Science Friday: War
A little late, but better late than never…
War has always been a part of our culture. But why? Why do we shrug our shoulders? Does it not matter to us that hundred of thousands of people die in wars nowadays? Does it not matter that the cost gets filtered down to our children? That before my child is even born, assuming I have one in the next year (which I don’t plan on doing… this is purely hypothetical!), he/she will already have over $30,000 in debt. That to me seems pretty significant.
Psychology of War from World War 2… It’s interesting to note how it took so long for the US and British to do anything. But as my father told me, World War 2 for the US, wasn’t about what was happening to the Jews. Something we are thought to believe in school.
Don’t get me wrong, everything that happened to the Jews was horrible, but it’s important to learn as part of history, that no one really cared at the time. Why is this? What separates genocide from murder in terms of how people generally react to it?
The answer may lie in human psychology. Specifically, it is our inability to comprehend numbers and relate them to mass human tragedy that stifles our ability to act. It’s not that we are insensitive to the suffering of our fellow human beings. In fact, the opposite is true. Just look at the extraordinary efforts people expend to rescue someone in distress, such as an injured mountain climber. It’s not that we only care about victims we identify with–those of similar skin color, or those who live near us: Witness the outpouring of aid to victims of the December 2004 tsunami. Yet, despite many brief episodes of generosity and compassion, the catalogue of genocide–the Holocaust, Bosnia, Rwanda, Darfur–continues to grow. The repeated failure to respond to such atrocities raises the question of whether there is a fundamental deficiency in our humanity: a deficiency that–once identified–could be overcome.
So we can’t really comprehend a number of deaths that large. Because we certainly understand human emotions and the pains of a single death. Hmmm… I think that simple idea may explain more than our reaction to genocide. Comprehending large numbers is not an easy task, especially when those numbers are representing human life.
I always bought into this theory without realizing it. How many times have you looked at the way people drive and just think, “Wow, it’s like people get behind the wheel and are a completely different person!” Well this is the monkeysphere friends.
“Okay… Webs is off his rocker! No we’re talking about monkeys.” Yup! That’s right. Not only are monkeys cute, but they can explain genocide. Read up!
Moving to more recent topics, New poll puts death toll of Iraqi civilians over one million.
I am sure there will be plenty of folks that brush this off as BS. Which I would find quite odd because this is the third study now on deaths of Iraqi civilians and all three have one thing in common. The number is rising, and quickly. The first was around 2004 and stated the numbers were around 150,000. Then the Lancet journal came out with their numbers in the 600,000 range.
Apparently this form of genocide is also outside our monkeysphere…
This is another writer on the same topic as the link above. Again, it looks pretty credible and should really be an eye opener to people. This war has caused nothing but death and has not made us safer.
Fellow blogger Paul wrote on this as well and gives a little more detail than the other writers.
My thoughts:
We need to stop electing officials that are unwilling to find diplomatic solutions. War is never good for either side and should be an absolute last resort. I fully support the creation of a Department of Peace to work along side the presidential cabinet and the President to find better solutions to International problems.
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(Got here googling “error 678″ which I didn’t get until...
September 16th, 2007 at 7:20 am
Isn’t a “Department of Defense” a Department of Peace? How long would it be before The Department of Peace advocated attacking some pissant dictator (that determination as we all know — dictator — is always objective, never subjective) because the cost-benefit says attack now before the pissant gets too powerful?
How do you respond to genocide without attacking them? Or by proxy through sanctions, by starving them, withholding clean water and medicine, so their people would find it “unbearable” enough to initiate a regime change. Unbearable enough is relative — they ain’t in my Dunbar number, so starving them to death is probably a lot more humane than rending them into pieces.
September 16th, 2007 at 8:01 am
A dept of Def is different from a dept of peace. The DoD will hire from the military. Their job is to give a military perspective to oversea problems and explain the logistics of using the military. This means, to oversea problems, the president only hears of military solutions. Unless of course he has another cabinet member that is not a yes man, has a spine, and is willing to step up and say why he thinks a military solution is bad. In other words, when more solutions, besides a military one, exist, why are we allowing the president not to hear them?
A DoP solves this problem. Their sole purpose is to find other solutions to international issues, from a non-military perspective. Check em out here… And we don’t have to worry about them attacking a dictator, because they are not allowed to give such an option. This option comes from the DoD.
You respond by helping their economy and creating systems that do not reinforce genocide. Yo say, damn you all fucked up, but we are going to move forward from here. Once you have economic systems in place you can then move forward and work on education and other areas. I suggest checking out Clinton Global Initiative and Clinton’s Ted Talk.
September 16th, 2007 at 11:35 am
Clinton is hitching his wagon to Paul Farmer? Pining for all the positive stuff he can do as a private citizen? Uh, ok.
1. Somalia nationbuilding from the barrel of a gun. Clinton.
2. Haiti nationbuilding from the barrel of a gun. Clinton.
3. Sanctions on Iraq 1992-2000. Clinton.
4. No flyzone bombings. Clinton.
5. Surreptitious funding of Bosniacs, Croatians in Bosnia. Clinton.
6. Lying to congress and the American public on troop strength in Bosnia. Clinton.
7. Kosovo intervention, and funding of the Kosovo Separatists. Clinton.
8. Supporting seperatists in macedonia. Clinton.
9. Watching Rwanda go down from a distance. Clinton.
10. Bombing one of few Sudanese pharmaceutical companies. Clinton.
When he was the elected representative of the US he seemed to sing a different tune. I’m sure Mrs. Clinton will carry out his agenda as a private citizen.
Department of Peace? Look, we don’t make a habit of bombing ourselves. So one way to improve their lot is to make them us.
September 16th, 2007 at 11:36 am
Dang. Please close my bold tag after “Private Citizen”.
September 17th, 2007 at 10:27 am
No worries, I fixed the html code. I will likely work up a repsonse your comment but it might take me a day or so…
September 18th, 2007 at 5:45 am
Another view of Clinton.
I would much rather see another 8 years of Republican rule. It would drive both the Republicans and most Democrats to extinction and give rise to something else.
September 24th, 2007 at 2:27 pm
Some harsh views of Clinton indeed. I don’t treat Clinton as a God like some Liberals, but there are many more things Clinton did right versus screwup. Another thing to consider, if we had a DoP most of those issues you listed above that Clinton was involved in, would not have happened, or at least Clinton would have heard a different perspective.
Really, my problem with war is… well… war. It’s should be a last case scenario, but often isn’t. When we have the strongest military in the world, we see military more as another option, rather than a last resort. And it really is a shame, mostly to the service men and women, because we shouldn’t take advantage of their willingness to fight and die for our country. We should respect them by saying, we will only use your services when absolutely necessary.
October 4th, 2007 at 5:59 pm
Heather Mills
I Googled for something completely different, but found your page…and have to say thanks. nice read.
October 4th, 2007 at 6:43 pm
Your quite welcome. Thanks for the nice words!