But we don't have to cause the pain only to absorb it afterwards. That is the great folly. Human beings cause wars, human beings at the helm of affairs start wars. The masses go to sleep one night and the next morning they wake to the sound of marching boots and shrieking jets and exploding bombs馃. The people are never consulted.
And any consultation that takes place is always in the form of manipulation or propaganda. The people are manipulated into the war because those at the helm have a monopoly over the means of indoctrination and information. They can misinform. They misinform the people they trick into war. The people are manipulated into a war only to have their children killed, their houses destroyed by bombs and grenades and, all the time, the generals and the politicians stand aside , away from the death and the destruction of the war and shout that it is indeed a great war馃槒. A great war for the because they lose nothing and yet gain everything. The generals and the politicians and the religious leaders and the businessmen send their children away from the country to make sure that they do not suffer from the war. But the workers and the farmers and the poor remain and yield up their children to the war
But how can these soldiers become so cruel馃? Why do they kill each other and not the generals馃? Or the politicians馃? Or the businessmen馃? Or the religious leaders馃? Why do they obey the order to kill馃槖? Surely they must know that they are killing each other馃檮?
I have nothing against wars, I thought, that are fought over principles. Principles that in some way deal with my questions. Where are we going? How are we getting there? But the present war is a war that arises from the greed of a few men. No principles are involved here because even if a country remains one or is divided, nothing really changes. Changes may occur at the top as new people jostle for power but lower down where I come from, the farmer and the carpenter will continue to live in mud houses and starve and be ignorant and sick and yield up their children for senseless wars馃檮. If I was asking which way, east or west, if I was asking one man one loaf or one man many loaves and millions of other men no loaf at all, this war might have made sense馃.
There ought to be a referendum among the people about any proposed war. The people ought to vote and by each ballot box there ought to stand written the history of all the sufferings and deaths and destructions and finally, the ideas and principles behind all of the past wars. There ought to stand on every street bold placards declaring the aims and principles behind the proposed war so that the people could see whether the war is in their interests. They would be informed about the possible sacrifices in terms of death and destruction and violation and humiliation and labor and compare these with the profits and power and exaltation of the generals and politicians and religious leaders and businessmen. They would make comparisons to see whether the war was in their interest and whether they were willing to carry the cross for the rest of the nation. Who agrees with me on this?
