It's heart breaking to me that the US government keeps their killing machine well oiled. I read that another school was bombed in Iran yesterday, or was it a hospital?
Thank you for this, I've never understood man's desire to kill, maim, mutilate, destroy. As a loud mouthed teenager I recall challenging young men/soldiers at an arms fair*, and they weren't capable of giving me a coherent answer.
(*wtf were they even doing in a shopping mall in the north of the UK in the mid 70s? Unless it was an army recruitment drive.)
I grew up in the '60s/'70s during the height of the US involvement in Vietnam; say what you want about the young people of that era, but they had their hearts in the right place. You certainly don't see that sort of commitment to "anti-war" today. One of many things the agenda has accomplished...
Oh I dunno, look at all those kids from Palestine Action in the UK, arrested for ''terrorist'' activities when they attacked Israeli Elbit killing machines with spray paint in protest about the Gaza genocidaires....I'd say their hearts are in the right place.
A very thoughtful article ! The refence to " business " spot on ! War is a business blurred by references to democracy , deterence etc......... mostly all smokescreens ! Yet another money lanundering scheme- flowing funds through the military industrial complex , political donations on and on.
The Ukrainian war is a war everyone wanted but was afraid to ask for ...... except the citizens and victims of course .
Unfortunately "the people" are so butt stupid they never bother to really understand what is actually going on. The Ukraine war is a perfect example of that (well, WWII is a better example of how nationalism/patriotism, etc are drummed up to a feverish pitch; who could ever oppose a war once it has started?)
Again, an excellent article about a highly important subject. I agree with 100% of what you say. War has never been good. But, as you suggest, in the past (I was not there) it seems (judging from what we have studied) to have been more or less "justified"; it appears to have been mostly about defending territory, fighting for resources... but we would expect humanity to evolve (not in the Darwinian sense) into something better. As you say "warfare" nowadays is about a game to see who can have the ultimate killng machine. Sad.
Yes, there is a strange fuzzy place where war becomes "justified," and the warrior archetype has a legitimate purpose. In modern times, I am not sure where that fuzziness exists. I often think of WWII with the Nazis, and conclude that that war was justified to stop Hitler from poisoning all of Europe, and eventually the world, with his deeply pathological ideology. But then I change my mind and realize Hitler could have been stopped in other ways, maybe. Or the world could be in such a place that a man like Hitler could have never emerged out of it.
Interesting point you bring. Could Hitler have been stopped in other ways? Never even thought about that possibilty, since Hitler was using war in his quest to conquer the world. But you have made me start pondering about that possibility.
Well, maybe not, but pre-war Europe, and the US, probably had their own little secret agenda, as they always have.
Looking back, the Allies could have stopped Hitler without firing a shot if Britain and France had shown real backbone earlier. When the Big H remilitarized the Rhineland in 1936, or grabbed Austria in 1938, a firm united front—economic pressure, credible threats, and no concessions—would likely have forced him to back down. His military wasn't ready for a big war yet, and internal opposition in Germany might have grown. Instead, wishful thinking and fear of another slaughter (the fear being from the West) let him keep pushing.
Neville Chamberlain's big goof was the Munich Agreement in 1938, handing over Czechoslovakia's Sudetenland to Hitler in exchange for a worthless promise of "peace for our time." Ha Ha. He meant well (maybe, considering the UK probably had an agenda too), hoping to satisfy what he saw as legitimate grievances and buy time to rearm, but it only convinced Hitler the democracies were weak and wouldn't fight. The result? Hitler took the rest of Czechoslovakia anyway, and war came on much worse terms.
And US wanted nothing to do with Europe's mess. Sure, it seems the threat of war would have been the deterrent, but it was really the threat of defeat that Hitler would have wanted to avoid. He was basically handed the pie, and he took it.
WWII is such a complicated bunch of hash it is nearly impossible to contemplate a possibility it could have been avoided, considering the world had had thousands of years of "war love" before it happened, as well as all of the complicated economic and power positioning amongst the key players. Yes, I think it could have been avoided, but possibly only if Hitler did not exist, meaning WWI would have never happened...on and on.
“Soldier and civilian, they died in their tens of thousands because death had been concocted for them, morality hitched like a halter round the warhorse so that we could talk about ‘target-rich environments’ and ‘collateral damage’—that most infantile of attempts to shake off the crime of killing—and report the victory parades, the tearing down of statues and the importance of peace.
Governments like it that way. They want their people to see war as a drama of opposites, good and evil, ‘them’ and ‘us,’ victory or defeat. But war is primarily not about victory or defeat but about death and the infliction of death. It represents a total failure of the human spirit.”
Very good, thank you. I know many great writers and thinkers have written the same about futility, evil, etc. My words are nothing compared to theirs. I think what inspired this article was watching the NATO talks, how slick it all was, with weapon promotion videos, showing off computerized killing machines. It is different now than it was even 10 years ago. The icy coldness moves in. I also was inspired by the complete and unmitigated support of these leaders. I don't expect anyone to "do" anything about it...it is now beyond our protest, but when I speak in private with these people there is not a negative word said about the leaders who are engaged in this game.
Your words are equally as important and discerning as "theirs". Highlighting the coldness of "business as usual" illuminates the loss of Soul in these people, something we ignore to our peril.
This article is so informative. I am ashamed
To say, I had not really thought about the foundation for these terrible happenings with the wars.
It's heart breaking to me that the US government keeps their killing machine well oiled. I read that another school was bombed in Iran yesterday, or was it a hospital?
