by Megan Pierce

Created on: June 22, 2009   Last Updated: June 23, 2009

Conflict will always be inevitable in every part of the world. At least that is what is believed by freelance war correspondent Kevin Sites, who journeyed across the world within one year and reported twenty wars and skirmishes within many different countries. His pursuit to reveal and recognize the expense of humanity surrounded by nations continually at war led him to blood-stained mosques in Fallujah, Iraq to muddy streets in Port au Prince, Haiti. The journalist embedded in some of the most staggering and upsetting struggles shouts out his experiences and views on these clashing tensions.

In his lecture given at the University of Wisconsin at Whitewater on February 16, 2009 Kevin Sites lays out three truths about war. His first truth is simply, War is an inevitable part of the human condition. In my personal opinion, war does not have to be inevitable. Conflicts will always have a part in the past and the future of humanity, but to say that war is inevitable focuses only on the negative of the human condition. Hate, greed, carnality, and prejudice will always exist between individuals until the souls of each human begin to accept and understand the many different cultures and societies that make up the world. Conflict is the result of arguments and confusion when two diverse nations cannot come to a settlement. It is not wholly the result of human depravity, although the negative aspects of mankind somewhat contribute to the outbreak of war.

According to some religions based on the Bible, human depravity is a result of the sin first committed at the Garden of Eden, and therefore peace will not be seen in the world until the Messiah returns and establishes his eternal kingdom. Upon creation, all was good in the eyes of God, until the fall of man. The belief is that man is naturally inclined to corruption and wickedness and that it is a direct consequence of sin and it was passed on from the children of Eve to the current people of the world. Religious authorities say that there will be no peace until it is established by the Messiah in the second coming. However, man is not damned as ultimately wicked. Even though the human condition does have faults, there will always be good in every person.

In the second truth given in the lecture, Sites says that war is primarily about competition for resources. But religion and political identity contribute. In partial agreement, I do believe that religion and political or governmental association contributes

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