today.
The wars over oil never ended. The Ukraine war looms heavy as Russia eyes the abundant natural resources of that country that the West wants to keep them from.
But what of the soldiers in every conflict ever fought, throughout history? Try to imagine what it’s like to be in a trench knowing any minute you can be blown to bits.
Or, what it means to charge a fortified line where the enemy waits with all kinds of instruments of death, facing almost certain death or maiming?
What did it feel like for the pilot of the plane that dropped a nuclear bomb on Hiroshima or Nagasaki, knowing that they would be killing hundreds of thousands in a split atomic instant?
What was it like for those incinerated?
How many soldiers have been in hand-to-hand combat, with knives, spears or bayonets, where the fight can only end in the death of one or the other?
What goes on in the mind and heart of those in mortal combat? Are there any thoughts? Or is it a blind rage that takes over and the blood of one’s enemy becomes the prize?
Looking at images of all those tanks lined up for battle on the Ukraine and Russia border one has to wonder what it’s like for those brave soldiers inside them. With today’s military capacity a single jet can take out ten tanks and those inside them in a second, vaporizing them in a white-hot blast of pain and death.
There is the collateral death of the civilian population. Mothers, children huddled praying the bombs don’t take them as well.
What a horror. We Americans living here in the U.S. should count our lucky stars we have not faced or hopefully will never face the devastation Europe has or is about to suffer again.
Meanwhile, in front of our devices, we await the shoe we hope will never drop.
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4 Comments
I am so sad.. I was born in a war 1941 and my die in a war.. My whole life has been one war after another.. when will it stop??
This is the most ludicrous premise for a war yet. Biden is throwing gas on the fire to start it to try to improve his falling ratings. We have no business getting involved in this one.
This should be no surprise to anyone. The Biden Administration does not have the heart of the people at best. How else a could the few make more money to profit from this if it did not happen? Leaders make wars that they don’t have to fight in they just take credit for the win. People just are just number to support the ones in office we are the pawns that really don’t matter. Just look at what the Biden Administration did in the first few days of office and look how we are and will pay for it in the future. It will only get worse for us.
All I can say is … All is not what it seems!!
Mainstream media certainly is not a credible source of information on most any or all topics these days. Our history has been so miscontrued there is hardly any truth to be found until deep research uncovers the mis-representations and down-right made up stories written as history to suit the hidden purpose in a new timeline.
I am not a proponent of war ~ and yet I acknowledge that there may be times when evil needs to be removed for the greater good of all. Perhaps there is something going on now that is for a higher purpose? Watch the news and assume the opposite holds a smidgeon of truth? I find it hard to swallow the old “Russians are the bad guys” story line these days.
Perhaps that is just me connecting the dots of what I have learned from observing history in my lifetime?
Would I be wrong to think … Life is but a dream?