How does our concept of war differ from that of the ancient people? War is not a straight-forward symbol instead it has wide meanings and symbolizes vast strategies. War is a symbol or a process of losing cohesion or strength and the battle fought between good and evil. We should be aware of what is disintegrating within our lives to recognize the full symbolism. It is an armed conflict between nations or between opposing factions which are regarded with disgust. An example of this is in the book ‘Three Day Road’ by Joseph Boyden when Xavier states, “A couple of soldiers run up with rifles pointed and stare down at McCaan… I see the spit of fire come out of the barrel and then McCaan lies still” and when Xavier expresses his dislike to Niska, “So many dead man lay buried over there that if the bush grows back the tress will hold skulls in their branches” (Boyden, 316).
A war can have a greatharm to the environment, natural resources and public health. Preparation for war can be extraordinarily harmful to the environment. “The Vietnam War was the very first conflict to highlight the devastating effects of warfare on entire ecosystems” (Britannica School). More significance can be found in the book ‘Three Day Road’ by Joseph Boyden when Xavier relates war with fire, “Fire is sometimes good for the bush, makes it come back fully. But back at Ypres and the Somme, I think the earth is so wrecked with shells and poison gas that nothing good will ever grow again.” A war can have enormous unhygienic effects on the environment and the landscape. Moreover, it demolishes the trees which are the basic habitation for the birds. The scarcity of trees can be found on page 113 of the book ‘Three Day Road’ when Xavier states, “I prefer ...
... middle of paper ...
...ent art practiced by many Native American cultures. “War is the setting for many Native American stories. Some stories are concerned with the origin of war, such as the Serrano story of Kukitat, who introduces war” (Britannica). How can one distinguish between the war on drugs, the war on terrorism, anarchy, and wars between states? (Liungman, Dictionary of Symbols). War has a more global effect than one-to-one combat and we need to be conscious of the effect our actions will have on others. Definitions are relevant as they provide the rationale for considering a war legitimate and just and contribute to decisions about international interventions, aid, and protocol. This has become particularly important in contemporary international affairs, when the most prevalent conflicts have been nationalist and or ethnic in character and international terrorism has escalated.
Laws exist to protect life and property; however, they are only as effective as the forces that uphold them. War is a void that exists beyond the grasps of any law enforcing agency and It exemplifies humankind's most desperate situation. It is an ethical wilderness exempt from civilized practices. In all respects, war is a primitive extension of man. Caputo describes the ethical wilderness of Vietnam as a place "lacking restraints, sanctioned to kill, confronted by a hostile country and a relentless enemy, we sank into a brutish state." Without boundaries, there is only a biological moral c...
War is the means to many ends. The ends of ruthless dictators, of land disputes, and lives – each play its part in the reasoning for war. War is controllable. It can be avoided; however, once it begins, the bat...
Kagan, Donald. On the Origins of War and the Preservation of Peace. New York: Anchor Books Doubleday, 1995.
Nothing can impact society like war. War can be viewed as noble and just, or cruel and inhuman, as well as everything in between. War affects everyone in society whether they are fighting in a foreign country or waiting at home for a loved one to return. War is an indispensable part of civilization; found at every chapter of human history. It is the culmination of the basic survival instinct when provoked. As has the technique of battle; society's view on war has changed as well. Today the act of war has become almost shameful, whereas in earlier eras war was glorified and heroic. American society's view on war has changed also. Our history, even as a young country has seen a great deal of conflict.
For the great lesson which history imprints on the mind…is the tragic certainty that all wars gain their ultimate ends, whether great or petty, by the violation of personality, by the destruction of homes, by the paralysis of art and industry and letters…even wars entered on from high motives must rouse greed, cupidity, and blind hatred; that even in defensive warfare a people can defend its rights only by inflicting new wrongs; and that chivalrous no less than self-seeking war entails relentless destruction.
War Is a Force That Gives Us Meaning, written by the talented author Chris Hedges, gives us provoking thoughts that are somewhat painful to read but at the same time are quite personal confessions. Chris Hedges, a talented journalist to say the least, brings nearly 15 years of being a foreign correspondent to this book and subjectively concludes how all of his world experiences tie together. Throughout his book, he unifies themes present in all wars he experienced first hand. The most important themes I was able to draw from this book were, war skews reality, dominates culture, seduces society with its heroic attributes, distorts memory, and supports a cause, and allures us by a constant battle between death and love.
Small wars in the post Napoleonic period are important to study because of social relevance relating to international relations on a global scale. Small wars or conflicts have the ability to drain the resources of major powers. Unnecessary loss of life occurs due to these conflicts. Eliot A. Cohen states in Constraints on America’s Conduct of Small Wars, “A small war has the following distinct characteristics: It involves sharp military asymmetry, and insurgents that fights guerrilla war, and an incumbent that used ground forces for counterinsurgency warfare. The incumbent can be an indigenous government that fights on its own or with the external participation, or a foreign power that imposes itself on the population (1984).
The government of the United States and of Oceania use war as a political tool to control the social views of the people, the products and wealth of the country, and the opinions of politicians and government officials. The ways in which war is used as a political tool includes controlling citizens, and products of a country. Both the country in 1984 and the United States use war in similar ways. When comparing the current time with the story of 1984 it is easy to see the similarities in how war is used as a political tool.
This war involves a human side, including the admission of fear and scenes of domestic life, not in a sentimentalized version. This more complete and responsible depiction shows that there's not one single center to the war, just as there's not one single god for the Greeks.
There have been some religions (ones such as Islam and Christianity) that could have once defended war in a time where defense of their own was all that mattered; however, there are other religions (ones such as Taoism and Buddhism) that have chastised and disapproved the very idea of war at all accounts possible. This is because each different view on war by any religion matters on the type of beliefs and rules it follow, and it these various religious views on war I have come across through the documents given that I will discuss throughout this essay:
Trapp, James. The art of war: a new translation. New York: Chartwell Books, 2012. Print.
Kagan, Donald. On the Origins of War and the Preservation of Peace. New York: Doubleday, 1995.
McCutcheon, Richard. "Rethinking the War against Iraq." Anthropologica. No. 1 ed. Vol. 48. Ottawa: Canadian Anthropology Society, 2007. 11-49. Print. War and Peace.
Warfare, the struggle between two or more nations, will continue to impact the lives of individuals in the world. Ondaatje uses the following introduction from Tacitus’s work, Annals, to expand on the idea of warfare in cultural history: “I begin my work at the time when Servius Galba was Consul.... The histories of Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius and Nero, while they were a power, were falsified through terror and after their death were written under a fresh hatred” (93).
The etymology of the word “war” can be traced back to the Old High German language word “werra” meaning strife; akin to Old High German “werran” to confuse. These words were used sometime in the 12th century. Marcus Tullius Cicero, a Roman philosopher, once defined war as "a contention by force" and the working definition of war for the purpose of this essay will be Cicero's definition.