What are the first things that pop into your head
when you think of war? Do you see images of devastation, hurt and sorrow? I see
running soldiers, bombed cities and empty, sullen faces. I don't see the
victory parades or medals; I see the sad, painful stuff. War destroys. It
destroys animals, countries, towns and lives. Wouldn't it just be great if we
lived in a war-free world? Unfortunately, the best we can do is try to prevent
them.
"We
want no war of conquest. War should never be entered upon until every agency of
peace has failed." That's what President William McKinley, the 25th
president of the US, wisely stated. What that means is that we shouldn't just
run into war when it crops up; we should try to make peace and negotiate. War
should be a last resort. I agree. Once, during an online class, we had a
simulation on what events led up to
World War ll. In the simulation I and another girl, were France. Our teacher
sent each of us a note on what our role was. It said something like, "You
are France. You don't want another war; you just got through with World War l.
Do everything you can to keep Germany from starting a war." And what we
had to decide was, whether or not we'd let Germany have Czechoslovakia or not.
My partner and I conversed and we decided that we'd try to negotiate and war
would be the very last resort.
Germany wouldn't take a compromise, so we were left with one choice. Actually
two, but we were not going to give Czechoslovakia
to Germany because, for one thing, it wasn't ours to give. And so we were left
with war. Nobody wants to start a war. Wars are horrifically horrific. Quick fun
fact, if France and Great Britain had gone to war instead of giving Czechoslovakia
to Germany, then we could have avoided World War ll. Hitler was bluffing; he
wasn't really ready for an attack.
Before
the American Revolutionary War really began, John Dickenson was deeply opposed
to fighting right away. He wanted to try to compromise with Great Britain.
Though he did end up fighting in the Revolution, he refused to sign the
Declaration of Independence and left on his own accord. Martin Luther King, jr.
was against using force as was Gandhi.
Sometimes
war is unavoidable but that doesn't mean that we can't try to have peace
anyway. When we hear about wars or rebellions, we tend to think that everyone
from that country thinks that way but that's not true. John Dickenson proved
that.
Wars
leave heartache and pain in their wake. Broken people and mourning families are
left behind. Painful memories linger like the left over particles when you
sweep. Bombs, blood, bodies. War is terrible. Why would anyone want to start
one? Sometimes we do need to begin a war but hopefully we try every means
possible to prevent it first.
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Okay, so this was not one of my better ones and it kind of confuses me; you can't really tell what my opinion is but I'm still learning.
