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Carl Sagan once said about war, “The Earth is a very small stage in a vast cosmic arena. Think of the rivers of blood spilled by all those generals and emperors so that, in glory and triumph, they could become the momentary masters of a fraction of a dot. Think of the endless cruelties visited by the inhabitants of one corner of this pixel on the scarcely distinguishable inhabitants of some other corner, how frequent their mis-understandings, how eager they are to kill one another, how fervent their hatreds.”
Today, the horrors of World War I are little more than footnotes in high school history books. Few recall that war featured tens of thousands of soldiers living in trenches that were constantly flooded by rain. To keep their feet out of the muck, the soldiers used the decomposing bodies of their dead comrades as floorboards. With no assistance to help them deal with their PTSD, when they returned home they turned to liquor to soothe their psychic pain. Prohibition was the result.
Wars are fought over trivial things. Colonies, for example. After World War II, the US decreed that colonies were a thing of the past. But it also wanted to create a security zone in Europe that it would lead. Charles De Gaulle had other ideas. In order to get De Gaulle to accept NATO, the US allowed France to reclaim its colony in Southeast Asia in a little country no one had ever heard of called Vietnam. Then came Dien Bien Phu. The Boer War in South Africa was fought over colonies. Take time to watch an Australian movie called Breaker Morant for an advanced course on war and politics.
Oil and religion are always popular excuses for a war. Some of you may remember the frantic rush to invade Iraq after George W. Bush said with a straight face that God had spoken to him and told him to put things right in the Middle East. His administration quickly assured the American people that the profits from Iraqi oil would pay for the whole thing. They were wrong. It wound up costing American taxpayers well over $3 trillion.
Wars are often justified with phony excuses, such as the Gulf of Tonkin resolution, and the lie about “yellow cake” — a uranium precursor — finding its way to Saddam Hussein. Such flimflams stir passions in the hearts of all patriots. As American soldiers advanced on Baghdad, journalists told those back home how the troops “had their blood up” as they savored the prospect of the coming battle. Back home, the US Congress rolled over and played dead when it came time to question the wisdom of the Iraq war. 96 out of 100 senators rose to support the war and those who opposed it were pilloried in the press for their cowardice. People love a war, especially if they aren’t required to fight. Sunshine patriots, they are called.
A Looming World War
A recent YouGov poll found a majority of people in Europe and the US expect World War III to begin within the next 5 to 10 years. A fair number of them believe nuclear weapons will be used in the next conflict and that as many as half the people alive today will die in the cataclysm. Some religious extremists are actually praying for this to happen, because they have read Revelations and think it would be so ineffably cool to be personally present for the end times.
YouGov polled people in Britain, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain. Between 41 and 55% in each country said they thought another world war is likely to occur within the next 5 to 10 years. In the US, 45% of Americans agreed. In addition, a surprising number of people who responded to the poll said they expect the next global conflict to decimate the human population on Earth. There is a bright side, however. Fewer people mean fewer emissions.
According to The Guardian, 82 to 90% of western Europeans and Americans said they thought it was important for the Second World War be taught in schools, with between 72 and 87% saying the events of the conflict and those leading up to it were still relevant today. Between 31 and 52% of people in all six countries thought it was possible that “crimes like those committed by the Nazi regime in Germany in the 1930s and 40s” could happen in their own country, during their lifetimes. 44 to 59% of respondents said they thought Nazi-style crimes could be committed in “another western European country,” with 44 to 60% saying such a scenario was possible in the US — including 52% of Americans.
When asked which country had done the most to preserve peace since the end of World War II, 52 to 66% in all six countries said NATO, with 44 to 60% crediting the United Nations with contributing a “great deal” or a “fair amount.” Between 45 and 56% of western Europeans and Americans also believed the EU — which was established partly with the goal of maintaining peace in Europe — had been a significant contributor to the absence of conflict.
Casus Belli
Historians like to search for the casus belli — the act or event that led to war. When the USS Maine blew up in Havana harbor on February 15, 1898, most believed it was an act of sabotage by Spain. It was not until 100 years later that it was determined the explosion came from inside the ship, not outside, suggesting the boiler exploded instead of a mine attached to the hull on the outside. The assassination of Arch Duke Ferdinand in Sarajevo was the spark that lit the fuse for World War I.
But sometimes, the causal factor is far more prosaic. Throughout history, wars have been started to promote policy objectives. A “splendid little war,” as Teddy Roosevelt would say, can divert people’s attention from domestic troubles. The Iraq War was partly a means of salvaging the flailing Bush administration. The famous Falklands War was Margaret Thatcher’s way of saving her political career. Tony Blair was only too happy to commit the UK to the Iraq adventure to promote his own claim to being a master statesman.
But no one in the history has ever dared start a war just to force others to “kiss my ass.” This president is quite capable of doing precisely that. Here is a man who has such a diminished sense of self that he would send troops into battle to boost his fragile ego. Will it be China or Russia? He doesn’t know and doesn’t care. The point is to make everyone else grovel the way they did on his fake reality show The Apprentice.
In that series, he debased and humiliated his guests solely to boost his own self image. He is nothing but a grifter who is using the presidency to enrich himself in clear violation of the Emoluments Clause of the Constitution. The idea that people will abase themselves and grovel before him fills him with joy. He is also a sociopath — someone who cannot exhibit empathy, has a total disregard for social norms, and is ruled by impulsive behavior. Slapping punitive tariffs on America’s most loyal trading partners is a perfect example of his inability to resist those impulses.
Why would he send America to war? For the same reason Margaret Thatcher embraced the Falklands adventure — to distract the public from his failures. He has alienated America’s most steadfast allies, impoverished farmers, sent the profits of major industries like automobile manufacturing into a tailspin, and threatened the social safety net of millions of Americans. His approval numbers are headed into the toilet and the only way to save his presidency will be to declare war on somebody. Don’t forget this lunatic has access to the nuclear missile launch codes. In the YouGov poll, most people think the next war will be with Russia but this failed president seems to be mostly angry with China.
Many older Americans were raised according to the advice of Benjamin Spock, who was known for good, practical guidance on child rearing. But he also had strong opinions on a number of topics. “Man can be the most affectionate and altruistic of creatures, yet he’s potentially more vicious than any other. He is the only one who can be persuaded to hate millions of his own kind whom he has never seen and to kill as many as he can lay his hands on in the name of his tribe or his God,” he said. The current president and many of his sycophants are champing at the bit to prove Dr. Spock was right.
“Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power,” said Abraham Lincoln. We have given unlimited power to a megalomaniac and may reap the whirlwind for having done so.
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