War - what is it good for?

Despite being rather aged - I am in my 65th year - I have been lucky never to have witnessed war directly, but only through news reports. Some of my American (U.S.) college friends had served in Vietnam and never wanted to talk about it, as it was an experience that had affected them deeply. I also met people who had been involved in trying to defend Cyprus during the Turkish invasion of 1974; they also bore scars. Always with wars, however we label them, there are victims, often very many of them.

Recently we had the 100th anniversary of the end of WW1, perhaps the most bloody of all modern wars, fought in the muddy trenches of Belgium and France. Looking back at it now we can see it for the enormous waste of life, the massive bloodbath that it was and, yes, we can ponder on whether it was truly justified. Shocking as the high number of deaths is, the destruction caused in everything all around is also mind-boggling - at the end of these things a large part of the world is left in ruins, economies in tatters with misery reigning everywhere.

Yet still people regularly advocate going to war and, indeed, there is a war on in Yemen currently, resulting in not only many civilian deaths directly attributed to the hostilities but a severe local famine as well to further decimate the population, irrespective of affiliation. The reason for the hostilities is not entirely clear to me but seems to centre around the disruption of the power structures in the region; the local 'major players' are reacting to something they perceive as wrong/disagreeable or not in their best interests with catastrophic consequences.

It seems that some of us - President Trump seems a prime example,  his dictator 'friends' also - regard going to war, with all that ensues, almost as a show of character/strength/bravery. But is it so?

I dare say there are just wars, such as protecting one's country, home and family from those hell-bent on causing harm. There may even be noble causes, wars to protect, liberate or prevent the slaughter of innocents, but the end result still involves untold pain and suffering, even if it has prevented even more of the same. For there is no glamour in war, no romance, only death and destruction on a scale hard to imagine, so we mustn't fool ourselves thinking carefully before we accept glib arguments and justifications.

And no, I am not advocating weakness, nor am I a particular fan of the Nazarene's 'turn the other cheek' or 'love your enemy' doctrines. Whatever we do, though, we must never allow wholesale slaughter like WW1 again no matter who or what is involved, be it Russians, Americans, Chinese, whoever. We must undeniably progress, we must surely also improve, and this must mean limiting wars - and, therefore, their effect - to rare and absolutely unavoidable events. It should be crystal clear to us by now that little good can ever come from them.

Cowardly orange draft dodgers who advocate violence, thinking that their wealth and privilege will shield them from the consequences should be be ignored or ridiculed and marginalised, not lauded, for they are neither strong nor brave in condemning others to death in order to play their little games. Tanks to celebrate 4th of July indeed!