Sunday, December 28, 2008

On War and Warriors

A while ago I was having an email conversation about war with someone. I shared my views on this subject with them. They suggested I put this on my blog. So... here it is.

There is a lot of wishful thinking going on in our nation today. And while that is nice, feel good fluff, it should not influence our actions. We must take the world the way it is, not necessarily how we would like it to be. In the world there are and always have been bad people who are willing to subject others to their will through the use of force. It is the same thing that went on in Heaven. Satan desired to rule over all of us and take our agency away. We fought him for our freedom in what was called a war. He was defeated, but he carries on his war or design against us here on Earth. In a real sense, war here is just an extension of that first war in Heaven. That goes for war at any level whether it is a little war you have with a person who breaks into your home or a world war. As long as there are men who are willing to subject others to their will and others who are willing to risk death to secure freedom there will be war.

War can cost more lives than it saves. If preserving life is your ultimate goal then you would probably save more lives by surrendering to the invader who is attempting to subjugate you and yours. He may not want you dead, but just wants to subject you to his will. Life cannot be the ultimate goal. If life is the ultimate goal to a people, they will soon be subjects to a more ruthless power.

War destroys lives, property, and often, human dignity and morality. All sorts of ills are magnified in war. Men can become monsters, doing all manner of evil they would never have done otherwise. It is evil, no doubt. But there are worse evils.

Recently, a semi-famous movie star said that, "War is not the answer!" The truth of that statement really depends on what the question is. Culturally, ask yourself, is the world better because the colonists overthrew the Monarchy in our Revolution? Or take the not so Civil War. Slaves were freed and the South was set upon a more egalitarian path. We lost 500,000 men in the process. Was war the answer when Hitler's Wehrmacht was Goose Stepping across Europe?

If I can use an analogy, the world is made up of Sheep, Sheepdogs, and Wolves. Most of the world are sheep. They move through life taking their ease, enjoying its pleasures with really no thought of harm coming to them. Oh, once in a while they see or hear of another sheep being carried off by a wolf, but that is always so far distant from them. Even when it does happen close to home they still figure it won't happen to them or they conjure up lots of reasons and excuses why the wolf did it. You just need to be more empathetic and try to understand the wolf. Society somehow has failed him. Or they blame the Sheepdogs.

The Sheepdog (another name for him or her is Warrior) really is bred for the fight. He doesn't go looking for it, but is ready and willing to deal death and destruction to any wolf that threatens his sheep, another Sheepdog, or himself. He sniffs out the dangers lurking in the sheep's world and tries to prepare himself and the sheep as best he can. The Sheep are ambivalent about the Sheepdog. On the one hand, he sure is handy to have around if the wolf gets too close, but he is just so darn aggressive. He shows his fangs at times in inappropriate ways and times. He is not always welcome in polite and elite sheep company.

I talked about wolves earlier when describing the war in Heaven. Lest I be misunderstood in what I say below, an analogy can be stretched only so far. There are many Women Warriors, but culturally women have relied on the male to protect her and the family as he is "normally" the physically stronger of the two genders.

So how about natural selection? In the past, the female human has been attracted to the Warrior. Why? He would be the most likely to protect the female and the family from predators. So women are attracted to men who have, what I'll call, the Warrior spirit. They feel safe with the Warrior. But women, speaking generally, don't understand what makes the Warrior tick. And their feminine nature doesn't really like some of the Warrior's, shall we call them, side effects. Fascination with guns, fighting, brutal competitive games, aggressive posturing, and besides they smell and leave the potty seat up! Yet women are attracted to the Warrior nonetheless. Unless culture forces the women to become averse to this type of man. This is happening, to some extent, in our nation. Boys and their natural actions are frowned on and the warrior ethic is literally punished out of him. He is made to be docile and feminine in his manner and even dress. What is a Metrosexual male except a diminished Warrior fretting about how he looks rather than how he can act. So, yes natural selection did favor the breeding of new Warriors, but I wonder if our culture will continue to honor them and therefore continue the breed. The South still retains a healthy Warrior mentality (along with what some would call the undesirable side effects). It is not coincidence that a disproportionate number of our Military come from the Old South.

Europe is working hard to breed the Warrior out of their culture. One of two things will happen to them: Islam will take over and devour them as a culture or they will rise up and drive them from Europe. I'm betting on the Muslims. In its more virulent form, Islam is not compatible with other cultures and will continue to strive against foreign cultures. If they become a majority or even a large minority they will force their will on others.

I don't like war. I hate it and what it does to people. However, it is better than losing my agency to another human. I have and will kill to preserve my freedom, my family, and my nation.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yo Pops,

I totally agree with your analysis of the feminization of men. Except, from what I've read about the Spartans, they might have been considered metrosexual nowadays. But, you probably wouldn't want to say that to their face.

All the wars you listed were wars that I think most would agree were necessary. One thing to keep in mind is, just because someone is against one war doesn't necessarily mean that they are against all wars.

And I'm with you on the Europe crisis. They need to fix that s^*t. They'll need to be brutal or clever or both. Hopefully more clever than brutal.

LRC said...

Good observations all.

I will forgive the Spartans their primping before battle. Since no one can dispute their performance.

Anonymous said...

sho nuff.

Lizzie said...

I have issues with violence on any level, and guns make me cringe. But I certainly understand and agree with the thoughts expressed here. I am thankful for my warrior, who loves and protects me!

Len said...

I think one of the lessons to be learned from the Book of Mormon is the virtue of the Warrior Prophet. A person who can save a soul, or to take a life, depending on the circumstances, is a unique role model.