War

Soundtrack: "War Pigs" - Black Sabbath - Paranoid (Vertigo - 1970)

War, when examined at its most rudimentary level, is simply conflict, often violent, between two large groups. These groups may be nations or ethnic groups as they often tend to be, or they may be factions within these divisions such as in civil wars. When viewed as such, it becomes increasingly apparent that war may not be avoided. Conflict is truly the essence of social interaction and the discovery of inconsistency in perspective. Though it may not be favorable, we shall never relinquish conflict; it is a product of the natural order. Conflict among large groups is not nearly as frequent as general conflict, but it is no less inevitable. Is there a time for war, you ask? This is perhaps the wrong question because war does not mean anything per se. It must be examined through the lens of one involved party or even an interested observer. These will each potentially present a different response, illuminating the truth that it is truly a matter of perspective. I have, on many occasions, raved ad nauseum about the incoherence of the universal application of a principle. It cannot so easily be said whether war is morally right because this is a question for the actors in the conflict. One cannot determine the rightness of war because it transcends cultural boundaries and affects those with a wide range of personal beliefs and moral codes. I can say from my perspective in contemporary American society that I despise war and our country's recklessness in this field. I despise the fact that politicians can make the decisions to send the young and the able to die and to kill not in the name of our country or "liberty" but in the name of these very politicians. These facts make me sick, but I cannot speak to true place of war in global history because of my lack of understanding and experience with the countless possible perspectives. I can wish away for the arrival of an endless global peace, but it seems that the war machines keep turning.