trelato

No matter what we as a society do, war is inevitable. Whether it be fought for nationalistic needs or if it be fought in the best interests of humanity, the reasons for war are always adaptive and flexible. The equivalent of trying to stop war would be trying to stop glaciers, according to Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse Five; it's futile because it always conforms to whatever situation it be fought for. War, however, can also reveal the true sentiments and characteristics of many things. It could reveal someone as small-scale as a person, to something as large-scale as a nation. Actions committed during times of uncertainty or tragic loss almost always reveal true character, and war is no different.

Think about it: how did we as a nation react to 9/11? We were outraged that something like this had just occurred on our own soil. We considered it an act of terrorism. We called for action, called for action for the attack that was call to war. 9/11 is actually the first true attack on mainland America. Yes, even through all the previous foreign wars that the US has been in, from the War of 1812, to the Spanish-American war, to WWI and WWII, to Korea and Vietnam, not a single enemy soldier has even set foot inside the mainland US. The patriotism that emerged and the constant cries for the purpotraters of the attack to be dealt with revealed, if not reaffirmed, what the US is all about; we love our country, and if you're going to mess with us, we are going to hunt you.

Now, on to war itself. War is a very harrowing experience; it's not pleasant, lovely or the noble fight that medieval knights would fight. No, it's much more than that, with ambushes, surprise attacks, prisoners, mass death, ect. Each one of these things by itself can drive someone insane, but war manages to manufacture all of these qualities into one massive ball of physical and mental pain. Such pain can change a man's outlook on life, whether it be for the better or not. If a man sees people suffer in such a way, he might bring this experience with him to home to improve life there. Or he could go insane and shoot people up, or shoot himself up. Once again, it all falls down to the unveiling of a person's true character.

The stories written by our class have, in one way or another, have something to do with character revealization. Whether the writings were intended to develop that way or not is for the writers to answer. Yet, it does not matter because war just has the power to do things like that, just as how death can make people rethink what a person has done or hasn't done with their life. War is just like that; it's a necessary evil.

Quote in first paragraph obtained from: Slaughterhouse Five Author: Kurt Vonnegut Page number: Can't remember, but somewhere in the first chapter.