War and the West

I can think of times in the ancient past where war was a trivial matter. I think of ancient Ireland where the object of war was not to actually kill anybody, but rather to humiliate the enemy. Like stealing cattle from your neighboring tribe. The same could be said of Native Americans. Somehow, though, war has become efficient and professional. We have gotten better at it just like everything else we humans set out to do. Somehow the object of war has become the tool of choice. The objective tool of nations. A dangerous tool.

What is war for? What drives people to send another human being into a situation into which they themselves will die or they will kill another? For what?

How many people think about that in all seriousness? Is war the cause of a great many ills we humans suffer in consequence? Or is it a vicious circle? Are we the beneficiaries of war? Certainly, we are. A great any of us would not be here if throughout the ages someone did not die in battle in order that another take their place in society. Was it worth it? Is it worth it? Is war a form of population control?

What prompted this post is that I just gone done watching Last Samurai and recognizing (again) the innuendo of Western society forcefully creeping in on indigenous cultures. Then I got to looking around and then reflecting on the fact that Western culture infuses everything around me. The same could be said of every culture around the world. It saddens me, because for one, my ancient ancestors were Gallic and Celtic who themselves were conquered militarily by the Roman Empire and later conquered culturally by the Holy Roman Empire.

I guess what I am driving at is the situation in the "middle east" and our involvement there. Don't get me wrong. I know what this particular war is all about...oil...resources. Anybody who disbelieves that is lying to themselves.

After all it is kinda like stealing cattle from your neighboring tribe, right? Except we are killing and helping to kill hundreds of thousands of people in the process.