We Are A War-Infested Society

Damo, my friend at My Apologetics wrote today about war and how we kill ourselves.

“If we’re so clever, why can’t we stop killing ourselves?”

Why, indeed? I’m one of the tens of thousands of products of the baby boom. That fact means something, but let’s go a back a bit into the history of all of our generations. I wish I could remember where I recently read that the US has been involved in a war since it’s inception. For you Brits, you of the middle east, you of Asian decent, whoever else I’ve not mentioned, don’t think I don’t include you in our World of Wars. We all have guilty leaders; we’re all un-wanting and fearful participants of our leaders’ serendipity. Can we stop it? No. We are the powerless empowered. We can speak our mind and find those who agree, but we still have no power to change what we see as wrong. Damo said, “As I write this we are actually sitting on the edge of oblivion staring toward a disaster that seems impossible to stop. War makes beasts of the gentlest people; it creates hatreds that can last generations and untold misery. We all know this, so there is no point try to convince people that war is bad. It is bad and only the insane claim it to be otherwise.” Oh, let’s get back to the baby boom part My family, my history of friends are filled with the pains of war. I never had the pleasure to meet my Uncle Woodrow. He was, to my knowledge, a handsome young man, a fighter pilot in WWI. His plane was shot down and he died before any of us was given the chance to decide if we liked him; we were never given the chance to meet him. Dad, was part of those who served in WWII. He didn’t die in the war, he died FROM it. Daddy carried problems with him through his short life. He died three weeks shy of his 67th birthday. My Uncle Richie passed about ten years ago. He also served in WWII. Richard Kupczyk was able to let go of the past. I often wonder if it let go of him. My friends, my contemporaries, are dead. They’re either buried with earth or buried with the awful stuff of Viet Nam, the Gulf War, the war in Iraq. I leave you with Damo’s words:

"We are a clever species. We can put a man on the moon; cure diseases; feed millions; move rivers and build cities. We can write great works of philosophy, mathematics, engineering, theology and science. We can enjoy music, art and nature. We can feel empathy, sympathy and compassion. Even our ancient ruins stand as testament to what we have done. We are so clever that we can do all these things but we cannot stop killing ourselves. We cannot stop war."