War

Have you ever thought what the purpose of a war is? To phrase it differently whom does a war benefit? Does it in any real way benefit the solder fighting on the ground, who is so convinced that he is fighting for a greater cause which is a reflection of the aspirations of its people that he is ready to die for it?

My opinion on the above is that a war is only a cliché which is groomed by those few who proclaim themselves to be the leaders of a nation. They induce the rest to believe that the cause they are fighting for is their own, that it is necessary therefore that they must join in, for not doing so would be unpatriotic. The only real and material benefit of this war is however that the so called leaders get a few more acres of land to rule over, in exchange for say a couple of thousand lives. Such is the rhetoric that is made up through speeches and supported by a large section of the press (getting a good sum of money from weapon dealers) that we are again induced to believe that the portion of land that we have got is worth every life lost, maybe even more, we are made to believe that it is we that have gained that land as if an addition to the property we are in our individual capacity holding.

How deceitful all the above is. For in reality the soldier who has died or those who have lived to see the after war would soon realize that there is nothing for them in that victory. There household still looks the same, their financial condition has not improved, and that magical piece of land for which all that fighting was done has bared no fruits for them. On the other hand in order to support the war extra financial burden was placed on the households through various taxes; money for development was deployed for purchasing arms and ammunitions. What good is such a war for that soldier? Or in fact the people whose aspirations he thinks he is representing.

There is no gain in war, except for those at the highest echelons of fascist politics and the producers of arms and ammunitions. If only all were to understand this, not be very motivated to fight for it. Then perhaps the money spent on those wars could be constructively utilized for feeding the millions starving to death in many parts of the world. We would have no massacres, no mothers and children having to abandon their homes in the middle of the night. If only all of us were to see through, if only for our own good. But then they say common sense is not so common.