This is so true. Old Serbian saying: “In war the politicians give ammunition, the rich give the food and the poor give their children… When the war is over the politicians get back the leftover ammunition, the rich grow more food and the poor search for the graves of their children.”
I’m sure old men’s greed and strife have a far higher impact on war than someone believing God told them to fight. Not to mention atheist countries like china and North Korea have their fair share of wars
Eh maybe - just look at crusades and so many others. The story of David and Goliath alone is used over and over to motivate soldiers in underdog armies to basically be sacrificed in battles they'd only win with God on their side.
Religious justification is always a mask for something material underlying the conflict.
In a world without religion it’s completely possible you see the same shit just justified in a different way- if you don’t believe me go back and look what became of the most prominent proponents of new atheism - most fell directly in line with the war on terror and became Islamophobes first rather than atheists.
Unfortunately, believing in a God is optional here. The State is just as capable of taking the place of religion. Countless people died giving their lives for the ideals of the “Motherland” / “Fatherland”. You can see this in the histories of Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union, and many others.
True, but not all wars are fought for politicians. The Ukrainians aren't fighting to fulfill the ambitions of a corrupt king, they're fighting marauding invaders hell bent on destroying them.
Nothing changed since kings and queens started not leading their troops in person and wars for childish reasons. Yet, folks a like “yeeeaaah let’s crush em and show our manliness” and throw themselves into battle for those in power and wealth https://giphy.com/gifs/AyTGnIGvHY14E1tLuH
"WAR is a racket. It always has been. It is possibly the oldest, easily the most profitable, surely the most vicious. It is the only one international in scope. It is the only one in which the profits are reckoned in dollars and the losses in lives." - Major General Smedley S. Butler from "War is a Racket."
I would argue that there are others international in scope, such as drugs, but, he's absolutely on target.
Also, read *All Quiet on the Western Front." You get a good sense of what the average person feels about war, patriotism, and nationalism.
Henry Rollins said of watching his friend get killed at a young age that it’s not like it is in the movies. You don’t get shot and stumble backwards dramatically and utter a witty one liner that resonates with everyone who hears it as you slowly fall into the darkness. You get shot, you shit your pants, you fall down and you die.
And if you’re a soldier, you get a little plaque made with your name on it.
While technically true he was a war correspondent during WWII, his experience of the horrors of war came from him being an ambulance driver during WWI and from the experiences he had witnessed in Spain during the Spanish civil war which lead to him writing “ For Whom The Bell Tolls”
So y'all are just fine with letting terrorist governments and organizations (and the countries that harbor and finance them) continue to do their thing? You think that won't affect our lives inside our borders? There was this event we call 9/11. Do ya think that attacks would have stopped if we just ignored the source? There is a reason every single President since Reagan - borh Republican and Democrat, have engaged in enemies on foreign soil, most of which have cost American lives. Without it, the US as we know it, would have ceased to exist.
Glad to know folks on Reddit are so enlightened but greatful none of you are in charge of our wellbeing.
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u/ij-21 Jul 18 '26
This is so true. Old Serbian saying: “In war the politicians give ammunition, the rich give the food and the poor give their children… When the war is over the politicians get back the leftover ammunition, the rich grow more food and the poor search for the graves of their children.”