by Ryan Christian

Created on: December 21, 2008

There are many reasons why wars are fought: greed, power, lust, evil, etcetera. The wars in the Middle East are being fought because...well, they have always been fought for thousands of years. Ultimately, it is over religion and the different views the different Muslim sects have on Islam. Many of us would probably like to think that we fought in past wars for the good of humanity, to save our fellow nations from genocide and subjugation to the greater powers who would make war simply in the name of greed and plain evil.

I have always believed this to be true, and I still think it holds true today. I couldn't say much for anyone else, but as a nation I believe we fight wars so that other people might have a chance to be as fortunate and prosperous as we have been. The basic right of a human is to be free, and I believe we fight for those who are not free so that they can be - in the hope that they may live as we have lived. In essence, we fight today's wars on the same general principle that we fought yesterday's wars. There will always be detractors who will fight tooth and nail to get the general public to abolish war; but these individuals simply do not see the human condition and the disposition we as a species have had toward general sinful nature and hate. We are not perfect, and we will never be able to get people to stop fighting or to stop wanting more and be happy with what they have.

If we do not fight for the Afghani family who has nothing but a small hut and a dirt floor and no blankets or food for the winter, or the Iraqi farmer whose wife and children were killed by an IED set by his own people, then who will fight for them?

As a whole, as mentioned earlier, humanity is self-serving and the average individual is aware only of his own problems. Apathy and self-serving attitudes are two of the biggest causes of wars in the past, and they continue to be so to this day; the only way to combat war is with war, lest any evil person or persons find themselves in a situation that facilitates their desire to cause suffering.

Hitler wanted to exterminate the Jews because he believed that they were an inferior race. As a result he committed genocide, killing millions of Jews in some of the most horrible ways imaginable. One man did this. What would have happened if this was not stopped? Saddam Hussein was apathetic to the poverty and squalor his people lived in for years; he essentially enslaved them, stole from them, and systematically murdered them, all in a lust for power. Hitler and Hussein were both evil men, who in my opinion are unequaled in their tyranny. What would the world be like if someone had not stepped in and stopped this?

Edmund Burke said, "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing." I believe he hit the nail on the head. So, in the end, do we fight wars because we are greedy, or do we fight wars because no one else defends those who cannot defend themselves and because evil will be triumphant if we do not?

I'd like to be able to say that we fight wars solely because of the latter, but the truth is, the very fact that our species is so inherently sinful and selfish, speaks for itself as well. Behind every war is a person or entity interested only in personal gain. I hope that the majority of us who have answered the call of duty for our great nation, have done so because somewhere in the world is a nation that is poverty-stricken, starving, cold, defenseless, or all of the above; and that if we should lay down our lives so that another person may live and be free and prosper, then we have made some kind of difference and found some kind of reason within the darkest days that humanity could endure.

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