War: What is it good for?
Most quotations taken from Blood Rites by Barbara Ehrenreich
“…war is a means, however risky, by which men seek to advance their
collective interests and improve their lives. Or, alternatively, that war stems
from subrational drives not unlike those that lead individuals to commit violent
crimes” (8).
Which theory of war you think is more convincing and why?
“
It is a shame, perhaps, that hatred and mortal fear seem to draw us together
so much more reliably than love and camaraderie, but as any demagogue knows,
a crowd is most likely to bond into a purposeful entity when it has an enemy
to face” (82).
“
Love of our neighbor may stir us, but the threat posed by a common enemy stirs
us even more…We may enjoy the company of our fellows, but we thrill to
the prospect of joining them in a collective defense against a common enemy” (224).
What do these two statements say about human nature and war?
“
War is, in fact, one of the most rigidly ‘gendered’ activities
known to humankind”(125).
Give examples from what you previously know about war that address this argument.
“In the opinion of Hegel and the later theorists of nationalism, nations
need war—that is, the sacrifice of their citizens—even when they
are not being menaced by other nations. The reason is simple: the nation, as
a kind of “organism,” exists only through the emotional unity of
its citizens, and nothing cements this unity more decisively than war. As Hegel
explained, peace saps the strength of nations by allowing the citizens to drift
back into their individual concerns...” (202).
Do you agree or disagree with this statement? Do nations NEED war?
“Battle, for [the soldier], takes place in a wildly unstable physical
and emotional environment; he may spend much of his time in combat as a mildly
apprehensive spectator, granted, by some freak of events, a comparatively danger-free
grandstand view of others fighting; then he may suddenly be able to see nothing
but the clods on which he has flung himself for safety, there to crouch—he
cannot anticipate—for minutes or for hours; he may feel in turn boredom,
exultation, panic, anger, sorrow, bewilderment, even that sublime emotion we
call courage. And his perception of community with his fellow-soldiers will
fluctuate in equal measure” (47).
The Face of Battle by John Keegan
How is the soldier’s experience in war characterized in the above statement?