Why do the people have such a love of war?

Question

War movies, war games, war sports. No one gets up at an awards banquet and says " It's because I love war and killed all my opponents and enjoyed crushing them and blowing up villages with women and children inside."Or, "I love blood and guts and shattered bones."
Euphemisms are the order of most speeches and books, yet hate and combat are the activities of even elected governments. The common people are the biggest losers, yet are easily swayed into supporting war.

If war and killing are such a part of being human, why don't the speeches made by leaders say that?

The engagement in activities that imitate war make its rationalization and acceptance easier. That is the basis of training and even what passes for education.

Answer 1

We are prone to greed, we have an overwhelming desire for absolute power, the absolute right is willing to kill for its ideals, even when said killing is morally reprehensible, we love and crave violence only when removed from it as in the immense money spent on creating and marketing and buying war games, but very few people would actually want to live like that, you can find plenty to vouch for that. The world culture is rife with the wholesale slaughter of man. These things are the tragic side effects of our gift of humanity. the hand that strokes and heals in love is the same hand to rise in anger over differences or greed.

Answer 2

Old saying goes that old men glorify war and young men fight them. I served 20 years in the service and have been to war and have no desire or great wish to go again. Few of the people who have been there want that again but i stayed in the service for 20 years after Vietnam and if called back I would go to Iraq and fight and kill again. I did not and would not do it for love of war or because I enjoy killing, neither is true. The simple fact is most career military or reenlistees stay because they feel it is a duty that someone has to do and they feel a commitment to do so. Yes I watch war movies but not because I enjoy the war or the killing-I want to see if they have it right and explain the reasons why men fight. Part of it is instinctive or our nature and part is the first time you might want to see if you can handle it or accepting a challenge. Leaders won't say that because it would be politically incorrect to say that war and violence is part of what people what they are because too many people believe that people are inherently good but history says that is not correct. Gandhi was assinated, Jesus was crucified, MLK was assinated all for political or religious reasons. The same violent nature is tied to the exploration and advancement of people-the challenge of exploring and seeing what is over the ridge is kin to the challenge of can I beat who is over the ridge so it has good aspects as well as bad. As for people the best explanation I have ever heard is that people come in three types-sheep, they are peaceful and peace loving and just want to live and let live (this is most people); Wolves are predatory people who want to kill the sheep or take the pastures they have and will do that given the opportunity; Shepherds are a form of the wolf who has decided that the sheep are ok and that the wolves should not kill or harm them so they live in the pasture with the sheep and keep the wolves away even if that means killing the wolves or being killed by a wolf to protect the sheep. Why do some shepherds turn bad and hurt people-because the fact is they are reformed or refined wolves an sometimes the wolf comes out a little too much. Sheep like war games beacuse it makes them think they are shepherds or wolves and gives them a thrill, wolves and shepherds like it because it is training to either protect the sheep or kill them. Soldiers who have been to war do not love killing, blowing up villages or killing women and chldren-wolves enjoy that and soldiers who tend to be shepherds know that sometimes those things will happen but our job is to protect the sheep and that we try to do that because sheep can't protect themselves. I found no joy in killing enemy soldiers which I have done and even though I did not kill any of the people I was protecting I know I would not have enjoyed that; soldiers do not enjoy war because our friends die along with the other side. A war with other soldiers, not terrorist but solders, is worse because in many ways we are killing those we have more in common with then the one's we protect. An honorable enemy of the people I protect is still an enemy and I can admire him and in many ways have a bond with him but my first duty is to protect the people so I will kill him.

Answer 3

It depends on how you're raised and America is a war loving society. 50% of our money in America goes to the military. What makes it worse is that 5 major companies which profit from the war in Iraq own all "big media," so media is very biased. Then you have the toys that come out centered around war and violence. Why? Because it's in demand from all the shows and movies displayed on those biased media outlets. Basically these people are brainwashing us...

We as human beings are animals, our ancestors way down the line were reptiles. We have both a mammalian brain and a reptilian brain. The reptilian brain is the center of violence and anger. So you can say we have an instinct for violence. Survivalist nature...

For instance, chimps are our closest relatives and they keep in a close knit family group. Food supply is controlled within their dominion by war. If they hear noise of any type of ape or monkey they attack. Though smaller than humans they are much more powerful and violent, very dangerous creatures... Even if they hear other chimps within their bounds they attack violently to control their food resources. They will take the ape or monkey babies or get to the adults and eat them alive, tear them apart, and sling them around. Violently hideous cannibalism!

So yeah, humans are naturally violent, but being raised in a nonviolent environment can help calm that development. Nature v. Nurture, it's both.

Answer 4

You might be interested in the work of the French philosopher, Rene Girard, and in psychoanalytic theories about scapegoating.

The scapegoating mechanism is a primitive and persistent way for groups--including national groups--to coalesce against a common enemy. We project evil onto others, and go to war because of delusional and primitive beliefs that we are not the "evildoers"--to use one of GWB's favorite words.

I do not agree that war is a necessary part of the human condition. I believe that the more that its irrational underpinnings are exposed, the less likely it is to occur.

Two hundred years ago, many people believed that slavery was part of the human condition. Slavery does still exist, but it is no longer legally sanctioned, and is far rarer than it used to be.

You can Google "scapegoat" and "Rene Girard" to learn more.

Answer 5

Excellent question, I have no idea. (Who are "the people"?) But I know I have a fascination with war and conflict. Why do situations escalate into violence? It's a primal human thing, that's been with us since the dawn of time. That's what makes proponents of non-violence so exceptional. Jesus, Gandhi, Martin Luther King. Absolutely amazing. There are some people who's soul is greater than the sum of the parts. They transcend, and when I see that, it's very tempting to believe in the divine.

Answer 6

Because war has been abstracted away from the individual acts involved in it (the gruesome, murderous aspects) into its overly glorified, abstracted form, the content of which is enjoyable because it is the idea of one nation asserting dominance over another one. It appeals to notions of the nation being identified with oneself, and, by extension, war victories gratify the ego, along with giving a sense of stability.

It all comes down to human pride, really. A war is an excellent way to claim your own superiority over others. This reflects poorly on war and the human ego, overall...

Answer 7

Albert Einstein said- "So long as there are men, there will be wars." This is very true because men are the ones who create wars. We are flawed in the making and cannot help ourselves from fighting each other. Whether just religious feuds or for power, I think men will always fight because they do not know what it's like to give birth and bring a human life to this world; if they did my contention is they would be more aware of the value of life and would no longer have a thirst for self destruction.

Answer 8

Because the people are superstitious and every religion is an enemy for every other and all the simple poor people get their information from the ruling class of their nation or 'God'. If the bourgeois do not own property, they own power.

The Will is positive, the Judgment is negative.

Answer 9

War and battle and killing and fighting is all a part of being human. Due to sin. I LOVE to argue and I LOVE to argue for the heck of it. I always want proof of something and I made my mother so mad when she uses words that are ambigous. This is a war of words, but it's still war.

People are usually only looking out for one person...themselves. People want what they want and for some people--they will go to war for what they want. Just look at G.W. Bush. He is fighting for his precious oil--or is it his money?

Video games provide us a way to take out our rage-on the game, instead of people. Sin is so much easier to do--not the hate part-but the outrageous anger that is sooo common to the carnal man.

Answer 10

because they eat (so much) meat. killers love to kill. easy.