The first official essay on my blog - "War - An Insight Into Man's Darkest Whim"

Waterloo, Zaire, Bosnia, Afghanistan and Iraq – These places haven’t many things in common, but one cannot go over these names without realizing one dominant and deadly similarity. This similarity, dear reader, is that these are all places that have witnessed untold destruction and devastation. These are places which have fallen victim to mankind’s darkest whim. These, are all places ravaged by war.

Man claims to be an intelligent animal, and no doubt he is, but all the intelligent he possesses takes a backseat when it comes to certain issues, none more prominent than when it comes to asserting his power.

We are all driven, somewhere inside us, by the home of our pride – our ego. Man, as an animal and as a being, rarely considers the concept of “turning the other cheek”. It is this dogged stubbornness which gives birth to our desire to be dominant and masters of all that we see. It is this desire, which brings us to the brink of total destruction.

War is an act of wanton foolishness, conveniently branded as an act of necessity. It’s patrons are often those who know that it isn’t necessary, and yet paint a picture that it is, while acting in the alleged “interest” of one state, by nearly destroying another!

A war, once fought, results in destruction which by far outweighs the so-called “benefits” of war. Today, a soldier is portrayed as a hero, a true citizen of his country. True, he may be a hero to his nation, but what is he to humanity as a whole? I believe he is no less than a cold – blooded murderer.

A picture honour, bravery and pride along with a generous portion of benefits, has been painted of a soldier by our forefathers. From the knights in shining armour with bloody swords, to the modern day war hero with a smoking gun, people have been glorified for taking human lives – the same thing that millions around the world are in prison for.

In the modern world, one can identify a few prerequisites, any of which need to be fulfilled to deem a full scale war necessary. (Condition two seems to be the more popular one):

1. You require an alleged “mad man” as the head of the state that would be attacked.

2.The state to be attacked must have at least one valuable resource which can be “looked after” (pay very kind attention to the quotes) by the occupying country.

3.An act of terrorism has to have taken place at least six months before the scheduled day of attack. (It is generally accepted that the state to be attacked is responsible in one way or another)

These aren’t very difficult conditions to fulfill if one analyses the different parts of the globe. It seems we could be subjected to war as easily as one can deem a leader a madman.

But is a war really worth it all? Countless lives lost for the sake of a few miles in a neighboring country? In some cases, lives of many sacrificed for the sake of an individual? To put it bluntly, it isn’t.

There can’t possibly be enough words that could describe the horrific consequences of war. If ‘being evil’ can be described as committing acts of sheer horror and ignoring its consequences, and then doing the same thing over and over, then I ask you – Are we all not evil? After countless wars, innumerable lives lost and many trillions worth of destruction, a part of mankind, sadly, is still waiting to push the proverbial button that would plunge us all into one frantic act of idiocy that would change the world as we know it.

Of all the difficulties we impose on ourselves, war and unnecessary conflict are by far the worst of them all. However, it is something which can be avoided if we only use the intelligence that we all innately possess. It is apt to say that war does not decide who is wrong or right, it only decides who is left.

By,
Nikhil Menon