Make War Obsolete
“Shouldn’t war be obsolete by now?”
That is the question that a 15 year old, ninth grade student named Lindsey asked in class. As the teacher of that class, I was floored. And I still am, even though that happened about 15 years ago.
What a question! What a human heart that could pose such a question! I don’t know where she is now or if she even remembers uttering such an incredible question. But I will never forget it, and I hope she still thinks that way.
With such a question, there is so much to unpack! Too much to unpack in a 9th grade social studies classroom.
But think about it: Haven’t we as a civilization developed to a point where war should be obsolete? With everything we have learned about the impact of war, shouldn’t we have figured out how to solve disagreements without destroying each other? And, in a war are we really just destroying each other? Or, is there also unfathomable collateral damage? We often think about the losing side as sustaining the most damage, but is that always the case? There are often surviving soldiers on both sides who suffer incredible physical damage. That doesn’t even account for the psychological damage. How many veterans come home and are unable to function in society because of the psychological problems war has wrought on them? How many commit suicide? How many families are destroyed by the scars of war?
And none of that considers the damage to nonhumans. What about damage to the environment? Damage to flora and fauna? Or how landmines have made certain tracts of land treacherous to any living beings who pass by.
I often think about the incredible amount of resources invested in destruction. Think about all of the money used to build bullets, bombs, ballistic missiles. Could that money be better invested in pursuits that create better harmony in society or that decrease poverty? What if we redirected that money toward solving problems like the climate crisis or the micro-plastics crisis?
What about all the lives that we invest in war? Think about all of the people who train rigorously to serve in our military. Couldn’t they be trained to meet the needs of our society in different ways? Ways that help people live healthy and safe lives? Isn’t it ironic that many of the people who serve in the military come away with exactly the opposite of healthy and safe lives?
Going deeper, it makes me wonder why we still have wars at all? Is it because of authoritarian dictators or even so-called democratic leaders who need a good war to distract their people from their own government’s failings and misdeeds? Is it because there are corporations that profit from militarization and actual wars? Is it because we are such a violent and blood thirsty species? Is it because there are people who are so desperate, who feel so unheard that they initiate an armed conflict? Is it a little bit of all of these things?
As an aspirational question, this idea makes me wonder: What would it take to make war obsolete? In the face of the greatest looming threat to life on earth could we find a way to put aside our petty squabbles and learn to live together, to work together, to unite in order to save what we can of this spectacular planet from the devastation we have created?
Many people consider Game of Thrones to be a metaphor about our present situation. That in the face of a mortal threat the people of Westeros needed to put aside their petty disagreements and work together to save their civilization. How will it work out for us? Will we find a way to make war obsolete and deal with the existential challenges we are simultaneously creating and experiencing?