What's to appreciate about war?

Nothing, except some of the uniforms. The Nazi & Hussar jackets from the Crimea War are fantastic, pity such quality was wasted on soldiering.

Artists appreciate wars a lot ~

Whether or not we agree that decisions to send our youth to war were valid, those that have been called to serve should be appreciated. Many have made the ultimate sacrifice in the belief that their deaths might make a difference. Many made the ultimate sacrifice despite believing it would make no difference.

War is neither glamorous nor attractive. It is monstrous. Its very nature is one of tragedy and suffering. HH the Dalai Lama

Nothing directly but indirect effects can be. Technology that is used to enhance human life and the human condition often gets a boost from the desire to blow up the other guy. War time is so horrible that we don’t take peace time for granted as much.

As every Ferengi and Capitalist knows: ‘War is good for business’

According to Rear-Admiral S.B Luce, founder of the Naval War College, “War is one of the great agencies by which human progress is effected. ....we must still recognize war as the operation of the economic laws of nature for the government of the human family. It stimulates national growth, solves otherwise insoluble problems of domestic and political economy, and purges a nation of its humors.”

It is the one dependable and irrefutable constant defining human history. The greater tragedy than the wars themselves is that the lessons from the conflicts are seldom absorbed by those who govern, and even less apparent to the populations condemned to die in the struggles.

I like not being a subject to the British Crown.

Thank you for your service guys.

@Earthbound_Misfit that is something I have struggled with since becoming aware during the Vietnam conflict.

If you view something, in this case a war, as stupid and untenable why do you choose to participate? And if you do and someone else does not who is more morally correct and why are those who make one choice venerated and the other vilified? And if you choose to and get hurt why should someone who chose not to now have to help you out? You knew the risks going in and thought the the rewards made them worthwhile.
Why is dying for a cause you do not believe in noble? Why is saying no to those who want you to fight their battles for them not?

Here’s what Edwin Star had to say about it…

…Ohhh, war, I despise/Because it means destruction Of innocent lives
War means tears To thousands of mothers eyesWhen their sons go to fight And lose their lives

War, it ain’t nothing but a heartbreaker
__War, it’s got one friend, That’s the undertaker_
Ooooh, war, has shattered Many a young mans dreams
Made him disabled, bitter and mean.

Life is much to short and precious To spend fighting wars these days
War can’t give life It can only take it away
Ooooh, war, huh Good God y’all
What is it good for Absolutely nothing
Say it again
War, whoa, Lord What is it good for
Absolutely nothing
Listen to me
War, it ain’t nothing but a heartbreaker
War, friend only to the undertaker
Peace, love and understanding
Tell me, is there no place for them today
They say we must fight to keep our freedom
But Lord knows there’s got to be a better way…

So easy to be a smug pacifist.

While at the same time enjoying the freedom and safety preserved by our military.

@ragingloli So easy to criticize capitalism.

While at the same time enjoying the way of life it provides constantly.

So easy to worship state-employed murderers, while ignoring all the pain and suffering they cause world wide.

Straw:

I never said I did any worshiping or ignoring.

You, however, DID criticize capitalism above, albeit obliquely.

There is a big difference between defending the country, constitution, freedom, safety etc and intervening in that of other countries for political and economic gain but it is one that many have trouble grasping. Or, even more reprehensibly, recognize but refuse to acknowledge because it goes against their sacred world view.

Any idea how many countries have attacked the US vs how many countries the US has attacked? We even went after Panama and Granada! Now THAT was taking out a couple of major threats to the safety and freedom of the US.

And, @ragingloli did not criticize capitalism, only stated one of the main tenets of it.

Wars are good for the economy. Many technological advancements are made, good or bad.

Nothing is good about war but, if we wish to get down and dirty, well…war does help thin the herd of humanity, just that most of the thinning are innocent people.

Appreciate? Nothing.

Dwight Eisenhower, who learned a thing or two about war in his time, has had a few things to say about it, most of them not complimentary. One of my favorite Eisenhower quotes was probably not about war at all, but it applies:

“Farming is easy when the cornfield is a thousand miles away and your plow is a pencil.”

In other words, as I choose to interpret this, it’s easy for those of us who don’t have to fight wars to criticize it and those who end them – we can all criticize those who start ‘em, I think – but I’m glad that I have never had to participate in one.

@tinyfaery

Nothing?

What is your nationality?

A human of earth. I swear no allegiance to a piece of land with imaginary borders. I’ll never understand how anyone thinks the idea of a country or a nation has any basis in reality. It’s a collective illusion people agree not to question. It’s just like religion. Ridiculous.

Much of the technology we enjoy in our daily life was originally developed for war. Internet, battlefield medical procedures, fabrics, canned food, GPS, ...

But that doesn’t mean they wouldn’t have been invented without it.

War is terrible.
But it also has its place.

Imagine hitler’s reign if it had gone unchecked?

Very, very rarely, it’s a necessary evil. I don’t appreciate it even then.

@rojo, you asked why people choose to participate. In WWI, WWII and the Vietnam War, many men did not realistically have the option to refuse. They were conscripted. Young men who participated in each of those wars were manipulated and lied to. If they chose to be conscientious objectors, they were shunned by their communities. If they chose to desert, they were shot. Personally, I have immense respect for those who had the courage of their convictions to say they would not fight. I’m so pleased to see those who were shot for desertion being exonerated and pardoned.

I don’t believe war is valiant or good. I don’t believe those who sent these men to war had any redeeming features. I do believe those who climbed out of trenches in WWI, or had the courage to fight for their countries in wars since then, deserve our care and respect. They were victims of the system within which they lived. Regardless of how misplaced any justification of those wars might have been, that does not diminish their bravery. I’m quite sure even if they did believe the propaganda to start with, after a very short period of time in active service that belief had been erased. Perhaps what kept them going was mateship and comradeship. I’m not going to judge those who fought any more than I will judge those who abstained. Both were equally brave, but for different reasons.

@fluthernutter but imagine if everyone had told Hitler to fight his own battles.

The GPS system would still be in the stone age if it were not for the military and defense spending. It costs billions develop and send those satellites aloft. Very few private companies can afford such a huge investment with so little short term cash reward.
Only businesses practicing premeditated bankruptcy (like most of Trump’s industries) would even attempt it – leaving citizens with a steaming pile of worthless electronics in their cars when the money ran out.

@LuckyGuy
Which can be traced directly to Nazi scientists under Hitler.
Do you think GPS was worth 11 million people murdered in camps?

@CWOTUS it’s easy for those of us who don’t have to fight wars to criticize it

It is even easier for those of_us who have seen war to criticize it. I was never in direct combat, but I was stationed on a hospital ship of the coast of Vietnam. I did not experience bullets flying in my direction, or having to fire on an enemy combatant, but I did see people coming on board who had been shot, had limbs blown off, and yes, I did see more than my share of body bags before they were moved to a place where they would be transferred to the flag-draped coffins.

Many of those with whom I served had “voluntarily” enlisted to avoid being drafted. If they had been drafted, many would no doubt have ended up being patients, rather than hospital staff or ship’s company.

@Earthbound_Misfit Perhaps what kept them going was mateship and comradeship.
More likely, what kept them going in combat was sheer survival skill, which involves knowing the other members of your unit have your back, as you certainly must have theirs.

@ragingloli Do you? Did you use a GPS this week?

The only good thing that comes out of war, is the anti war songs it inspires. Other than that, no need to support it (unless its pure defence).

Nothing.

Thins out the herd.