Is War Really A Choice?
Memento to World War One Soldiers
For my memento, I drew a poppy whose roots spell out the dates that the war took place (1914-1918). The poppy is a common symbol for a peaceful death and has become a symbol used to remember those who died in battle. The roots with the date show that the poppy is growing using the same soil that soldiers fought and died on, further emphasizing the symbolism of the poppy. The lack of color is meant to show the darkness of the war
An End to War Blog
War has always been present in society, as it has always been human nature to not only fight for what you want, but to win. In World War I’s case, many Slavic people wanted to leave Austria-Hungary for Serbia, causing a war between the two countries that eventually pulled in many more due to alliances. However, war is not the best way to resolve a conflict. In fact, it is the complete opposite. While some things can be accomplished through war, the most prominent ‘accomplishment’ is the body count. Over 11 million soldiers, the majority of them young, along with 6 million civilians, died during World War I.
So, is it possible to eliminate the need for war? Yes, but it will take a long time. As Margaret Atwood said, “Could it be ended? In theory, yes. Is it going to be difficult? Absolutely, because it is so extremely profitable for a number of people.” War is a business. Companies can profit off of making devices to be used in war, like guns, tanks, satellites, anything that could be used against the other side.
If you go to war, you always want to make sure you have a technological advantage over whoever you’re fighting. This create business, as the military can pay a company a large sum of money for a new, never-before-seen weapon. Then, if the rival side creates a weapon that overpowers the first, another large sum of money is paid in order to get yet another new weapon. This goes on and on, until the war ends. Companies profit off of how many lives are taken with their product, so they do their best to make the death count go up. Is there a way to end this cycle? Not exactly, at least not yet. In fact, this isn’t only a problem in the weapons business, it’s a problem everywhere. In today’s society, people are accused every day of only doing things for money, and there really isn’t a way to stop them. It is hard to change a person, so if someone is greedy, they are the only person who can change that, and the likelihood of that happening is slim. It would seem like the killing of millions of people would be an effective way of changing someone’s mind, but that has been proven to not be the case.
One thing that we can do to stop this is change the business. Cornel West states, “I don't think that you can eliminate the martial spirit in the human condition. The insecurity, fears and anxieties that we have, knowing that our bodies will be extinguished one day, generate deep anxiety. The question is, what do you target? I view myself as a warrior for kindness, a warrior for tenderness, a warrior for sweetness, a warrior against injustice and unfairness.” If we change what we are fighting for, then we change what we need to fight. Instead of creating never-before-seen weapons, people can create never-before-seen ways to end hunger. By changing what we as a society fight for, then we can abolish the need for war.