The God of War has been ruling our world for thousands of years. This painting of Saturn by Goya (click to enlarge if you're game) seems to me to fairly represent both the voracious, insatiable appetite the War God has and the result for humans of his blood-thirsty, deranged mind.
I wonder what is the true number of people killed by war during the last four thousand years? Their blood must be enough to fill an ocean. Of course that number does not take account of the destruction that each war generates, the accompanying injuries to civilians and combatants that have ruined the lives of so many, the terrible ongoing pain caused by losing loved ones, the rape of women by animalistic soldiers, the destroyed childhoods of innocent children, the list goes on...
So why do we continue to worship this insatiable, vengeful God who wreaks such a heavy price you may ask? I believe there are two reasons: the first is that blood lust is still part of our genetic inheritance. Four thousand years of evolution has not succeeded in modifying it one bit!
Of course, long ago, perhaps the desire to fight, to kill enabled us to obtain food, to survive the attacks of ferocious animals, to repel the periodic invasions of those who simply wanted to pillage our land and take our women. But surely such primitive savagery has diminished? Guess again. Wars both large and small rage in many places across our world and more are in the planning stage (Iran, Syria, etc).
The second reason is that war is very, very profitable. Yes folks, there are wealthy people across this world who live in unimaginable luxury because of war. The people who make the arms and the shareholders of those companies prosper mightily while ever war rages. They happily grab the blood-stained money with both hands.
And of course, war-mongering countries like America see advantage for themselves in invading and occupying countries that have scarce resources and/or strategic benefit. And of course politicians love to get involved in wars. It gives their large egos a boost, allows photo-ops like Mission Accomplished, makes for broader reading in their memoirs!
There is one thing that might upset the War God's long reign. Nuclear weapons! If all humans are dead and the world is a wasteland, he might have to go to another planet to continue his pointless, cruel game with his human pawns.
Seems a heavy price to pay to get rid of a despicable scourge, don't you think?
8 comments:
The War God is, of course, a human creation. Chimps and ants make war on one another but they don't blame it on an imaginary being.
The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars but in ourselves.
A wonderful book called THIS SIMIAN WORLD once described alternative civilizations that might have arisen had we descended from animals other than the ape. The chapter on "Cats" described a ferocious, honor-obsessed society with one saving grace. "Cats would not have peace talks. They would simply walk away and stop fighting."
A top comment, Nancy! My you are a clever one.
You can read the book here. It is a small book easily read in a day.
The author, Clarence Day, became famous later for plays, but this is the best thing he wrote.
http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/6882
This might be a few posts too late but here is an interesting picture of the London Transit "security" poster. Big Brother has hit daylight and no one notices it or people don't want to notice it. Isn't much easier to keep your toes behind the line and do as your told and think the same? Releives so much hard mental work... The government thinks for you so you don't stress yourselves... That is our future.
Enjoy the picture!
http://www.wired.com/imageviewer/?imagePath=/news/images/full/big_brother_f.jpg&imageCaption=A+photo+of+the+new%2C+Big+Brother-like+Transport+For+London+poster.&imageCredit=Perry+de+Havilland
Daniel, check my post of Mon. Aug. 20, "Be Afraid; Be Very Afraid" and scroll down to the lower part under "we are the ruling race of the world". That mindset and aim has not died since then. Manifest Destiny continues to be alive and well and flourish. War is the only way to assure that Manifest Destiny is met.
Yes, Worried, the fusion between religion and fervent 'born to rule' nationalism is alive and well in America.
It's interesting to consider just how such deranged thinking took place. I mean, that's what destroyed Germany under Hitler!
Christianity is 2000 + years old.
Judaism is 4000 + years old
Islam is 1437 + years old
Buddim is 2500 + years old.
Humans - Homo Sapiens are 100,000 + years old .....
As far as I can see, we survived 90,000 + years without the above mentioned religions and we SURVIVED and EVOLVED and LIVED.... kind of makes your reconsider things when you look at it this way!
Lil, I suspect that very primitive man was also filled with crazy superstitions as he sought to make sense of his world.
It seems to be an exploitable part of human nature! Cheers.
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