Browsing through my bookshelf the other night, I ran across a book I had read last year, that I bought off a friend of mine. “War is a Force that Gives Us Meaning,” by Chris Hedges, is not a long book, but is crammed with so much feeling and commentary that it behooves you to take your take when reading it, in order to fully appreciate where Hedges is coming from.
At first glance, one might think that Hedges is obsessed with war, but he isn't. As a war correspondent for most of his life, he has seen the horrors of war, its toll on humanity and on himself, and came to the conclusion that despite the evil that war creates, we as a society and culture are obsessed with it. We're not obsessed with the death and carnage that it creates, but with the allure of war, that despite all it's unforeseen consequences, that we are drawn to it and at times, don't have the ability to look away, regardless of painful it is to watch.
He talks about how we are drawn to those in uniform, about how much we admire them for doing what they do, even if it means giving their lives for it. And even if we personally don't know that soldier who's going off to war in some country whose name we cannot pronounce, we still feel a personal connection to them, because they represent us; sometimes the best of us and sometimes the worst of us.
I have always studied war, because from a historical perspective, we have much to learn from those that have come before us and died as a result. In my own humble opinion, nothing influences political policy like war. If a war came as a result of flawed policy, then new policy results out of that war, in order to prevent its happening in the future.
I do not foresee and end to war in my lifetime. There are too many opposing sides that are willing to use this ultimate act of violence to pursue their own means. War, regardless of how terrible it is, is a part of who we are as a nation, for we were born of war and have redefined ourselves in war.
This may all sound too contrite and scholarly, I admit that. Read Chris Hedges' book when you get the chance - you won't regret it.
