"The Fear of War Breeds War."
Hmmmm..... Where have we, in the United States, seen this idea recently illustrated? I could name two wars, Iraq and Afghanistan namely, in recent history that were fought upon this premise. I could go further and say that some private military militia groups that are popping up all over these United States like little armies unto themselves, are in fact, illustrating this idea right now. "The Fear of War Breeds War"
I didn't coin this phrase, "The Fear of War Breeds War", a political scientist named Azar Gat did. I'm just writing about it and re-sharing it. It would make a good bumpersticker though! It's short sweet and to the point.(There's an idea for somebody out there) The original article is here at Scientific American, written by John Horgan.
Societies in a violent region, the political scientist Azar Gat emphasized in War in Human Civilization (Oxford University Press, 2006[HARDCOVER]), have a strong incentive to carry out preemptive attacks. Societies may "attack the other side in order to eliminate or severely weaken them as a potential enemy. Indeed, this option only makes the other side more insecure, rendering the security dilemma more acute. War can thus become a self-fulfilling prophecy. The fear of war breeds war."
Margret Mead says Warfare is "an invention," like cooking, marriage, writing, burial of the dead or trial by jury. Once a society becomes exposed to the "idea" of war, it "will sometimes go to war" under certain circumstances. Some people, Mead stated, such as the Pueblo Indians, fight reluctantly to defend themselves against aggressors; others, such as the Plains Indians, sally forth with enthusiasm, because they have elevated martial skills to the highest of manly virtues; fighting bravely is the best way for a young man to achieve prestige and "win his sweetheart's smile of approval."
With that in mind, I think we might have to update our "O Say Can You See" national anthem's ending to the "HOME OF THE BRAVES" not brave. It's a tribal thang. A warring tribal thang, that some tribal members of the inherently not violent warring tribes, (unless provoked) do not find a great human characteristic for finding a "Real Man" or a "Real Woman". Nor do the inherently non violent people see the victors over the "rest of the world" and how many people they've killed on behalf of the rest of tribe, the true measure of a man or woman and his/her courage or balls. Big Balls, Big War, Big Violence, and Big Guns. (Guns are The Freudian equivalent of a Big Penile Member she wrote nicely)
Don't forget that we are the only country in the world with the word Bomb in their National Anthem too. So sing that new song. Change the words. It makes so much more tribal sense that way......"and the home of the Braves".
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