War and the Human Condition

War, horrible and cruel, is both an unfortunate and undeniable aspect of the human condition. Put rather eloquently by the leading general in the fight to preserve one of the most heinous and inhumane practices to have ever stained our nations history, "It is well that war is so terrible - lest we should grow to fond of it". Despite the horrid cause for which Robert E. Lee fought, this particular quote is one which I find to be strangely enlightening, and which resonates with the duality of mankind in its desire for both war and peace. The films "Full Metal Jacket" and "American Sniper" both evoke the meaning of this quote throughout the length of each film. "Full Metal Jacket" in particular, actually directly references this precise problem, when Joker is confronted by the Colonel at the mass grave, and is asked why he was wearing a peace button, whilst his helmet read "Born to Kill". His response is telling, he was trying to say something about, "the duality of man". In the film "American Sniper", we see the journey of Navy SEAL Chris Kyle, who is scarred and traumatized by his service, whilst remaining proud of it. The films, though displaying the horrors and evils of war, also show us the nature of mankind, and how harsh mankind can become when faced with such circumstances as to draw out the deepest buried aspects of human nature.

It was Thomas Hobbes who, in his theory of the "State of Nature", posited that life in such a place, without government or order created and agreed upon by the people through a "Social Contract", would be, "nasty, brutish, and short." A contemporary critic of this idea, Jean Jacques Rousseau, argued a different perspective; that it was government and "society" that corrupted man, and that in a state of nature humans would be benevolent beings who would live in harmony. As lovely as this sounds, the theory of the "Noble" or "Peaceful Savage" is roundly inaccurate. In his book, "War Before Civilization: The Myth of the Peaceful Savage", Professor of Archeology Lawrence H. Keely roundly denounces this myth, with archaeological evidence of humanities very earliest groups going to what could be called "War". I hesitate to call it "War" because War is technically speaking an armed conflict between two "states". The conflicts in this period of history would not have been more than fighting between the few men of small tribes, which would be made up of extended family units. The important aspect of the book however, is not the how, but the why regarding its writing.

The book articulates that even in the earliest versions of human civilization, war is a part of human nature. This lends itself to Hobbes, and to the argument that, although the Nation State is historically the most perfectly designed machine of war to ever exist in human civilization, it is also the most effective at preventing it. Though that may have been a long path to take to get to where I am now, I think it is worth it. The relevance this has to this discussion, is that although these films depict the horrors of war, the damage they do, and the duality of our American "love" and hate for war, war is simply within human nature, and our development as a society has led us to fight less frequently, rather than more frequently.

Our involvement in foreign wars is certainly up for debate, as are the ideologies which lie behind American Motivations for intervention, however I do not think that either of these films were intended to either strictly glorify, or strictly denounce war, but were made to (aside form telling the story of an American Hero in "American Sniper") allude to the fact that war is both a place in which heinous evil, and tremendous bravery take place. Whether or not one is a supporter or opposer of Nationalism, or Nation States in general, one cannot historically argue that though responsible for the most heinous conflicts in history (as Nation States are developed historically to be the perfect machines of war) they are not also the greatest preservers of peace. One needs but to glance at the historical record of the ancient world to find far more war, evil, death, and destruction than is frequented today.

I know this is a long post for a discussion thread, and for that I apologize, but I think it is incredibly important that people understand how far humanity has come, before jumping to conclusions and condemning the United States for its actions in war. War will always be horrible, but societal advancement has made it so terrible, that we as a human race are now forced to avoid it, lest we destroy ourselves entirely with it. Union General Tecumseh Sherman, in 1863, once remarked, "War is cruelty, and you cannot refine it." This statement is as purely true as any, and thus though we cannot refine war, the advancement of its horrifying impact on humanity as technology advances forces us to avoid it at all costs, as best as we war-like being can.