The United States was born out of a war against England and has been fighting off and on for the past 250 years. After the Revolutionary War came about 100 years of war against the indigenous peoples of North America. In between (and during) there was the War of 1812 (against England again), the Mexican-American War (a land-grab war), the Civil War (Americans against Americans), the Spanish-American War (another land-grab war), World Wars I and II (unavoidable war), the Korean War (fear of communism), the Vietnam war (more fear of communism), Grenada ( a practice war), Lebanon, and more recent conflicts in Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, and most recently Iran.
One could say that war is an integral part of American life.
Casualties
As reported by USA Facts, “According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, between 1775 and 1991, the US military recorded 651,031 battle deaths and 539,054 non-combat deaths, totaling 1.19 million fatalities.”
Between 1980 and 2022, 28,995 soldiers died as a result of accidents, which include vehicle crashes and alcohol or substance abuse. Fortunately, accidental deaths have fallen 83% since 1980.
Since more thorough data collection began in 1980, the prevalence of military deaths caused by self-inflicted injuries — a category that includes all apparent suicide attempts — has increased. These incidents have become the most common cause of death in the military, rising 44.1% since 1980.
Notably, self-inflicted injuries are the only cause of death in military records to demonstrate a consistent upward trend since 1980. In 2019, 1.6% of veterans ages 18-25 reported attempting suicide in the past year, up from 0.9% in 2009.
A 2023 by article by CBS News reports that The Violence Project (which tracks mass shootings) reports, “… out of 195 mass shootings since 1966, 50 involved suspects who were veterans or people with military training.”
One could say that one of the longest-lasting casualties, both during and after war, is peace.
Force as a Tool
The I-Ching tells us that the only true progress comes from aligning with the natural flow and rhythm of things. Trying to control or force outcomes is often counterproductive.
War is the use of military force to obtain an outcome.
Two objectives of the American Civil War were preserving the union and freeing the slaves. One can argue that from day one there was discord between the states on a wide range of topics, but while the war succeeded in preserving the union, it also preserved lasting schisms in American society that continue to persist. But the once-enslaved black people are still less free than white people as white people continue to limit black opportunity, wealth and power.
As Americans, we continue to shun the hard work that remains. We see the difference between those who sow discontent to try to force change and those who seek compromise and justice to promote peace. Too many of us gravitate toward the darkness of discontent, I would say partly because of the loose ends left over from the Civil War.
What positive outcomes have come from our Middle East wars? Vietnam? Afghanistan? Iraq? How have any of our wars made things better for anyone except the arms merchants?
War: what is it good for? Absolutely nothin’.
It’s as expensive in dollars and lives as it is ultimately ineffective.
When there is No Choice
World War II ultimately left combatants little choice - though there is always a choice. In World War II, America had the choice of allowing the fourth-stage cancer of fascism to take over a substantial portion of the world, and letting the attack on Pearl Harbor to go unanswered, but that was not going to happen because the United States was threatened and would certainly defend itself.
Some good came of the war. Germany and Japan became our allies - at least until now. Technical innovation was spurred by the war effort, and many of these innovations have made life better. Yet the seeds of fascism persist in both Germany and the United States and elsewhere, and the ultimate technical war breakthrough - the atomic bomb - will continue to haunt us for many generations.
I don’t know about you, but I would gladly exchange advanced plastics for the end of nuclear fear.
If War Comes
If war comes, can you go with the flow as prescribed by Taoist masters? Can you retain your equanimity when your life and the lives of your loved ones are threatened?
Lao Tzu may know, but I do not. All I know is that War is a blunt instrument that inflicts pain and death, and produces nothing without a downside.
Is America at war with itself? Americans’ rights are being negated daily. There are Marines in Los Angeles.
Let’s hope that our peaceful protests will guide our nation back to sanity, and we can learn to stop blaming each other and help each other instead.
May the world be blessed with peace.
I perhaps should have mentioned Ukraine somewhere in this post. Ukraine is an example of a nation attacked for no other reason but greed. Experiencing vicious attacks on their civilian population, how could they do other than defend themselves?