The Untruth of War

The Untruth of War

Every child in every school throughout History has heard the whispers of a tragic truth. 

As their teachers pull down the maps and use their pointers to make sense of lines that transect mountains, valleys, lakes and shorelines with no regard for geographical form the shrieks of past battles can deafen the child to the cries for peace that must have been formed as readily and in more profusion than the chuckling, chortling and raging voices of the armies that slashed, burned, bashed, broke, raped, stole and destroyed home after home, village after village, town after town, city after city, nation after nation.

The myth of war's necessity is woven in quiet assurance that one must remember the dates of certain events.  So the burning of a city is equated in these history lessons, with the discovery that the moon is not hollow.  The extermination of a million human beings is set equal to the realization that power can be derived directly from the Sun.

The names of murderers and charlatans, including their birthplaces, birth dates, parents, siblings and even friends are driven into the minds of the children to remember.  Is it to ensure that they are aware of what is important or are they lesson in fear and terror?  Are the endless lists of murderers that are repeated along with their images and evil deeds supposed to teach children about the march of progress and the development of civilization or is it all to frighten them into the reality that they must do as they are told or suffer the same or worse fates than those who came before?

Do you know the names of the fallen princes, princesses, Kings, Queens, Generals or the names of the people who were killed by those named victorious?  Can you even find the place where they lived, know what they read, ate and talked about? 

History is the stage name of what is taught.  War, is what is actually on those pages.  War and its promise of economic gain and population control, becomes a deafening chorus, drowning out reason.

People who are witnessing the development of war hope and pray they will be on the winning side and many dive in head first to ensure that happens.  After all, who wouldn’t want to remain alive.

This narrative is a vast library built upon the blood and bones of many conflicts and wars.  Sometimes the idea that war is unavoidable in human affairs is made to seem necessary and a true reality not to be challenged.  To dismantle the idea that war is fruitful for any reason it is to reveal and be confronted by the cruelty that sets it into motion.

To look at war the way a logical professional does reveals the profiteers who thrive on devastation. To then challenge the lawfulness of war is to expose the emptiness and hollowness of justifications woven from past victories. It calls into question initially any exchange of property of land according to the lines currently drawn on the maps shown to the children by teachers.

It's a terrifying prospect for those who profit from war and rely on their jobs to make war manageable.  It unravels the fabric of a world shaped by conflict and exposes the law and the demand that people follow the law is nothing more than the edge of a sharp blade.  One side or the other is of no concern to the one holding the sword.

Now, however, the alternative - perpetual acceptance of war's grim necessity - is far more horrifying as we see those who have risen through the ranks to hold control of the machines of war.  They are dangerous and frightened children who truly believe lines on a paper are worth more than human lives.