“I do not know with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones.”
— Albert Einstein
“I have heard songs of battles and imagined, while listening, that defeat could be full of glory. But now I see that it is a terrible thing, not to say: desperate.”
— J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit, or There and Back Again
“We were eighteen and had just begun to love the world and life; they told us to shoot at it. The first grenade that fell hit our hearts.”
— Erich Maria Remarque, All Quiet on the Western Front
Hello! This time, I decided to write about a very current topic — war. As Heraclitus once said:
“War is the father of all things and the king of all things. It makes some gods, others men, some slaves, and others free. Opposites come together, and from diversity, the most beautiful harmony is born. Everything arises from conflict.”
“But must there be wars? Can’t people live in peace? – Because there are only two kinds of people in this world: predators and sheep. The former always prevail, because they do not hesitate to fight for power and to destroy anyone and anything in their way. The latter have neither strength, nor courage, nor ruthlessness, nor a lust for power. Therefore, the world is ruled by predators. And those who rule are never satisfied. They want more power and more money, and money, in turn, is used to buy even more power. If that requires war – then there is war. And all idealistic slogans aren't worth a plug nickel.”
(Frederick Forsyth, “The Dogs of War,” Czytelnik, Warsaw 1977)
In my opinion, the claim that war is something necessary is false propaganda, serving only to fuel conflicts between states, communities, individuals, and even within ourselves (inner conflict). So, everything depends on our mentality. If we truly wanted to live in peace, we would live in peace. In whose interest, then, is war? Because it’s hard to believe that it's in the interest of those who die in it: soldiers, civilians, cultures. So what’s the conclusion? War serves the interests of those who hold power and wealth, as it distracts from their unlawful possession of these things. Wars are usually fought over territorial disputes (lands of a given country), material goods (money, artworks, riches), natural resources (e.g. oil), or even sources of cheap labor (slavery). Other sources of military conflicts also include cultural, religious, and racial differences.
As we know, we have inherited not only culture, science, philosophy, and religion, but also the world wars that consumed much of the 20th century. The result was massive destruction of countries and cities, as well as tremendous loss of life in all nations involved. Wars are like fires — once one starts, it can easily spread to neighboring countries. Even terrorist acts, such as the attack on the World Trade Center, can be a reason for international conflicts.
To conclude, it is especially important in our times to prevent all types of conflicts, both on the micro scale (interpersonal disputes, internal conflicts) and macro scale (social conflicts, international wars, world wars). As Goethe said:
“He who cannot draw on three thousand years of history is living hand to mouth in darkness.”