War is Stupid One thing which unfortunately seems to define the human race is the war. We have always been at war since the first two tribes appeared on the planet. When we hear there were no wars between this and that period of time, that only means there were only no big wars. The definition of war in the Oxford dictionary is, a state of armed conflict between different nations, or different states, or different groups within a nation state. So, while there were periods we may have thought were war free, there seems to almost be wars going. Take for example the Philippines. The war between the rebels started in 1969 and has continued to go on since. There seems to be something in some of us, whether conscious or unconscious, which likes or loves war. Some leaders want things like the territory of others and knowing they can’t get it other than conquering another country relish the battle. I think Putin, when he thought he could conquer Ukraine in a couple of days, might have felt this, and also felt as a conqueror it would make him appear more of a man. I guess you might have noticed it, I have a degree in Behavioral Science. It doesn’t mean I am always right, but this is my opinion about Putin. I base it on several things he has done, but one of the reasons stands out and that is a photo of a shirtless Putin riding a horse. It made me think he believes he is some kind of superman with the body of an Adonis, but he is far from that. He has had important positions in government for so long, I think he believes he knows everything and must be obeyed even when he wages a war of aggression. Early wars were not recorded. It might have been because there was no writing. I was wondering when the first recorded war took place and it seems to have started in 2700 B.C. It was between Sumer and Elam. Sumer was a country in the southern part of Iraq which was called Mesopotamia by the ancient Greeks. Elam was also in the southern part of Iran. What I find amazing is Iraq and Iran have been fighting off and on since this early date. One might think the war has been going on for almost 5000 years. We have to remember Saddam Hussein and Iraq were still fighting with them. When we check the ancient records of war, we should never expect them to be truthful as to the reasons for the war and the name of the winning country. It has been said that according to ancient Egyptian war records, no pharaoh ever lost a battle. Talk about political coverups. Coverups were much easier to do in ancient times since communication of events was much harder to do. One of the first naval battles ever recorded had to do with the country of Egypt fighting a dangerous group called the sea people who sacked some cities along the Mediterranean and destroyed them. When Ramesses the 3rd heard they were heading his way, he prepared a trap for then and led them into the Nile River and closed off their retreat with the royal navy. Next, he rained down arrows from both sides of the Nile on their ships. The Egyptians were very religious and in there most devastating war lost 70,000 soldiers in the war at the Battle of Pelusium in 525 B.C., because the other side equipped their army with animals the Egyptians considered sacred which prevented them from shooting arrows in their direction. Some wars could have been prevented early on and surprisingly World War 2 might have been one of them according to Churchill. He had felt Britain and France just let things slide as Germany and Hitler were on the course of trying to create a country capable of world domination. I believe it was just lucky for us they didn’t wait another few years to stock up on more wonder weapons. There is this thing, a sort of macho feeling some people who are threatening to attack a country get when the other side is looking to try and negotiate instead of fighting. It sometimes gives a feeling of superiority to the threatening side. One side may be trying to protect the population from the horrors of war, while the other side could care less about how many of its people die. This could be a horrible mistake, and entirely wrong. One of the tests of a nation’s resolve for peace, is the taking of hostages during peacetime. I think the taking of hostages is basically a test at times to see how firm the reactions are from the other side. If one country fails the so-called test, and the other side gets too much for the hostages, it deems the other side to be weak and this could lead to more hostage taking or even an attack. Some wars have been fought for the most ridiculous reasons. Some recorded battles have become the stuff of legends, because they were so stupid. In the late eighteenth century a battle took place with the Austrian army. Notice I haven’t listed who they fought because they mistakenly fought the Austrian Army. Apparently, they didn’t believe what the uniforms showed. The battle lasted two days. It was said even the emperor tried to stop the battle but could not. Today we call this friendly fire. We are all twisted in a way, because we should all hate war putting all of us on the same page. If only some of us hate war while others are more than willing to use it for some type of gain, this certainly prevents the possibility for world peace. Many wars have been started by miscalculation. That is where one side believes the other would never fight, but some event forces them to. Today, the nuclear threat is being thrown around. The idea is to scare a country and I think most countries think nukes will never be used. This could be one of those miscalculations. If a country feels it is going to be conquered and they have nothing more to lose, they might just do it.
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