ANTIWAR

I would bet that a majority of the world's population does not agree with war, or the idea that war needs to happen in order for issues to be resolved. Those who tried to speak out against war were silenced by our nations government, who at the time believed speaking out against war was deemed unpatriotic and didn't promote nationalism. Now, in modern times, we as citizens are allowed to speak out against war, and going as far as protesting without restraint or punishment for doing so. But even in todays mainstream media, there are few articles about anti-war promotion or discussion. Why? Simply because that is not what gets media its views. Other topics or people who simply don't want to bring dominate the media we see regularly.

When talking about why leaders are motivated to conduct war, two things are brought up: money and control. With war comes the use of new inventions of violence, which can be used on the battlefield. In Alex Roland's A Nation Must Think Before it Acts, he talks about the use of the nuclear bomb and how, "it will run counter to the sorry record of prior human civilization, when each new instrument of war contributed to the carnage without altering the human nature Thucydides believed to be at the heart of war." By creating these new weapons, Roland and the greek philosopher Thucydides believed it would cause the downfall of mankind itself.

Even with articles such as Roland's and others that disagree with war, there is still very few voices about anti-war found in the media today. In a world where we preach to future generations to be kind to others and to treat others how we would want to be treated in return, we still wage war in order to gain control and to build up our economy and create jobs. Former US President Abraham Lincoln once said, "I destroy my enemies when I make them my friends," hinting that instead of using weapons to create a compromise, we must befriend our enemies and learn form them instead of tearing them down.