(I was supposed to post this article on April 9, 2023. Also, I submitted this article as my reflection on the video clip " The War Prayer" in my Peace Psychology class)
While watching the video clip, I remembered my grandfather who joined the USAFFE Guerrilla Unit. He used to tell me his wartime stories when he was alive. His stories were vividly horrifying.
One remarkable story that I cannot comprehend at that time was when Lolo told me about this downed Japanese pilot in their area. The young Japanese pilot and his burning plane were surrounded by many civilian onlookers and some guerrilla fighters. The guerilla fighters secured the pilot, tended to his wounds, and even gave him something to eat and drink.
While my Lolo and his team were waiting for their commanding officer, the onlookers were getting angrier and restless. They wanted to kill the Japanese pilot. The guerrillas were holding them back. Eventually, they overpowered the guerrillas, and they took turns in punching, kicking, stabbing, and hacking the crippled pilot to death.
Now I realize that there is compassion among warriors. I find it also ironic to know that soldiers who are trained to fight do not want war for they know the untold horrors it brings.
I remembered crying for the Japanese pilot. I also cried for my Lolo who was blaming himself for the death of the Japanese pilot. I shed tears for the many families who lost people they love to war.
Humans evolved through history and are evolving at a very fast rate. As humans evolved, so has technology. Technology that promises improved quality of life and the same technology that offers more efficient destruction and annihilation of human existence. Throughout history, it is notable that war contributed to the enhancement of technology at an exponential level. With the very short period that humans spend on this timeline, humans have contributed much to the destruction of the life entrusted to them and I cannot help but question what’s left of humanity among humans. Is there an inverse relationship between humanity and history? As humans progress through this temporal existence, they seem not to learn effectively what life had been teaching them. It would seem to me that humans consistently seek their own demise.
The video clip also made me ask existential questions. Why does God allow this evil to continue? Do we have a sadistic God who is amused at the suffering of his creation? Does God meddle with the affairs of humans? Such questions will find no answer in this lifetime. But one thing I would like to ask is, is humankind a worthy steward of this creation? This could be one of the answers to why humans engage in war: to determine who is the better steward.
“War does not determine who is right but who is left.” War is very unreasonable. People have nothing to gain but countless to lose. War has devastating and irreparable consequences. Intelligent people know these yet even the brightest among people resort to war.
Just as God has not lost faith in humanity, I too am hopeful that humans would heed the reasonable voice within. Maybe not in my lifetime but in the eons to come, people would learn from the mistakes and the destructions their ancestors had done. I hope that at that time, they have more space for forgiveness in their hearts and reason in their heads.
Finally, I put my faith in the few people who advocate for peace. Only a few choose the path to peaceful reconciliation. The few who are brave to calm the violence in their hearts and in the tranquility of their hearts transcend the beast within. May their selfless struggle convey the peace that would remind humans of their humanity. “Blessed are the peacemakers”.
#phdreamers