Questions
I must confess that at the beginning of this assignment I was not sure that my blog would take any definite shape. Now looking back, I see that the use of questions as a theme proved to be quite effective in dealing with the topics of war and peace. The main reason being that war has no clean cut explanations. The reason for conflicts and the results of them are multi-faceted and need to be looked at analytically and from several viewpoints. Asking questions provides a good start for this.
A truth that I feel I have realized is human nature dictates the need for war. I feel this is proven through the fact that time and time again throughout history humans know what war does and the destruction that is always left in its past. Despite this fact, humans always revert back to the practice of killing each other as a means of resolving an array of issues. However, this fails to explain extreme aspects of war, such as the atrocities of the Holocaust.
No question can yield an answer for something such as the Holocaust. But by asking them the discussion to assure that nothing so horrible happens again can begin. Again, this is a bit disheartening because questioning terrible events has also been a common practice throughout history. Yet, it only seems to develop rather than correct anything.
Ultimately I have been working toward one question; will war ever stop? I submit the answer, no. It is inherent in our society, our history and our future. It is the only guaranteed, effective way to bolster change of some sort. Political means can work, but when discussions become exhausted and certain people become impatient an armed conflict will break out. Time and time again. It’s a bit pessimistic but when you look at the facts it is hard to think otherwise. War is simply human.
Why ask why?
So far this year, at least 334 ser vice members have comÂmit ted suicide compared with 297 killed in Afghanistan and 144 in Iraq, according to Congress​.org.
This alarming fact is found in “Our Deadliest Enemy” from The Line of Departure blog. The article goes on to examine the reasons for this a bit. However, the article ultimately offers no single reason. Which leaves me to wonder why. An idea that echoes throughout Vonnegut’s Slaughter House Five.
Perhaps it is like that one commercial where the soldier comes back and sees the empty streets of a big city and only when he meets another soldier does the world around him come back. Certainly soldiers experience things that a regular citizen could never understand but what is the x-factor that seemingly pushes so many soldiers to suicide?
Perhaps it is a way to escape for some of them? Everyone deals with hardships in a unique way but maybe the weight soldiers have to carry is just too much for any normal method of coping to handle. Maybe it is a terrible feeling that no one will ever understand their experiences and it overwhelms them. But what is to be done?
The article mentions how the military is making a significant effort to improve mental health treatment for soldiers in and out of combat. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is finally getting the attention it deserves and hopefully much good will come from these efforts. Despite this there is still much to be said on the subject. Maybe some soldiers will never be able to cure their affliction…
In dealing with this subject one can see yet another terrible example of war’s impact on humanity. And why? What for?
Yes, there are many reasons to go to war but if we could just avoid it than we could avoid asking why to so many terrible questions.
Jamie McIntyre
The Line of Departure
November 25, 2009
History Repeats Itself 