Absurd Conflicts of Irrational People - Wars

Why are there wars? Why do nations always create new conflicts?

Maybe it sounds like a naïve question, that would an elementary school students ask, but I don’t think it’s that easy. I don’t want to talk about the reasons why nations start to fight. Those reasons are unimportant, because the results are always the same – deaths. And also all of these conflicts are the same because neither of those wars would start, if there were not soldiers wanting to fight.

I want to look at the minds of individual people contributing to the war. For me, the most important thing about life is to discover its meaning, so we actually know what is the reason to live. Unfortunately I do not think that many people realize this; know or try (maybe even want) to look for its meaning. Is the meaning of soldier’s life to kill other people? Apparently it is, because they go to war not knowing, if they will survive; so their last reason to live is to kill enemies, therefore it is their last meaning of life with the argument I mentioned above. That is sad. I don’t want to devalue soldiers fighting for their nations, but they risk the only life they have, for the goals of state leaders. They risk it only to kill other people.

I do not want to distinguish whether somebody is saving other civilians, destroying a cruel regime, doing a good thing or being a hero, because that is very subjective. Each side of the conflict will sense it differently and has different moral standards. What is important that both of the sides want to kill the other one, whether because of religious, political, economical reasons or just power.

I would like to refer to E. M. Remarque’s famous and powerful scene in the book All Quiet on the Western Front, where the main character watches his enemy slowly die right next to him. He realizes weren’t there be a war, they could be friends actually. And I sense it the same way in non-fiction world. Weren’t there be religious, political disputes, such a brighter world would we live in. In words of Thomas Hobbes, maybe people really are in their most natural form “nothing else but a mere war all against all.” (Leviathan).

Maybe with my goals and idea of the best world I sound as such an idealist. So as a conclusion I want to point out two simple thoughts. What is more rational, to diplomatically solve conflict, not risking people’s lives; or to bomb other cities with rackets and shoot the enemies? To have this argument more realistic, and actually to have the whole essay make more sense, I want to pin out the second thought. One of my favorite quotes says:

“Eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.” – Mahatma Gandhi

Unfortunately the world is full of irrational and “blind” people.

Lukas Cerny, 31. 8. 2014