Beware....

[RastaPope]

From William Shakespeare:


"Beware the leader who bangs the drums of war
in order to whip the citizenry into a patriotic fervor,
for patriotism is indeed a double-edged sword.
It both emboldens the blood, just as it narrows the mind...

And when the drums of war have reached a fever pitch and the blood
boils with hate and the mind has closed, the leader will have no
need in seizing the rights of the citizenry. Rather, the citizenry,
infused with fear and blinded with patriotism, will offer up all of
their rights unto the leader, and gladly so.

How do I know?

For this is what I have done.

And I am Caesar."

 

[LadyG]

Dont' all jump down my throat for this, but I think that quote is quite true and can be applied now.

Sorry.

 

[Problem Child]

Great poem. I don't think Shakespeare ever had to contemplate VX gas or nuclear weapons though.

 

[sunstruck]

Great poem. I don't think Shakespeare ever had to contemplate VX gas or nuclear weapons though.

Nope, then wars were fought up close and personal. I'd like to think it wasn't as easy to kill a man face to face, but the mortality rates of pre WWII solidiers don't seem to support that.

 

[Problem Child]

Nope, then wars were fought up close and personal. I'd like to think it wasn't as easy to kill a man face to face, but the mortality rates of pre WWII solidiers don't seem to support that.

your spelling buddy sez:

soldiers


Well, actually the mortality rates prior to WWI, I believe it was, were due more to disease and infection more than actual battlefield wounds.

The concept of battlefield triage was developed in the U.S. civil war, and I believe that WWI was the first major conflict where more soldiers died from their wounds than from infection.

Another reason the reason so many were killed and wounded, beyond infection and disease, is due to European style infantry tactics which included men standing shoulder to shoulder in ranks, making them very easy to hit with small arms fire.

 

[Saint Peter]

If you use a rock or a bullet to kill another, it cannot be easy. War is not about easy. The guy in the trench has little say in any part of it. He cannot even decide on what to have for breakfast. These choices are made way up the chain of command. However, it is ultimately the soldier who pulls the trigger.

 

[sunstruck]

your spelling buddy sez:

soldiers


Well, actually the mortality rates prior to WWI, I believe it was, were due more to disease and infection more than actual battlefield wounds.

The concept of battlefield triage was developed in the U.S. civil war, and I believe that WWI was the first major conflict where more soldiers died from their wounds than from infection.

Another reason the reason so many were killed and wounded, beyond infection and disease, is due to European style infantry tactics which included men standing shoulder to shoulder in ranks, making them very easy to hit with small arms fire.

Your inbox buddy says clean house.

As it was a Shakespearian reference I was thinking more about pre 18th century European wars. Granted it was their strategies and willingness to sacrifice foot soldiers that lead to the mortality rates, but that is part of what I was talking about.

I never meant to imply that killing was easy in anyway. Only that it is no longer a part of most people's lives. Your average citizen will go through their entire lives without killing another human being. MOST people don't even hunt anymore. And you average US military soldier will serve his term without ever killing someone up close. MOST, not all.

I just think that if for whatever reason we were to suddenly go back to that face to face style of war, people would be a lot less willing to support the fight.

I'm not saying I don't support this war, or that I do. I'm simply saying I think it's gotten a little too easy to kill.