Assignment #9: Liz Graves

I would love to be able to confidently say there is never a time for war. I would love to tell you that peace talks will always work in the end.  The fact is,  these things are just not true. There are times when war is necessary. There are times when peace talks are futile.

Countries are sometimes forced to show their strength to avoid future conflicts. The War of 1812, although not really a win or lose for the United States, proved the small, fledging country had earned respect. It was not a failed project or hopeless experiment, but a force to be reckoned with. Had the U.S. not gone to war, the British would have continued the impressment of American sailors and the disruption of trade. In cases such as these, war is the lesser of two evils. It was better for the U.S. government to prove the seriousness of their resolve for independence than to abstain and tolerate their British bullies. 

War is always plagued with moral dilemmas, though. Innocents will always get caught in the crossfire. When the U.S. military dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, millions of people were killed, and many are still suffering the affects of exposure to radiation. But was it necessary? Was the Japanese’s bombing of Pearl Harbor any less monstrous? Had the U.S. not gotten involved, would WWII have lasted many years longer? War is always used as the cruel means to justify a fortuitous end.  

Do countries have a responsibility to go to war? It depends on who you ask. The hard-willed revolutionaries, with passion sparkling in their eyes, will tell you yes. Citizens, they will say, have a duty to defend their God-given right to freedom, to stand up against an oppressive government, to create a brighter future for their children. The grief stricken families, the often overlooked casualties of war, will probably tell you no. War, they will say, creates no winners, only sorrow. 

As I write this, I realize it is easy for me to casually discuss war and weigh the pros and cons as if it were only hypothetical. I can blow steam all I want about how “war is hell,” but it’s necessary to preserve “liberty and justice for all.” Truth be told, I cannot begin to understand what it’s like to be in the throws of combat or the emotional turmoil of not knowing if the last time I saw my loved one is the last time I will ever see them. Until I have experienced one or both of those things, I cannot tell you with conviction whether or not war is worth it.