War Sucks

The real bad thing about war is that it is never clear cut - no matter which side you are on, no matter how just your cause is, it is more than likely that some of your enemies will be good people and that some of your allies will be bad people. More than likely, there are some Iraqi insurgents who honestly believe we are bad, and that they are protecting their families and friends - essentially good people who just want to protect what is precious to them, wrong as they are about us. We saw from that prison incident that our own forces have a dark side, as well.

Still, the cause of all war is intolerance, ignorance, greed, and bigotry - dark and evil things. If we could minimize these things, war would be much less likely to occur. Unfortunately, those things are seemingly ingrained into our species, and it's tough to get over them. War will likely exist so long as humans do - we've all got our somethings to protect, and there are those who would try to take those somethings from us. But in protecting our somethings, we oft destroy the something's of others.

A Warrior's Self-interest

The other day in class, I made a comment that by providing Patroclus with his armor and allowing the Myrmidons to fight, Achilles was being selfish. I sensed that many people either did not agree with this statement or were confused by it, so I would like to further explain myself. Throughout the Iliad, numerous attempts are made by several people to try and talk Achilles into returning to battle. All of these attempts fail, and thus show Achilles' inability to swallow his pride. This newest attempt by Patroclus is different however; Achilles comes to a compromise. Achilles agrees to let Patroclus use his armor and let the Myrmidons fight only because the Trojans are on the verge of destroying the Acheans' ships and thus keeping Achilles from traveling home. If keeping the ships safe is so important to Achilles, why did he not just choose to fight himself? The answer is self-interest, which is a key character-trait throughout the Iliad. Almost all the large characters in the time of the Iliad undeniably display selfish attitudes, mostly in an attempt to gain personal glory.

For community service day I went to USO and was able to talk with many American troops who were on their way to fight overseas. I was curious as to whether soldiers’ self-interest existed in today’s war as it did in the time of the Iliad. Looking around the terminal the answer became increasingly clear. The somber and morose attitude of the soldiers showed none of them cared about personal glory, only survival. I began talking to a soldier who was only two years older than me. He told me that joining the army was a terrible decision and that he wish he would have stayed in school. He then went on to say that there was no comradery in his unit at all and everyone only looked out for themselves. In this case it’s easy to understand why soldiers would be self-interested on the battlefield; on the verge of death a person would do anything to survive. Today’s soldiers are just as selfish as Achilles and other warriors of the past, just for a different and more understandable reason.

War on Terror or War on Terrorism?

The intentions and actions taken immediately following the September 11, 2001 attacks were consistent with the goal of fighting terrorism, however since then the action taken has been misguided and misdirected. According to President Bush, the United States is now fighting a “War on Terror.” A distinction between “War on Terror” and “War on Terrorism” must be understood. This war on terror does not directly, and frankly, cannot serve as a solution to the conflict that led to the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon in 2001. A “War on Terror” could be considered a fight against all acts of terror not necessarily from any terrorist or organized group, but what could essentially be one-person simply bringing harm to another group of people. In this sense it is not the United States’ responsibility to police the rest of the world and ensure the safety of every human being. However, a war against terrorism does offer an answer to the terrorist attacks that America regrettably experienced almost seven years ago. A war on terrorism would seek to eliminate terrorist organizations that have a global reach and whose existence and ideals pose an immediate threat not only to the United States, but also to other civilizations and people who encompass a Western way of thought. Whether it is a "War on Terror" or a "War on Terrorism," the United States must now make a decision about whether an American military presence in the Middle East is beneficial.