The TORN Episodes

Brainwashed In America

Showing posts with label Syria. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Syria. Show all posts

Tuesday, September 3, 2013

War: A Costly Endeavor

By Sara Niles Author of Torn From the Inside Out

War is the most costly government operation of all time, because the currency of the interchange is human life and everyone loses in war. As the modernity of the times produced superpowers, the wars have become potential super wars: World Wars I and II were the first concrete examples of wars out of control. In World War One, over 37,000,000 lives were lost, with the greatest numbers of casualties suffered by the superpowers: over 65,000,000 were mobilized worldwide, with the greatest losses suffered by Russia, France and Germany (http://www.pbs.org/greatwar/resources/casdeath_pop.html ). When you examine the numbers from the Second World War, the numbers appear to come from a science fiction horror movie; because WWII was the biggest and deadliest war in all of human history. You would think the world leaders would have learned from the first war.

The dangers of declaring war versus the danger of not declaring war-now that is the question facing the world leaders yet again. Syria has committed the unthinkable and used chemicals to kill over 1400 people (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-23906913), a mere harbinger of what they may do in the near future, if not stopped.

Now we are faced with a fearful decision that involves a two pronged danger: the danger of war from action and the danger of war from inaction- a critical dilemma of the worst kind. Will there be a need to fight to protect the good in the world? And what will be the end after all is said and done?

In the Lord of the Rings (Movie), Sam said to Frodo that

“… there's some good in this world, Mr. Frodo... and it's worth fighting for”