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War as a purgative for society? An outlet for the restless youth?
Posted on 7/21/15 at 10:02 pm
Posted on 7/21/15 at 10:02 pm
Think about it. Mankind has been in a pretty constant state of war nearly the entirety of it's existence sans some periods of peace brought about by constant, brutal warring and subjugation.
In the 1810s, the Napoleonic wars a and their associated territorial conflicts chewed up a generation of young, restless men.
Follow a century of martial fallout.
In the 1910s a World War and its associated territorial conflicts chewed up a generation of young, restless men.
Follow a continuation of that and territorial martial fallout.
Now here we stand in the 2010s...and we find a world largely at Peace, believe it or not.
Sure there is unrest. Petty squabbles and conflicts but nothing on a meat-grinding scale as millennia past.
Is the seething unrest within the underclasses of society (read: fodder) because we are due for a destruction of our own demise?
In the absence of a foreign menace is it human nature to turn upon ourselves?
In the meta sense...is war a necessary check on mankind?
What are your thoughts?
In the 1810s, the Napoleonic wars a and their associated territorial conflicts chewed up a generation of young, restless men.
Follow a century of martial fallout.
In the 1910s a World War and its associated territorial conflicts chewed up a generation of young, restless men.
Follow a continuation of that and territorial martial fallout.
Now here we stand in the 2010s...and we find a world largely at Peace, believe it or not.
Sure there is unrest. Petty squabbles and conflicts but nothing on a meat-grinding scale as millennia past.
Is the seething unrest within the underclasses of society (read: fodder) because we are due for a destruction of our own demise?
In the absence of a foreign menace is it human nature to turn upon ourselves?
In the meta sense...is war a necessary check on mankind?
What are your thoughts?
This post was edited on 7/21/15 at 10:03 pm
9
Posted on 7/21/15 at 10:05 pm to fr33manator
War is just a way to keep population in check. When the natives get restless send them off to be killed.
Posted on 7/21/15 at 10:10 pm to BamaScoop
quote:
population in check. When the natives get restless send them off to be killed.
So what has changed today? Are we so haughty to think that the brutality and efficiency of modern murder has cured mankind of one of its basest urges?
Or has the spread of technology so changed us that we can't be bothered anymore? That it takes a tremendous event to shatter the thin veneer of "civilization" we seem to think is so ingrained in us?
Posted on 7/21/15 at 10:13 pm to fr33manator
Man is always in a state of war.. Either fighting or preparing.
Posted on 7/21/15 at 10:15 pm to goldenbadger08
quote:
Man is always in a state of war.. Either fighting or preparing.
Shut up Lil Dicksucker. And don't feed Fr33 when he's drunk!
This is bullshite. We war for fricking power and control. End of story. No conspiracy or deep shite.
Posted on 7/21/15 at 10:16 pm to fr33manator
Honestly... people only truly get alone in homogeneous groups.
Trying to pretend otherwise is what creates friction
Trying to pretend otherwise is what creates friction
Posted on 7/21/15 at 10:18 pm to fr33manator
quote:Weapons themselves are a preventative to full scale war. It is known as mutually-assured destruction.
Petty squabbles and conflicts but nothing on a meat-grinding scale as millennia past.
quote:A book once put it perfectly, "We are an 'us against them' species. We just redefined the 'us' and the 'them'."
In the absence of a foreign menace is it human nature to turn upon ourselves?
Fighting is in our nature. If there ever was an outside force against mankind, we would quickly form one group.
quote:No, but we are very good at it. We are a warrior species. We always have been and we always will be.
In the meta sense...is war a necessary check on mankind?
Also, war is waged for profits. There is no ulterior motive like population control.
Money is the sole driver of war.
This post was edited on 7/21/15 at 10:19 pm
Posted on 7/21/15 at 10:19 pm to mikelbr
Power and money and control for those in power for Sure.
"Rich men start the war. Poor men go off and die."
But why are we so motivated as people to go die in the mud of foreign battlefields? There is a restlessness to youth. A call of adventure. Well crafted propaganda that promotes duty and honor.
I wonder if those would even work as well today in our increasingly connected society. No longer do governments or a few media outlets possess the power to broadcast ideas.
Times have changed. Or have they?
If "the big one" started tomorrow...would those millions heed the call?
"Rich men start the war. Poor men go off and die."
But why are we so motivated as people to go die in the mud of foreign battlefields? There is a restlessness to youth. A call of adventure. Well crafted propaganda that promotes duty and honor.
I wonder if those would even work as well today in our increasingly connected society. No longer do governments or a few media outlets possess the power to broadcast ideas.
Times have changed. Or have they?
If "the big one" started tomorrow...would those millions heed the call?
Posted on 7/21/15 at 10:28 pm to fr33manator
quote:
Well crafted propaganda that promotes duty and honor.
Not in the case of Vietnam. The gov't sent us frikin letters tellin us to get our scraggly asses on a bus and go get trained to go fight a war (that they would eventually say we quit, you win and every drop of blood, sweat, tears, and death was wasted).
Posted on 7/21/15 at 10:30 pm to mikelbr
quote:
We war for fricking power and control. End of story. No conspiracy or deep shite.
