“All war is a symptom of man’s failure as a thinking animals”. The atrocities committed in warfare are commonly justified by the nationalistic drive of many authority figures whose views are obviously adopted by soldiers. These soldiers believe that whatever they do is for the good of their country and that they are the last line of defence. This makes them trust that any killing on the battlefield is acceptable. One would be surprised to learn about the darker side of warfare, the side that is glazed over by military officials when they deliver speeches of pride, bravery and speak of loyalty to the masses. I am strongly against the use of warfare to settle international conflicts that can be discussed non-violently.
The glory of war comes at heavy price whether it be everlasting spiritual, physical or mental damage. During the Vietnam War, the Americans were basically fighting a losing battle for years. Later in the war, American forces were heavily depleted, but the government did not take any action to remove the forces, this bred an environment of mistrust especially because they kept lying to the public that the US troops were winning the war, giving them false hope and applying more pressure onto the troops.
The Vietnam veterans experienced increased physical and psychological deterioration including drug-use, post-traumatic stress disorder, mutinies and attacks against officers (History.com, 2020).There was nothing that could prepare the troops of the horrendous experiences they would undergo while overseas, that would stay with them for the rest of their lives or for the few moments they had left on the battlefield if they were lucky. Armies are heavily delusional if they truly believe that there is ever a winning side because there isn’t. Ever. The article explaining explicitly about what happened in the war and how that affected the surviving soldiers helps readers sympathise with them.
Power is something nations crave. This has been a specific regulation held by powerful people throughout history, this could arguably be used to explain the beginning of all conflicts. We see this during the First World War where all of the major powers were building up their military personnel and waiting for an opportunity to showcase their power in the arms and guns race.
The author believes that greed and the desire to accumulate ‘more’ is the nation’s main initiative. It’s their main drive behind the lack of morals demonstrated through the continuous decision to go to war. The Atlantic.com states that, “The present world war is, in the main, a war between rich nations. It is not a war between nations who are fighting, like starving dogs, for the bare means of subsistence (Jacks, 2020)”. Meaning that these countries are overwhelmed by the power that the hold and they do not understand how to use it to maintain peace so they resolve to solve it using violence. This positions readers to develop a negative perspective against warfare because they are given insight into the actual thinking that goes behind the decision to go to war.
Warfare in essence is a violation of human rights and clears the path for more violence against vulnerable individuals. Where there is combat there will always be innocent citizens caught in the crossfire. You see, during wartimes, it is an internationally recognised crime to knowingly target ordinary civilians because they are incredibly different from soldiers who have chosen to lay their lives on the line and to make the ultimate sacrifice. This understanding was blatantly violated by the US when they decided to unlawfully bomb Hiroshima and Nagasaki, it was an unjustified attack and most fatalities were civilians. They bombed a city full of innocents.
According to Quartz.com, “the bombing probably killed more than 200,000 Japanese civilians and maimed untold more. There was an alternative available: the US could have dropped an A-bomb in or near Tokyo Bay. Such a warning shot could have persuaded the Japanese to end the war, and its human nature would have enhanced the US’s moral standing (Shepherd, 2015)”. America had a choice but they chose to carry out the destruction of the two cities, committing a heinous war crime in the process.
Time and time again warfare has been used to sort out disagreements between authority figures, this has ended up causing millions and millions of lives to be taken. There are alternatives always available but now war is used to showcase power and to threaten, the soldiers are used as pawns and you have to ask yourself. To what end?
References
- Editors, H. (2020, February 28). Vietnam War. Retrieved from History: https://www.history.com/topics/vietnam-war/vietnam-war-history
- Jacks, L. (2020, 03 12). Greed Caused The War. Retrieved from TheAtlantic: https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2014/08/greed-caused-the-war/373402/
