| Like I said FVD, they never learn. The best lesson we can all learn is to read history. the human race repeats its mistakes endlessly. |
What is sad is that humans do not read their own history, instead generations seem to march in lockstep making the same mistakes they did in the past. This is why, all utopianism aside, human nature will never change. There are civilized humans, and they are savages. This isn't a racial or color line. I would say it can be cultural. Some cultures value human life, some do not. It is up to those who value it to defend against those who do not. Remember, Germany was a fountainhead of culture for Europe. Yet it spawned Naziism. Chinese civilization existed for millennea, gave us Taoism and Confucianism, yet Mao was responsible for 100 million deaths. Civilization and savegry can exist and even coexist, but savages only respect strength. Hence, military forces will always be necessary, despite what hippies and coca cola commercials may have us believe.
The Greeks recognized the duality of human nature when they made their Gods. Interestingly enough, they made 2 Deities for War. The better known of the two is Ares....Mars to the Romans. He's the bloodthirsty savage who loves to kill and inflict harm. He's the lover of Aphrodite (Venus). The Uber Alpha Male if you may. Yet Ares was also a bully who couldn't stand up when stood up against. This brings us to the other ancient Greek War Deity...Athena. Athena represents everything Ares is not, culture, intelligence, cunning. Yet she also was a warrior. In the Iliad, Athena ends up giving Ares quite a thrashing. The Greeks themselves didn't have much respect for Ares (except in Sparta) but Athena was regarded as a strong deity, the Goddess of Civilization and Wisdom.
I bring up these ancient myths because they describe two sides of the Human Condition, and War. One side fights because it is in its nature to do so, the other fights only when it must. If there is anything that history can tell us it is that this struggle will always define us as Humans.
Skysurfer808