There Are No Good Wars

War is an old business. It always carries with it the stench of death and destruction, of humans and their cathredals of civilization, but, as important, of other species and their natural habitats.

“I shall have to express a very deep conviction: that until we have courage to recognize cruelty for what it is—whether its victim is human or animal—we cannot expect things to be much better in the world. There can be no double standard. We cannot have peace among men whose hearts find delight in killing any living creature. By every act that glorifies or even tolerates such moronic delight in killing, we set back the progress of humanity.” (p. 102)
—Rachel Carson, Letter to Fon Boardman; quoted in Rachel Carson: Legacy and Challenge (2008), ed. Lisa H. Sideris and Kathleen Dean Moore

“This topic brings me to that worst outcrop of the herd nature, the military system, which I abhor. That a man can take pleasure in marching in formation to the strains of a band is enough to make me despise him. He has only been given his big brain by mistake; a backbone was all he needed. This plague-spot of civilization ought to be abolished with all possible speed. Heroism by order, senseless violence, and all the pestilent nonsense that does by the name of patriotism--how I hate them! War seems to me a mean, contemptible thing: I would rather be hacked in pieces than take part in such an abominable business.” (p. 4)
—Albert Einstein, “The Meaning of Life” in The World As I See It (Covici-Friede Publishers, New York, 1934); originally published as Mein Weltbild (in German) in 1934.

Marvin Gaye and his band performing “What’s Going On,” with video clips from that particular period. The song is the title track of the same-named studio album, which was released on May 21, 1971. It was a very popular song and album, certified Gold in the U.S. and Platinum in Britain

Indeed, I too ask, What is going on? This is a valid question. We have seen this played out before. Time and time again. What is old is new again. Why is our society degrading and descending to the way and place it is now, with so much disharmony and anger, often leading to hatred and violence? I mean, to where do you expect hatred to lead? What is the end result? It is not to a good place.

Well, it’s called killing and murder when done on the individual level, and is illegal and not sanctioned by the state. Individuals go to prison if convicted of taking someone’s life, especially if it was intentional. Often for decades. But laws change and are flexible, and it’s called war when a nation collectively does the same on a mass scale, using bombs, missiles, drones. Killing is legalized and there are rules of war, rules of conduct. What can be done, who can be killed and how they can be killed. Civilians are supposed to he protected, but often they are not. There are no repercussions. These rules are decided at the international level. That there are rules and conventions might satisfy some people—the legalists among us—but not me, since I find the whole notion vexxing. It is as if we make rules of war, it then becomes acceptable and normal. This is the part that I find terribly troubling. Don’t you?

In some historical cases, people within a nation had so much hatred against each other, so much manufactured anger, so much pent-up rage, that they decided to kill each other. A Civil War, but there is nothing civil or good about it. Because some know that War is not good or necessary, the leaders of war councils decide to use adjectives or other descriptive modifiers to prime the public—preemptive attack, preventive strike, defensive war, attrition warfare, etc.—to give justification for the killing. This is also accompanied by a prolonged campaign of showing the other side as Evil. I mean, if the Other side is not Pure Incarnate Evil, what is the reason for the War?

Even so, one will never find justice in war; there is only death and destruction, not only of humans—most whom are innocents—and their human-made cathedrals of civilization, but, equally compelling, of other species and their natural habitats. Their homes. Bear in mind, I am not here raising the merits of one particular war over another. This is not the point of this article; I am here voicing my dissent for the Principle of War, that any war can and should solve problems of disagreement and distrust. In the end, we ought ask ourselves, What is War?

My simple response is this. A collective campaign of brutal and widespread use of force of one on the other, with the intent to, among other measures and means, to humiliate, to subjugate, to imprison, to confiscate, to seize land, to inflict punishment, to destroy, to vanquish. Another major result is that civilians are displaced from their homes and become refugees or migrants.¹ Can you imagine the feeling of losing your home, through no fault of your own?—a pawn in a chess game played by politicians.

You get the idea. This is only a short list of what humans do to humans in war. What about other species who suffer as a result of the actions of homo sapiens? Loss of habitat or home, loss of food, displacement, injury, death. The conducting of war as if it is normal and acceptable might be the worst of the pantheon of human delusions, because it is always done for the basest of human motives and driven by the worst impulses. But this is no shock or surprise. What humans can easily do to other species—without thought or sympathy—humans can easily do to each other.

My ideas against War are neither new nor extreme. It is War Itself that is extreme. For example, here is a few of the thoughts of American writer, Mark Twain, as told in The Mysterious Stranger, and Other Stories (1898):²

There has never been a just [war], never an honorable one--on the part of the instigator of the war. I can see a million years ahead, and this rule will never change in so many as half a dozen instances. The loud little handful--as usual--will shout for the war. The pulpit will--warily and cautiously--object--at first; the great, big, dull bulk of the nation will rub its sleepy eyes and try to make out why there should be a war, and will say, earnestly and indignantly, 'It is unjust and dishonorable, and there is no necessity for it.' Then the handful will shout louder. A few fair men on the other side will argue and reason against the war with speech and pen, and at first will have a hearing and be applauded; but it will not last long; those others will outshout them, and presently the anti-war audiences will thin out and lose popularity. Before long you will see this curious thing: the speakers stoned from the platform, and free speech strangled by hordes of furious men who in their secret hearts are still at one with those stoned speakers--as earlier--but do not dare say so. And now the whole nation--pulpit and all--will take up the war-cry, and shout itself hoarse, and mob any honest man who ventures to open his mouth; and presently such mouths will cease to open. Next the statesmen will invent cheap lies, putting the blame upon the nation that is attacked, and every man will be glad of those conscience-soothing falsities, and will diligently study them, and refuse to examine any refutations of them; and thus he will by and by convince himself the war is just, and will thank God for the better sleep he enjoys after this process of grotesque self-deception.

