Cost of War

“War is the reciprocal and violent application of force between hostile political entities aimed at bringing about a desired political end-state via armed conflict.” – Wikipedia

What is it about America that sets this country apart? We’ve never warmed to metric systems or soccer. There is a real sense of American Exceptionalism. We are different, we like different things than everyone else. So what it is it? Why are we so different from the rest of the world?

Perhaps it is because we have not had a major national conflict occur in the continental United States since 1865. We have not suffered the destruction of war as Europe and Asia has. The last war in Europe was in 2008. The wars Asia are currently hosting are in Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Afghanistan. These countries can attest to the poorness that war causes. The last armed conflict on American or Canadian or Mexican soil was Pearl Harbor in 1941. The last time an armed conflict has been fought in the Continental United States was the American Civil War which ended in 1865. To be sure, we have been attacked on the fringes in our territories. Technical American soil has seen war since and we were attacked on September 11. But, that was not a state. For all intents and purposes, the US has had 143 years of war-free existence.

War is so bitter, horrible and costly that it stings for years, if not decades afterward. Look at Congo, who are currently fighting a conflict that began 11 years ago . Wars are breaking out all over Africa. It seems when they takes steps forward, some war breaks out and people are cast back decades having to subsist in a refugee camp. In addition to the emotional damage of war and the cost to families, there is extensive structural damage both politically and architecturally. The surviving citizens have to deal with a bumbling government as well as poverty and misery. This is known throughout Europe, Asia, Africa, and South America. It seems the simple rule of national wealth is to prevent war and promote trade. This is where the US differentiates itself.

Our political problems are never bad enough to escalate to war. We have a civilian government that controls a non-partisan army. These two entities have never truly come to blows. Our country has lived relatively peacefully for a very long time. Imagine how our country would be today if the army had split over the 2000 election results. If that split in the army led to two rival generals fighting in the streets of America over the election results. Instead of political parties, we would have factions in the Army. How damaged do you suppose how DC, Chicago or Cleveland might be if armies had fought in the streets? The country would be in shambles and trade would become impossible.

We would be as poor as any Third World nation in a matter of years. War is not productive, it does not boost economies. At least not the one who endure the fighting. America’s economy did fine in the 60’s while Vietnam’s fell in the toilet. For those who believe that World War II got us out of the depression, consider the monetary damage our soldiers and machinery inflicted on other countries in that period. If that War would have been fought on American Soil, I don’t believe we would be so well off today. It’s important to recognize the value of war, but also the very real cost of war.

It only destroys it does not create. It kills citizens, destroys homes and building, wrecks lives. Capitalism creates. Wealth creates. It enriches lives.