War

For the last few months, I’ve been in the middle of a deep-dive into world wars over the last century. From Verdun to Iwo Jima, it’s been a startling look into the depths of human behavior – and cruelty.

In WWII, battles were fought on the beaches of foreign lands, and countless young men/boys lost their lives.

Today, battles are fought in the car, while countless young children in the back seat lose time connecting with their parents…that’s a blog for another time.

War isn’t pretty. However, I think there are certain instances where the brutality of war can be extended; for example, swiftly cutting the head off of a prisoner can be considered far more ‘merciful’ than torturing said prisoner before a slow death of starvation. Neither outcome is pretty. However, I’d pick the head chop over torture and starvation.

I saw a lot of things that startled me; the number of casualties, instruments of war (beehive rounds, for example…) as well as the mass propaganda machine that revved its engine whenever the opportunity to create war emerged.

There’s a saying “there’s no such thing as a bad soldider – only a bad general.” and I think the statement can be accurately applied to these attrocities. Most young men joined the Armed Forces because they had a desire to protect their country.

On day one of boot camp, the ‘breaking’ process begins, where recruits are broken down into trained fighting machines that follow any order – no matter what it is. At that point, they become the hands and arms of a fighting machine much larger than they can imagine.

Does anybody deserve to have a bayonet shoved through their heart, or to look into the air and see tens of thousands of beehive spikes racing toward their village? Does the judgement of cruelty lie on the general commanding the charge, or the 18 year-old ruthlessly shoving his bayonet into the face of another 18 year-old?

For the last few years, I’ve taken a look around and felt like the proverbial emperor has no clothes, in factions of government, politics, belief systems and social behavioral trends.

There are infinite causes in the world seeking your time, money, attention and even life. Very few of these causes ever push us – the individual – back into our homes to build a safe place there, first; rather, they want us to fight their cause, while putting our first priority (our home/family) in the rearview mirror, just as countless soldiers lose their lives when they fight somebody else’s war.

Many people fight wars because they want peace.
Few people fight to have peace in their home.

In WW I, U.S. soldiers were paid about 1/10th of the wages they would have earned had they worked traditional jobs. As a result, they fought to adjusted wages upon their return from the war. They got them – in the form of war bonds.

Once the Great Depression struck, these soldiers banded together to march to Washington to ask Congress to release their funds, rather than make them wait for the date on the bonds. It started out in Los Angeles with a few now-construction workers, and grew into a crowd of over 20,000 by the time it reached the Capitol.

The response? Tanks, tear gas, bayonets and the U.S. National Guard, orchestrated by the hands of General MacArthur; who later went on to become a WWII Hero.

4 adults and 2 children lost their lives that day – as well as one misscarriage. Over 1,000 were injured.

I’d like you to realy think about this for a moment. These were the people who volunteered to protect their country during WWI. Rather, these were the soldiers that were left.

It startled me when I saw the U.S. government would open fire on its own. It continues to startle me, in fact.

I can say with confidence that no people group have ever lived without violence. However, the cruelty and barbarianism I witnessed, committed by the U.S., has deeply unsettled me.

It has been a difficult thing to stomach some of the sights I’ve seen as I’ve gone through the history books. However, the cherry on the bloody sundae was coming to realize the reward for those who fight wars on behalf of the U.S. government.

Behind the curtain of propaganda that every government spends millions promoting, is a small group of individuals with more blood on their hands than they will ever see in combat. These people execute the lives of millions of people with a stroke of their signature, while earning fortunes as countless men, women and children are slaughtered under the banner of freedom.