The inner workings of the world agenda requires war in order to function.
Well said once again, Todd. Linking as usual @https://nothingnewunderthesun2016.com/.
Thank you!
Thank you for this, I've never understood man's desire to kill, maim, mutilate, destroy. As a loud mouthed teenager I recall challenging young men/soldiers at an arms fair*, and they weren't capable of giving me a coherent answer.
(*wtf were they even doing in a shopping mall in the north of the UK in the mid 70s? Unless it was an army recruitment drive.)
I grew up in the '60s/'70s during the height of the US involvement in Vietnam; say what you want about the young people of that era, but they had their hearts in the right place. You certainly don't see that sort of commitment to "anti-war" today. One of many things the agenda has accomplished...
Oh I dunno, look at all those kids from Palestine Action in the UK, arrested for ''terrorist'' activities when they attacked Israeli Elbit killing machines with spray paint in protest about the Gaza genocidaires....I'd say their hearts are in the right place.
True, there certainly are exceptions...and I could be wrong to say this: they are rarer than they used to be.
A very thoughtful article ! The refence to " business " spot on ! War is a business blurred by references to democracy , deterence etc......... mostly all smokescreens ! Yet another money lanundering scheme- flowing funds through the military industrial complex , political donations on and on.
The Ukrainian war is a war everyone wanted but was afraid to ask for ...... except the citizens and victims of course .
Unfortunately "the people" are so butt stupid they never bother to really understand what is actually going on. The Ukraine war is a perfect example of that (well, WWII is a better example of how nationalism/patriotism, etc are drummed up to a feverish pitch; who could ever oppose a war once it has started?)
Again, an excellent article about a highly important subject. I agree with 100% of what you say. War has never been good. But, as you suggest, in the past (I was not there) it seems (judging from what we have studied) to have been more or less "justified"; it appears to have been mostly about defending territory, fighting for resources... but we would expect humanity to evolve (not in the Darwinian sense) into something better. As you say "warfare" nowadays is about a game to see who can have the ultimate killng machine. Sad.
Yes, there is a strange fuzzy place where war becomes "justified," and the warrior archetype has a legitimate purpose. In modern times, I am not sure where that fuzziness exists. I often think of WWII with the Nazis, and conclude that that war was justified to stop Hitler from poisoning all of Europe, and eventually the world, with his deeply pathological ideology. But then I change my mind and realize Hitler could have been stopped in other ways, maybe. Or the world could be in such a place that a man like Hitler could have never emerged out of it.
Interesting point you bring. Could Hitler have been stopped in other ways? Never even thought about that possibilty, since Hitler was using war in his quest to conquer the world. But you have made me start pondering about that possibility.
Well, maybe not, but pre-war Europe, and the US, probably had their own little secret agenda, as they always have.
Looking back, the Allies could have stopped Hitler without firing a shot if Britain and France had shown real backbone earlier. When the Big H remilitarized the Rhineland in 1936, or grabbed Austria in 1938, a firm united front—economic pressure, credible threats, and no concessions—would likely have forced him to back down. His military wasn't ready for a big war yet, and internal opposition in Germany might have grown. Instead, wishful thinking and fear of another slaughter (the fear being from the West) let him keep pushing.
Neville Chamberlain's big goof was the Munich Agreement in 1938, handing over Czechoslovakia's Sudetenland to Hitler in exchange for a worthless promise of "peace for our time." Ha Ha. He meant well (maybe, considering the UK probably had an agenda too), hoping to satisfy what he saw as legitimate grievances and buy time to rearm, but it only convinced Hitler the democracies were weak and wouldn't fight. The result? Hitler took the rest of Czechoslovakia anyway, and war came on much worse terms.
And US wanted nothing to do with Europe's mess. Sure, it seems the threat of war would have been the deterrent, but it was really the threat of defeat that Hitler would have wanted to avoid. He was basically handed the pie, and he took it.
WWII is such a complicated bunch of hash it is nearly impossible to contemplate a possibility it could have been avoided, considering the world had had thousands of years of "war love" before it happened, as well as all of the complicated economic and power positioning amongst the key players. Yes, I think it could have been avoided, but possibly only if Hitler did not exist, meaning WWI would have never happened...on and on.
“Soldier and civilian, they died in their tens of thousands because death had been concocted for them, morality hitched like a halter round the warhorse so that we could talk about ‘target-rich environments’ and ‘collateral damage’—that most infantile of attempts to shake off the crime of killing—and report the victory parades, the tearing down of statues and the importance of peace.
Governments like it that way. They want their people to see war as a drama of opposites, good and evil, ‘them’ and ‘us,’ victory or defeat. But war is primarily not about victory or defeat but about death and the infliction of death. It represents a total failure of the human spirit.”
- Robert Fisk, The Great War for Civilisation
Very good, thank you. I know many great writers and thinkers have written the same about futility, evil, etc. My words are nothing compared to theirs. I think what inspired this article was watching the NATO talks, how slick it all was, with weapon promotion videos, showing off computerized killing machines. It is different now than it was even 10 years ago. The icy coldness moves in. I also was inspired by the complete and unmitigated support of these leaders. I don't expect anyone to "do" anything about it...it is now beyond our protest, but when I speak in private with these people there is not a negative word said about the leaders who are engaged in this game.
Your words are equally as important and discerning as "theirs". Highlighting the coldness of "business as usual" illuminates the loss of Soul in these people, something we ignore to our peril.
Thank you.