Note: SS is STILL a white poser with a guilt complex.
This post was edited on 7/21/15 at 10:31 pm
Posted on 7/21/15 at 10:30 pm to fr33manator
quote:
In the meta sense...is war a necessary check on mankind?
I tend to believe this. John Stewart Mill said that the most conspicuous feature in the history of civilization is the struggle between Liberty and Authority. That struggle is inherent in the collective human behavior. As long as we try to organize society into a structure there will be a balance to be struck. That scale will get tipped too far in one direction or the other from time to time, resulting in either chaos or tyranny - which eventually results in war. That doesn't consider the factionalism and tribalism with religions and cultures that exist that also lead to war. War is a consequence of the ying and yang effect necessary to coexist.
And when we haven't experienced war on a global scale in approximately a century, people forget what war is. It returns to this noble thing to do to break up the monotony and go straighten some folks out. Then we remember... war is hell.
Posted on 7/21/15 at 10:31 pm to Redbone
You served in Nam?
What was that like? Getting the letter. Being sent of to a godforsaken jungle to fight for a bunch of people who you shared little to no connection with?
What was that like? Getting the letter. Being sent of to a godforsaken jungle to fight for a bunch of people who you shared little to no connection with?
Posted on 7/21/15 at 10:33 pm to fr33manator
Sports have reached a massive zenith in popularity since war became mostly smaller, regional conflicts.
Football's rise in popularity, particularly in the South, which had no other outlet for its anger at the North. Is no surprise for those who fully recognize what it is in relation to history. Our local sports team have become our feudal war bands. Whose victories or losses in "battle" determine the emotional highs and lows of the people who depend on them.
Football's rise in popularity, particularly in the South, which had no other outlet for its anger at the North. Is no surprise for those who fully recognize what it is in relation to history. Our local sports team have become our feudal war bands. Whose victories or losses in "battle" determine the emotional highs and lows of the people who depend on them.
quote:
War. War never changes.
Since the dawn of human kind, when our ancestors first discovered the killing power of rock and bone, blood has been spilled in the name of everything: from God to justice to simple, psychotic rage.
This post was edited on 7/21/15 at 10:39 pm
Posted on 7/21/15 at 10:33 pm to fr33manator
Have you seen Snowpiercer? It kind of deals with this idea.
"War was always here. Before man was, war waited for him. The ultimate trade awaiting its ultimate practitioner." - Blood Meridian
"War was always here. Before man was, war waited for him. The ultimate trade awaiting its ultimate practitioner." - Blood Meridian
Posted on 7/21/15 at 10:38 pm to fr33manator
quote:
Getting the letter.
My heart sunk. I was enjoying my 19 year old life. A hot car, a hot gf and decent job to pay for it. I didn't want to go anywhere. That shite sure changed!!! I left home a punk kid. I came back a man having seen and done things a backwoods hick kid could never have imagined only 2 years ago.
Posted on 7/21/15 at 10:38 pm to VaBamaMan
quote:
Sports have reached a massive zenith in popularity since war became mostly smaller, regional conflicts.
I wholeheartedly agree. Sports are a way for us to embrace tribal combat in a socially acceptable venue.
We don our tribal colors, drink to the combatants, and allow victory or defeat to weigh heavy on our hearts.
We need it. Our thirst for combat is innate. Without sports, the more violent the better, we are driven to far less productive pursuits.
God, football season can't get here soon enough so people will shut the frick up about trannies and being offended and crap.
Notice how it doesn't get as much play between August and December.
Posted on 7/21/15 at 10:42 pm to Redbone
I hate to pry because my study of conflict has shown how much it changes a man. A boy, really.
But it intrigues me. I read the war diaries (especially the First World War) and the mood goes from jubilant to despondent.
Would you mind sharing some of your experiences? Maybe not personally but on a larger scale? What you observed?
If not I completely understand.
But it intrigues me. I read the war diaries (especially the First World War) and the mood goes from jubilant to despondent.
Would you mind sharing some of your experiences? Maybe not personally but on a larger scale? What you observed?
If not I completely understand.
Posted on 7/21/15 at 10:45 pm to goldenbadger08
quote:
Man is always in a state of war.. Either fighting or preparing.
This is so true. If humanity was compressed into one single human being, they'd be a schizoid with a huge ego with flashes of brilliance.
Posted on 7/21/15 at 10:49 pm to Mohican
quote:
we haven't experienced war on a global scale in approximately a century, people forget what war is. It returns to this noble thing to do to break up the monotony and go straighten some folks out. Then we remember... war is hell.
True. And the wars that are fought today...and I mean absolutely NO OFFENSE to those who have served and died in the sandbox (I know several)...well, more men died in a single days fighting of world war 1 than died in the entirety of time we've been fighting this centuries wars.
It really just doesn't compare. Thankfully.
Posted on 7/21/15 at 10:50 pm to Sellecks Moustache
quote:
This is so true. If humanity was compressed into one single human being, they'd be a schizoid with a huge ego with flashes of brilliance.
Well, they'd be half woman. And thus half crazy.
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