from Verse One Hundred Sixty-EightSo if those who till the soil do not exert themselves, there is nothing to live on, and if those who weave the cloth do not work, there is nothing to clothe the body. Whether there is abundance or insufficiency is up to the individual. If there is plenty of food and clothing, dishonesty does not arise; happy and carefree, the world is at peace, so there is nothing for the intelligentsia to do with their strategies, and nothing for militarists to do with their power.~ Wen-tzu: Understanding the Mysteries ~
When modern nations go to war, the rationale trotted out usually has something to do with national interests, defending the nation's way of life, spreading "democracy" or some geo-political strategy. I suppose we can dress it up any number of ways, but most armed conflicts arise because one nation WANTS something that another nation possesses or possesses more of.
Just take a look at the US and our true underlying reasons for fighting wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Both are tied to oil. Iraq has it and Afghanistan is the region we want to put an oil pipeline through.
There are other despotic regimes that have brutalized their people just as much as Saddam Hussein and the Taliban.
You didn't see the US attack Indonesia when they were committing genocide in East Timor; Indonesia doesn't have what we covet. There has been plenty of brutalization going on in many areas of the African continent, but we've seen no American president deliver a speech about "democracy" and then declare we're sending the full force of the US military to an African nation. And, despite the crazy antics of North Korea's leader, the US has utilized diplomacy, not military might, to try to mitigate that situation.
War and interpersonal violence will continue unabated as long as we have a world economic system that produces haves and have nots. People will always desire that which they do not have and will be willing to brutalize others to get it.
This post is part of a series. For an introduction, go here.
Just take a look at the US and our true underlying reasons for fighting wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Both are tied to oil. Iraq has it and Afghanistan is the region we want to put an oil pipeline through.
There are other despotic regimes that have brutalized their people just as much as Saddam Hussein and the Taliban.
You didn't see the US attack Indonesia when they were committing genocide in East Timor; Indonesia doesn't have what we covet. There has been plenty of brutalization going on in many areas of the African continent, but we've seen no American president deliver a speech about "democracy" and then declare we're sending the full force of the US military to an African nation. And, despite the crazy antics of North Korea's leader, the US has utilized diplomacy, not military might, to try to mitigate that situation.
War and interpersonal violence will continue unabated as long as we have a world economic system that produces haves and have nots. People will always desire that which they do not have and will be willing to brutalize others to get it.
This post is part of a series. For an introduction, go here.
The truth is so simple and so ignored by the masses, isn't it?
ReplyDeleteHonor dies where interest lies...
ReplyDelete