On War
What is war? What is light if there is no darkness? What is day, if there is no night? War and peace, just like day and night, are two faces of the same underlying phenomenal truth. Imagine if there had always been 12 noon, would we have a word for night? Would we have words and concepts for the day? No, we wouldn’t, day wouldn’t exist, the existence of day is fully and completely dependent upon the existence of night. In the same manner, the existence of peace is fully and completely dependent upon the existence of war! If there is no war, peace will lose its meaning and will crawl back into inexistence.
Those who are fundamentally and principally against war, are also fundamentally and principally against peace. They can never cause peace because they are against what peace inevitably brings to existence, its other face, war. They are also fundamentally against nature and the workings of the universe. We are the product of this universe and nature, and war, as a conflict between two entities where one tries to eliminate the other, is woven into the fabric of nature.
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Therefore, war exists at all levels, inside and out. There is a war going on right now in your head, the war of ideas, perhaps calling this essay bullshit and figuring out a way to attack it, discredit it, and kill it so you can be at peace in your mind! There is war in your body; your immune system is actively detecting and fighting intruders and bad actors. Sometimes, the bad actors accumulate their forces and you get sick, but you go to war, your body will fight, your immune system sends its soldiers and armies to fully destroy the bad actor, be it an intruder (virus, bacteria) or an inborn bad actor (cancer cell); genocide! Look around, there is war between snakes and frogs, and frogs and mosquitoes; they are killing each other, and yet we know this killing is fundamental to the continuation of life on earth as we know it. You even kill mosquitoes in numbers; you ruthless murderer! If your body doesn’t go to war, you will die. If your mind doesn’t pick up a fight with other ideas, you won’t innovate, science and culture will die, you will become no different than the sheep or wolf! If animals and plants stop fighting and killing each other, as much as they make love and reproduce, life will end!
Those who, in principle, are against war are also against life, even if they claim otherwise! This does not mean those who are pro-war (war mongers) are for life either. They are in the same boat as the ones against war, just on the other side of it. But they are not the concern of this essay, because they are considered violent and uncultured by today’s dominant cultural value system. The dominant cultural landscape of this era and its value system is heavily on the no-war side. Many people take this position out of their good nature and compliance with the value system of today. Accordingly, the people on the no-war side enjoy the higher moral grounds afforded to them by being part of the mainstream belief system. Among proponents of the no-war idea, however, reside some charlatans who benefit from breeding a society that is fundamentally against war. People with such a belief detest war as a devout Muslim detests pigs! They are afraid of war and do everything to avoid war; the charlatan can control them and get them to agree to anything if it means avoiding war or ending one that is already started. He can control them with the threat of war, and he can subdue them and subject them to his will with the actual war.
So, if neither being pro-war nor against-war will result in peace, what should we do? Maybe the position is to align yourself with nature, accept that war is fundamental to the fabric of the universe, and that there would be no peace without war. Do not seek war as you do not seek to get sick, take active measures for preventing it as you do not expose yourself to causes of illnesses, but do not be afraid of war either. Prepare for war like you strengthen your body’s immune system and secure your home, be on the lookout for it, and when it happens, go all in. This position is reflected in the Christian concept of meekness. Meeks are considered humble and peaceful humans who are strong and prepared to fight if they have to; they are not afraid of war but do not seek it either.
At the end, be on the lookout for those who fiercely promote the no-war idea but at the same time are actively preparing for war; you may see the charlatan!
