“War. War Never Changes”
A quote from best selling game Fallout 4, based in a post nuclear apocalypse Boston. A game that was supposed to be based in a distant dystopian wasteland, unfortunately, now doesn’t seem so dystopian. But it must be asked, how could we, as humanity, get this close to disaster? Are we not all united through the belief that humans fizzling out in a giant ball of fire is bad? This begs us to ask the question; how have we come so close to something we all agree we want to avoid?
Three words. Military. Industrial. Complex. These words, so famously coined by general Dwight D Eisenhower, encapsulate the bulk of the history of global warmongering. But it makes sense, as the bodies of government that exist in a perpetual game of risk and reward.
Let’s say, for any given conflict, there are a million deaths. From these millions of deaths, however, billions others are able to profit from the sale of arms, funding, and other incentives that have been created around this industry. Sure, the odds of the equation are 1000-1 you’ll be on the good side of war, rather than the bad side, so it's worth risking this small chance at death for personal gain. Given this as a button, knowing that the people who suffer are out of sight and out of mind, many would unfortunately press this button.
As a matter of fact, since the odds are so good, I’m willing to argue a majority of people would press the button again! And again, and again, and again, and again….. the pattern begins to unfold.
So, why is the mainstream so devoid of anti-war voices? Is it the people? The culture? Rather, it’s the machine itself. The button has been pushed throughout the course of human history, over and over again, the thought of ignoring the button becomes taboo, so against the grain. The shifting of our culture is evident, as now children who are ostracized are those who read the bible, and regularly go to church. The new normal is abnormal. Sadly, this normal includes this button, being continuously pressed by the machine over and over again.
And of course, I understand; you personally would never click the button. You, reader, are someone who sits patiently on your moral high ground, full of zen and tranquil in all hypothetical situations offered. You would be the exception, the one who claims they will go against the grain and fight for the betterment of all, rather than just personal gain.
Just like everyone else.
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