War Is Hell! So Why Do We Do It...???

Over The Top! It is hard to imagine how much unnecessary heartache and suffering mankind has undergone and inflicted upon himself as a result of war. Impossible to sum up or quantify, except to say it's a lot and some would say it's a bit over the top for a supposedly intelligent life form.

No More War! So why do we do it? Personal differences. Greed. Taking what belongs to others. The desire to control. Ego. Immaturity. There are many different reasons as to why men and nations go to war. A few people at the top fall out with another few people at the top somewhere else, or decide they want to take or control something that belongs to someone else, and the common man has to go and fight it out. However, there is no party without the partygoers, there is no service without a congregation, there is no gig without an audience, and there is no war without the people to fight it. If the people of this planet say no to war, there will be no more war! The question is, for mankind on Earth, when will we have had enough?

Stupid Enough. The First World War was simply a stupid and futile waste of effort and human life, as we know ultimately all war is. The Second World War eventually had to be fought to stop a tyrant that never should have got where he got in the first place. The First World War showed that man was stupid enough to get involved in something so stupid. The Second World War showed that we were stupid enough to let one man so completely screw things up for the rest of us. Vietnam was simply a crime against humanity and a sad example on all levels, as again all war is - and the story goes on...

Nodody Wins. We must not give respect to men who think that war is an answer. It is not! All war is wrong! All war shows that we have got it wrong! It is always an individual, or a minority of individuals, that cause wars, not the majority of people in general, yet it is always the majority that suffer. This minority of individuals never go up the sharp end and fight, they just volunteer other people. Nobody wins in war, everybody loses. Many completely innocent women and children die in a war. In the first and second World Wars many of the soldiers were children. All soldiers are young people that should have a chance to live and not be sent to die.

Not Upset. As a rule, men will retaliate and fight against an aggressor or an invader. As a rule, we should not upset people, but get them on our side. We must consider and make room for each other, without taking what belongs to others, or imposing our will, by the use of force. There is no us and them. Just us! No one person can fight a war! No one person can win a war! War cannot exist without the support of people. War is a waste! War is hurt! War is destruction! War is not fun! If people want to fight a war, better they do it on the chessboard or their x-box, at least they will still have all their limbs at the end of it and there will be no grieving for their family, neither will there be an enormous financial deficit, or cities to rebuild. It costs millions and millions to fight a war. Who can afford it? Who needs it? No one! Earth is a very beautiful planet. It is the heart of all that we have. Our planet is an absolute oasis in the middle of an otherwise hostile environment. It has everything we need and has enough for everyone. We do not need to fight! Just learn to behave and have a good time!

Inappropriate. When the Nazis invaded France during WW2, the people that fought back were called The Resistance. When we, the Americans and others, invade or interfere with other countries, we call the people that fight back terrorists. We did it with Ireland and we've done it with Iraq and Afghanistan - have we improved things? No, we've made an even bigger mess of it and sacrificed many people in the process. We tried to take over the world in the days of the British Empire and since then we've realised that this is perhaps inappropriate behaviour. It is not our place to take and exploit lands populated by others. Nor is it appropriate to try and control others in their own land from afar (although perhaps what goes around comes around as now Brussels is doing it to us). If we tread all over people, or all over their land, without a second thought for them, we should expect some resistance - after all, how would we feel? Well, after the reign of Adolf Hitler, we know that don't we! Understandably, we didn't like it!

Taken. However, in the slightly more distant past we have taken North America from the American Indians, Australia from the Aborigines, taken over India, South Africa, New Zealand, the Falklands, Hong Kong, etc. The list goes on and on. It's not just the British, but the Spanish, the French, the Portuguese, the Russians, the Germans, the Japanese, China, America, Israel, etc. Just about everybody and every country has had a go at one point or another at moving in on someone else's territory and taking it from them, and it hasn't stopped yet.

A Quiet Life. Things have perhaps become a little more serious in recent years due to mankind's new found destructive potential. However, on the side of the people (hopefully), is becoming more and more the realisation that perhaps we are all fighting the same problem. Generally, the greedy selfish manipulative controlling pathetic individuals who line their own pockets and sit behind their secure enclosures giving the orders, pushing the buttons, and herding the people. Causing or pushing people into war in one form or another. Perhaps through TV and the internet the truth will finally dawn on the people of this planet. Most of us just want a quiet life and a few bob in our pocket! We may even learn to properly appreciate and respect what we have been given on this planet. Perhaps it is now time for everyman to stand up and be counted and say no to war! Since the advent of the atomic bomb we have had some very lucky escapes. That may not always be the case. Perhaps it is time for us to decide whether we are 'all for all' or 'all for none', that is, 'all for one' or 'all for none', and for mankind on Earth, that may well become the only choice. It is just possible that we are now reaching a time in our history where nothing less will do!

Just Mankind. The New York Times reports that there have been only 268 years of peace in the last 3,400 - just 8% of recorded history. One young soldier told me that his commanding officer said there had been only two years in the last three hundred where British troops had not been involved in a war somewhere! All the time aggressive tyrants are allowed to do what they do and are supported by weapons and ordinary people, it costs the ordinary people dearly. It is about time that the ordinary people of this world realised that they are just the ordinary people and are in fact no different to the ordinary people on the other side. There should be no unkind - just mankind. Life is actually much more fun when we all get on!