War

Ever since the Gaza skirmish broke out just before Christmas day, its been rather unsettling for me because I have a friend, a college-mate who joined the IDF (Israel Defense Force) right after graduation. His family's now in New York. They have dual citizenship. My friend Mark was a reservist and I'm told he is involved in the ongoing operations.

I hate war. What wars affirm to me is that technology or not, humans haven't changed. We exist in transience, flourishing in between periods of war. During the time of Alexander and the Romans, milions died in one day with hardly a whimper. Today, 30-40 would die in one day and its aggressors would receive instant worldwide condemnation. If we were to believe the talking heads, today's war dead would seem a million times more unjust and tragic than the ones that died by the Roman sword. Such is the power of perceptual management.

Not to make light of the situation but to me, a life in modern times is no more valuable than a life during Julius Caesar's or Emperor Chin's time. All deaths are equally tragic. Yet if they didn't happen, we wouldn't have China, India, Europe, etc and life would be different than what we know it to be. It could be worse. Or better. Who knows. But we can't run from the fact that we are the collective result of every single war that has been fought on earth.

Just imagine. Our early ancestors fled from famine or conflict in continent A, got married to someone in continent B, gave birth to someone who was then sent to fight a war in continent C, who then settled in continent D and so on and so forth. A hundred generations later, here we are. Change any incident in the timeline since the beginning, no matter how insignificant it may seem, and "we" may not even exist.

I hate war. At the same time, I believe man cannot help but go to war. A difference in opinion is all it takes. The fact that we're born to different cultures, language, value systems and social status dooms us to the prospect of perpetual conflict. When nations name their nuclear missiles "Peacekeeper," you know that world peace has just about enough chance as a snowflake in hell.

When you travel the world with open eyes, you can't but help notice its unstable nature, physically and metaphysically. Will man exercise his free will for restraint for the good of his fellow man? As long as people disagree on what "good" means, it'll never happen.

People would say this is being negative. On the contrary, the world gives me good insight. It forces me to seek an alternative view that has a positive ending. That is a long story in itself.

As for my friend Mark, my prayers go to him and I hope he makes it back in one piece.