War: What is it Good For?

Ivan Ornelas
Section 2
Week 5

We have all heard this blog title before as a song. It is catchy but it raises a serious question that everyone struggles to find the answer to. War is often looked as literally a medal of honor: every country strived to be a strong military power through most of history. However, war should be seen as a last resort: only if all other attempts for peace fail. USA has had some powerful victories but in the last 50 years whenever USA gets involved in a war, the reaction isn't necessarily "We're saved" or "We're screwed" like people pretend our allies and adversaries think, but instead it's more like "Who invited these guys? Why do they care?". A perfect example is the Vietnam War. USA lives and dies by Manifest Destiny: believing it is our duty to impose our influence and power whenever possible. In the article "Empire of Death and Plague of Civic Violence", we are told of how certain soldiers behaved after serving in said war. Veterans have become molded into killing machines for the purposes of this war but because of such a powerful experience, it is not easy for everyone to simply switch off once returning home. After countless traumatic experiences and living life by the wave of thought "kill or be killed", it is not easy for them to shake it off. As a result, veterans have killed some civilians during this time period.

It is a scary thought that the same people who were war heroes can become public villains. It feels like war tends to do more harm than good. War has no winners. No one wants to kill other human beings. It is not an easy thing to do. And we're not dealing with scenarios as crazy as the Hunger Games but war is not an easy thing for anyone to take part in. Yet we are still getting involved in war. It's ridiculous. Especially since my cousin's husband is a war veteran who lost an arm, this topic is a huge concern for me. I feel like anyone who thinks war is a good idea needs to read this article and hopefully their perspective changes.

Do world leaders try hard enough to reach peaceful relations or are they too quick to go to war?