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WAR

Man is aggressive and violent. Worse, our Quality of Life suffers more by the hand of man than by nature or by our own stupidity. Wars do more to damage the Quality of Life than anything I know. Wars are primarily about power grabbing, greed and intolerance. About hate and lack of compassion.

There are 4 main types of war, while most wars are a mixture of these types:

Imperialism/Expansionist

Imperialistic wars are usually run by power seeking megalomaniacs. Examples are: Their purpose was one or more of the following: Land and looting, while their soldiers were paid by loot and rape. In some better instances, they appointed governors and did not destroy the people. But, in most cases, the people they met were destroyed, as were their cultures. Ethnic cleansing is as old as the world.. Some of this was and still is driven by over-population at home with reduced resources through draught or war or both. (e.g. Germany, Japan, Somalia, Burundi and Rwanda). But, in others it was just plain greed (e.g. Conquistadors). We can find this attitude in a smaller scale at home too, when poverty drives only petty theft, but greed drives theft and other crimes.

Religion and Race

Religion can be a driver of war. There have been instances where the Islam established itself through expansion, using the 'sword' as a persuader of the 'infidels'. The Ottoman Empire used Islam to spread. Smart dictators play on the religious feelings of their people and make them fight for them (e.g. Conquistadors, Ottoman, Hirohito.) It always helps to recognize the enemy by their religious habits or race. This makes it easier to root them out. There are many examples of religious wars: These wars pop up all over the world. We have had them in every continent. From the Crusades to the Moors invading Spain, to the Turks invading the Balkans, to the various battles in India and Indonesia. While religion should have been 'compassionate' and the all loving force of God, it turns out to be the strongest separating force, together with race. Religion is more likely to destroy us than to save us. Religions destroy culture.

Religious Sects and Sub-cultures

Wherever we have a mixed culture we can live happily together until one of the parties gets as large as 10% of the total population and decides to emphasize its own 'cultural heritage' or 'religious background'. That is when we get unrest, revolution and sectarian wars e.g.: Fundamentalism exists in any religion. It is at the heart of all religious strife, whether denominational or sectarian. It breeds hatred and intolerance to different views. It is all about power and lack of compassion, lack of love.

Revolutions and Rebellions

Great disparity in the Quality of Life between people can be a driving force. Again the 10% rule is critical. Where the underdog reaches the 10% level there is a chance of rebellion. All it takes is a good leader and the scene is set. Dictatorships are more prone to rebellions and revolution because the percentage of the oppressed is usually much higher, if not over 50%. These situations can lead to civil war.

Similarly, great disparity in the Quality of Life between countries can be a source of envy of their leaders and cause of war. Again, it is prudent to have compassion and to help those of lesser means to raise their Quality of Life. Distribution of wealth is essential to a better social order with less rebellion.

While religion and race are not necessarily the driving force of wars, they can still help in rebellions. They are used to emphasize 'discrimination' as the 'reason' for the rebellion, thus firing the emotions beyond those of the Quality of Life differences. Smart leaders know how to take advantage of these.

Solutions?

For centuries have we tried to find a way out. Despite the United Nations and the Security Council we still have imperialism and ethnic cleansing, we still have religious, racial, and sectarian wars. Despite our best efforts we still have greed, hatred, power grabbing and destruction. Even in small communities, we perceive discrimination a nd yearn for separatism. Yet, separatism polarizes and the 'preservation of our cultural heritage' emphasizes the differences rather than what ties us together. Unless we can think globally and drop our fundamentalism in religion, race, and culture, we have no hope in hell to get out of this hell of war.