"Only the dead have seen the end of war." — George Santayana
Every generation, it seems, must learn the same terrible lesson: war is hell. Yet time and again, nations go to war — often for reasons that, in hindsight, seem more political than moral, more about pride than principle. One cannot help but ask: Isn’t war, at its core, a deeply stupid thing?
And more specifically: Why do young men and women fight and die because a few older, powerful men are upset?
🧓🏽 The Few Decide, the Many Suffer
War is rarely started by the people who fight it. The decisions to go to war are made in parliament buildings, presidential palaces, or military headquarters — not on the streets, not in the trenches. These decisions are often influenced by strategic calculations, personal egos, or historical grudges.
But once war begins, it is the young — conscripted soldiers, frontline fighters, civilians caught in the crossfire — who bleed and die.
It’s an old story. From the trenches of World War I to the deserts of Iraq, the pattern holds: the higher up you go in the chain of command, the further you are from the battlefield — and from the consequences.
🧠 War Is Rarely Rational
While governments often justify war in the name of national interest, security, or justice, the actual outcomes are often disastrous:
-
Lives are lost by the thousands, sometimes millions.
-
Entire economies collapse.
-
Generations grow up traumatized.
-
The reasons for war are often revealed to be hollow or false.
World War I began because of a botched assassination and a tangle of alliances. The Iraq War was waged over weapons of mass destruction that didn’t exist. In both cases, those who paid the price were not the policymakers — but the soldiers and civilians.
🗣️ Manufactured Consent: The Role of Propaganda
If war is so destructive, why do people support it?
The answer lies in nationalism, fear, and propaganda. Leaders often wrap war in noble language — calling it a defense of honor, faith, or homeland. The media is mobilized. Enemies are dehumanized. Dissenters are silenced or called traitors.
Ordinary people are convinced that dying in war is heroic — even when the war itself is unnecessary or unjust.
🔁 The Cycle of Revenge
Wars rarely end cleanly. They create bitterness and trauma that last generations. One war begets another.
-
World War I created the conditions for World War II.
-
The U.S. invasion of Iraq gave rise to ISIS.
-
India and Pakistan have fought multiple wars — and their border remains volatile to this day.
When wars are fought for pride, for vengeance, or to “teach a lesson,” they rarely bring lasting peace. Instead, they plant the seeds of future violence.
✊ Youth as Cannon Fodder — or Agents of Change?
What’s perhaps most tragic is that the young people who are made to fight in wars are often the ones with the most to lose — and the most to gain from peace.
Young minds can build nations, not just defend them.
Young bodies can farm, teach, create, innovate — not just die in muddy trenches or burned cities.
When we say "Support the troops," maybe we should also mean "Support them by not sending them to fight unjust wars."
🕊️ The Case for Peace
Peace is not weakness. It requires strength, diplomacy, empathy, and patience. War is easy to start and hard to end. Peace takes work, but it’s the only rational path in a world that now possesses weapons capable of ending humanity.
More and more people are recognizing that war is not inevitable — it’s a choice. And a bad one, at that.
📌 Final Thought
History may glorify generals and conquerors, but we should remember the millions whose names were never recorded — the soldiers, civilians, and children whose lives were cut short by decisions they had no part in making.
So yes — going to war, more often than not, is stupid. It’s a tragic, violent expression of pride, fear, and failure. And it’s time we stopped pretending otherwise.
