What is it Good For?- Jessica Nelson

    The word war does not have a good connotation. Nor should it. It is bloody, animalistic, and uncivilized. However, I must acknowledge that war does have an upside, otherwise why would we engage in it? Think of the connotation of a solider, for me the words that come to mind are heroic, brave, and selfless. Now that doesn't sound all that bad does it? It's easy to be blinded by the cloud of gunpowder smoke on such a touchy topic but when the smoke clears and the flag comes down I think there’s a lot hiding in the rubble.

     War is often a result of anger, and anger is not an issue we can fix. It is innate, and in large quantities, uncontrollable. And what relieves more aggression than violence (and what is more violent than war)? But more often than not war isn't a hasty reaction to overwhelming anger. It stems from the cause of the anger. Be it an injustice, an embarrassment, or a threat war is bound to come if the anger associated with it outweighs the anger that war itself brings over the loss of human lives.

     I believe that this is acceptable. No, I don't like war and I think we should avoid it but only to a realistic extent. We cannot allow a country or a dick-tator to bully a group of people simply because we don't want a war. After reasonable measures like diplomatic discussions have been exhausted if the issue still persists then war is an excusable option. A necessary evil. In some cases, although rare, it might just save more lives (or at least the quality of them) than it hurts. After all something has to be worth fighting for right?