All kinds of wars take their toll on the nations who chooses to engage in them. War, in my own point of view, never was and never should be the best solution for conflicts, disagreements, or political preferences between people and nations. Wars, either big or small create such a huge impact in the social, economical, and political aspect of a nation. It is so powerful it can disrupt the stability, unity and harmony of even the strongest nation.
Our world today has evolved so much from the barbaric tendencies of man that are evidenced from the historic accounts of the ancient history. According to Pauling (1983), “We are living through that unique epoch in the history of civilization when war will cease to be the means of settling great world problems”. As such, it is only right and fitting that diplomacy is applied, and not armed conflicts, whenever disagreements arise. A lot of things can be resolved through negotiations, peace talks, and bargaining. Differences can be ironed out and people of different race, religion, and idealism can all live in agreement as they should. It is under this concept that the United Nations was established, and their main task is to ensure peace and unity among nations. If the resources are used correctly, the organization undoubtedly will be a good mediator for conflicts between countries. And with them functioning impartially, there won’t be any need for bloodshed and the loss of innocent lives ever again.
Wars tend to treat soldiers, men, women, and even innocent children less of a person than they truly are. During a war, the television, radio, and the Internet are filled with news reports of war casualties, captives, and tortured soldiers. For a nation at war, it is always the poor soldiers that are used as pawns to fight in the battlefield. Yes, these soldiers do have a sworn duty to protect their country and its people. But like us, they have families of their own too. These soldiers are fathers, brothers, and sons too – and somebody back home is waiting for them. Unfortunately though, when war is over, there will definitely be families left broken, shattered, and crushed, and all of it is supposed to be all for the glory of the nation.
And so in line with this, it is never right and acceptable to torture captured soldiers, if only for the mere fact that these soldiers only do as they are told. Putting them to blame for everything that has transpired during the war is very unreasonable. Boot (2002) stated that torture, as a war crime, is a crime against humanity; and that the effects of the physical and mental pain inflicted to the person subjected to torture will remain inside them and in their subconscious for such a long time.
The need of a big and strong nation to showcase their military supremacy and world dominance has always been a factor why wars still occur. Ripka (1961) had long analyzed that engaging in war is a way for the strong nations to gain supremacy over the weaker ones. Accordingly, when a certain nation suddenly becomes a subject of oppression, it becomes hard to them to resist taking up their arms and retaliate to their enemy. But even so, there are several other peaceful ways to resolve all the issues they are facing. And as civilized citizens, the said peaceful ways of solving the problem should always be the first option. It is important that we all understand that after all, there is no real winner in a war. Every nation, every person, even the seemingly victorious ones, are all left on the losing end after the storm had died down.
Wars expose a nation into an unnecessary trail of grief and hardships. Even big, powerful, and rich countries are crippled by the easiest and quickest war they had ever fought. If a country engages in a war, their economic trade, foreign relations, and social balance all suffer – and it could take several years to restore them all. The wages of war is not even worth the victories associated with it. Wars are for nations who still believe that force and dominance are a solution. And it is my hope that their number should diminish over time.
Citations
Boot, M. (2002). Genocide, Crimes Against Humanity, War Crimes: Nullum Crimen Sine Lege and the Subject Matter. Belguim: Intersentia
Ripka, H. (1961). Eastern Europe in the Post-war World. Michigan: Praeger.
Pauling, L. (1983). No More War! Michigan: Dodd, Mead.
