The history of a country is not complete without civil wars, invasions (and their corresponding cultural impositions), natural disasters, political assassinations, changes of alliances, times of fat cows and times of skinny cows.
At some point in history, from every corner of the world a chain of invasions, occupations, colonization, creation of new countries, and erasure of old ones have characterized the history of humanity. The Japanese invaded the Chinese; the Chinese invaded the Mongols, the Mongols invaded the Germanic tribes; the Germanic tribes invaded England and France; France invaded England; England invaded France; Europe invaded the Americas, Africa and the Middle East; and now, according to some, the chicken are coming home to roost.
Except for countries whose insularity or size might even make us forget that they exist (some pacific or polar island or some quasi-country hidden inside another country), all countries have been at war at some point either against foreign powers or against their own people. Sadly enough, the door is always open for future confrontations with traditional and new enemies.
Humanity is always predictable at the personal and social level. Luckily, nothing last forever; either eternal happiness or harmony or eternal war or oppression.
It is frustrating though, that no lasting lesson is ever learned from past conflicts. As we say here, “what they build with their hands, they smash it with their feet.” Historical allies become enemies; historical enemies become friends, but there seems to be no end to masses following some wicket politician or military who gets obsessed with the greener grass of their neighbors.
It is beyond me how a few men or women can cause the death and change the lives of millions of people around the world. The history of every country is not complete without a tyrant or a wild mob willing to torch the bridges that connect them to their own humanity.
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