Not only are humans the only species to easily fall victim to self-deception and delusional thinking, but homo sapiens are the only known species to harbour hatred, hubris and longstanding seething resentments. In that regard, we humans are Exceptional. And thus, given our species proclivity to extreme hatred, aggression and acts of violence, it makes perfect sense to plan wars of destruction and annihilation. Not that I approve; in fact I disapprove in no uncertain terms. My thoughts are similar to those Einstein shared, in 1934, in The World As I See It.

All of this is something to think about if you want to call someone an animal or animalistic, which translates in the language of the Anthropocene to the human need to insult and demean all non-human animals. Really? Well, given what I know and have observed of the human species the last 60-plus years, being called an animal (we humans all are) or animalistic (a few of us are) should not be viewed in a negative way.

As for killing in general, in keeping with Rachel Carson’s thoughts on this subject, what have we humans accomplished lately? Cruelty is cruelty, no matter to whom it is directed. Why does war make the taking of another life acceptable? Why is killing in a war viewed as legal? Is it not still murder? I can’t say that I understand the language of war and nations and how it is justified and legalized. Some would say I am naive and idealistic. Well, I know enough about war to know it is not desired by most.

I also do not care much for economic growth, and see the merits of degrowth.³ For economic growth is inextricably linked with the growth of the military. It is always the case. The only viable growth I would like to see growth in terms of human progress. I would measure progress as a return to our natural roots, a turning away from competition, domination, violence and war. Now, that would be something amazing. That would be Real Progress.

When I talk to ordinary everyday people, like you and me, I meet few who are truly into war. Most are against it; it is the governments, their political and military leaders, and of course the War Industry, who collectively push for it and try to sell it to the public. Well, Public, don’t buy it. Resist the temptation to violence and aggression.

On that note, I will end with a pertinent song from my early years, “Peace Train,” by Cat Stevens (who changed his name to Yusuf in 1978 after becoming a Muslim). This is the last song on Side 2 of the album, Teaser and the Firecat, released on October 1, 1971.

This video of Peace Train is from the Majikat—Earth Tour of 1976. “The historic 1976 North American Majikat Earth Tour, recorded and filmed in Williamsburg, Virginia, lay unused in the vaults for the better part of three decades. Playing acoustic guitar and piano and performing solo, with minimal backing, and with a full band (not to mention a trio of magicians and an impressive stage set), Cat Stevens runs through some 20 songs, drawing from his entire catalog.”

Since 2017, he has used the stage name Yusuf / Cat Stevens, thus combining his two identities or selves. This was a hugely popular song and album back in the early 1970s. You can see in the video here how much passion he puts into his music. You can see why Yusuf / Cat Stevens was popular as a singer and performer when I was growing up. I distinctly remember all the girls in high school were crazy about him. As they used to say in my day, “hang loose” everyone.

’Cause out on the edge of darkness
There rides the peace train
Oh, peace train take this country
Come take me home again

Merci et à bientôt
Born at 315 ppm
Now at 425 ppm

1. From the U.N.: The number of individuals displaced globally is at least 114 million persons. It is likely higher. The United Nations reports (30 May 2024): “Stressing the grave and unprecedented challenges to peace and security, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees told the Security Council in a briefing today that 2024 is even worse than last year in terms of the number of refugees and internally displaced people worldwide.

“Filippo Grandi, the High Commissioner for Refugees, reported that last year, 114 million people were displaced by war, violence and persecution.  ‘Next month we will update this figure.  It will be higher,’ he said, adding that humanitarians are near a breaking point and that respect for the basic rules of war is almost non-existent.  Among the many haunting images from the conflict in Gaza is that of desperate people trapped and often killed inside a war zone. ‘Their safety should be our — your — paramount concern,’ he said, adding that under international law, an occupying Power must not force a civilian population to flee the territory it occupies. ”

2. Note from Project Gutenberg: “The Mysterious Stranger” was written in 1898 and never finished. The editors of Twain's “Collected Works” completed the story prior to publication. At what point in this work Twain left off and where the editor's began is not made clear in the print copy used as the basis of this eBook.

3. From Degrowth: “Degrowth is an idea that critiques the global capitalist system which pursues growth at all costs, causing human exploitation and environmental destruction. The degrowth movement of activists and researchers advocates for societies that prioritize social and ecological well-being instead of corporate profits, over-production and excess consumption. This requires radical redistribution, reduction in the material size of the global economy, and a shift in common values towards care, solidarity and autonomy. Degrowth means transforming societies to ensure environmental justice and a good life for all within planetary boundaries.”