Man like most of the other members of the animal kingdom is a territorial creature. He needs space to live, space to gather resources, maintain a family, pass down assets to progeny, and so on. War like behavior is seen in many other species from ants to chimpanzees (Thornton). However, the one distinct feature that sets man apart from all the animals is the virtue of compassion, understanding and the ability to live in harmony. The world as we know today is a lot different from what nature has defined it to be. Man’s colonial tendencies, his ability to develop cultures in synch with surrounding environments and acclimatizing to new environments gives him the power to settle down into community anywhere on the face of habitable Earth. But man is always dependent on resources. These resources differ from other animals in the manner that they are much beyond any other creature’s power to harness. Man can use land to create food resources, to extract minerals, build accommodations, create new luxuries and then build a stockpile to take away the same from other men. This tendency leads to war. Man has the tendency to declare anything to be rightfully his if he can harness any form of benefits from it. However this is true for all human beings and therefore they end up in competition for mere wants. But it is also true that man is much beyond just competing for mere resources or land. He can be compassionate, live in harmony, and develop resources that can benefit all. Then why does he wage war? This article discusses the wasteful habit of war and why man is meant for things that are much more than war.
What does the word Resource mean? A resource can be anything that a person can employ to benefit one individual, several individuals or even the whole community. It can be fertile land, a rich source of minerals and fuel or, as present day advancements provide as way of power and control, technology. Whoever holds the highest resources has the chance to earn more power to survive and therefore gain access to more resources (Pilisuk & Rountree). But humans do not just wish to survive, they aim to grow and prosper. This makes a man power ask for more once he has already accomplished acquisition of one form of resource. Imagine now what happens when this behavior is shown not by just one man but by almost all humans who share these resources. Each of them would then want a share of the resources and the power. The end result is anarchy and war (Coleman).
Wars have always been fought for gain of power over a certain objective. This objective may be a piece of land, a mine full of minerals or fuel, or the people dwelling on these lands. Throughout human history kings, queens and emperors have constantly fought for acquiring more land or defending their own. One cannot fail to believe that it is secondary nature for a human to fight for more resources and power. Wars have become more gruesome by the day. Humans have developed weapons that can wipe out millions of their own kind from the face of Earth within a matter of minutes. Men have invented different methods of war, from using chemicals, to biological agents and then to powerful nuclear energy (Thornton, 48). Humans are capable of employing the elements to lay waste to other humans just because they perceive them as their enemy; just because of some differences in language, culture, clothing, color and habits; forgetting completely that all of them belong to the same species and every single one of them is born equal and gifted
Wars have known to destruct society, break peace, tear down families, render land infertile for ages, waste resources, cause unnecessary bloodshed, force people to harbor grudges and all of these losses for the lust of power alone. One cannot but tire themselves from counting the innumerable occasions when war has only brought regret. It is difficult to forget the moments Little Man and Fat Boy, the dreaded Hydrogen Bombs hit Hiroshima and Nagasaki during the Second World War (Coleman). The same war claimed lives of more than sixty million human beings, a loss that no amount of power can replenish. The rampage that took place in the homes of Arabs during the Gulf Wars can never be forgotten.
Psychiatric breakdown remains one of the most costly items of war when expressed in human terms. Ironically though, losses of war are never counted in human terms, but rather in terms of number of soldiers lost or economies wasted. All wars that have ever been waged have only harmed the human race. It is harmful enough to be considered as one amongst the top most threats to human existence in the near future. Einstein in one of his famous comments on development of atomic bombs had predicted, “I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones.” (1947)
Many will count benefits of war but such benefits are only pointed to short term goals, narrow minded gains and mostly importantly greed for resources and the lust for more power (Pilisuk & Rountree, 136). Many will even substantiate the utter necessity of going into war. However, no one can ever asses the irreparable damage that war will bring with it. The sufferings that wars cause is always much greater than any number of gains that they may yield.
One cannot deny the fact that no one loathes war more than the soldier who wages it. Statistics during wars showed that soldiers have always resisted from firing at enemy soldiers (Lt. Col. Grossman). They are humans and have families like any other. They feel compassion and appreciate the value of life like all humans do. Why then, are they forced into doing what is apparently the most wasteful exercise that humans can ever do? This and many similar questions are raised time and again, just to showcase the futility of war. Can it then be speculated that humans only wanted war at all times?
But if humans were built to war alone, then why would cultures and civilizations come into existence. Every single individual would fight for his or her claim to power and soon the whole population would implode. People would not congregate to form societies and build for themselves nations and civilizations. It is then, thereof, that one must begin to think that humans are meant for deeds that are much more beneficial than war alone. Humans are capable of producing art, of invention, harmony, compassion, exploration and serving others. Humans can master the art of healing and benefit others, not just humans alone but other creatures as well. Humans have the determination and the skill to scale heights and reach out for the skies. But it is a difficult point to drive home with all the consumerist and profiteering perspectives that people hold and teach the coming generations. Thinkers, philosophers and religious heads have always made efforts to avoid war and promote peace amongst nations all over the world.
It is high time people realize that warring for selfish motives is not the answer to survival as a single race. Hollow nationalistic approaches, greedy consumerism and ever increasing demand for comforts are not the answer for the survival of humans. Dissemination of ideas like equality and compassion is a must but it must be done in a way that it find home into people’s way of thinking. Aggressiveness is important but is not always the right answer to every situation. People must understand that peaceful means produce more profitable solutions. They must be made aware of the adverse effects of war not in the terms of costs incurred to the warring states in kind but in the costs incurred to human kind. It must be understood that possessing power over others is not the way to lead a happy life. Doing wrong in return to the wrong done never leads to constructive results. War in all its forms is unnecessary and people must understand and object to any frivolous demands of war.
Works cited
"Albert Einstein: Man of Imagination" Nuclear Age Peace Foundation paper. 1947. Web. 12 Nov. 2014. < http://www.wagingpeace.org/menu/action/urgent-actions/einstein/ >
Coleman, P. Cost of the War: World War II Resource Guide. Gardena, California: The American War Library. 1999. Print.
Lt. Col. Grossman, Dave. On Killing – The Psychological Cost of Learning to Kill in War & Society. Little, Brown & Co. 1996. Print.
Pilisuk, Marc; Rountree, Jennifer Achord. Who Benefits from Global Violence and War: Uncovering a Destructive System. Greenwood Publishing. 2008. Print.
Thornton, Russell. American Indian Holocaust and Survival: A Population History since 1492. University of Oklahoma Press. 1990. Print.
