People like to glorify war, but war is anything but glorious. It is the most evil and cruel thing that human beings do to one another. Yet human myth paints war as noble.
People talk about war atrocities forgetting that war, itself, is a terrible atrocity. War brings out the worst in human beings. It is blood and guts, the attempted wholesale slaughter of all human life defined as an enemy combatant. It is the killing of innocent civilians — men, women, and children.
War slays millions of soldiers. It makes widows and fatherless children and grieving parents. It cripples people. It inflicts sever mental and emotional pain on all involved in any way in combat.
War destroys fuel, food, land, the environment, homes, and other resources. The financial costs are huge.
War destroys human morality. As humans aggressively massacre each other their hearts and minds are opened up to every type of evil urge and impulse.
Yet as horrible as war is, few people will speak out against war in general. (Some may speak against a specific war, but not against the concept of war itself.) If anyone speaks against the concept of war, he or she is criticized and called unpatriotic or crazy.
But what’s crazy about believing in peace? Christ taught peace — “love your enemies.” Was He crazy?
In a recent letter to the editor in the Tennessean Charles Kraft spoke out against war. He said: In my opinion, there is no such thing as a ‘good’ or ‘moral’ war. As a soldier in Vietnam, I witnessed the horrors of war as all soldiers have. Omar N. Bradley, a sagacious five-star general and hero of World War II, said it best on his deathbed: ‘War is immoral.’ He was correct.” |
|
