Our final debate in class today was about whether or not war is a good or bad thing: pro vs. against. Our side had to take on the pro side of things, a difficult challenge. I think both sides can be easily contested & that is what makes this topic so difficult to discuss, but as someone said in class, also what makes it more in favor for peace. Because there are so many problems, decisions, economic factors, moral factors, etc. isn't it better to simply aim for peace and bypass the whole process? Unfortunately it does not work that way. War is a part of our past, present, & future. It is not going anywhere to matter what people speculate about the democratic peace, or hegomonic control, or any other peaceful theory. Not to take on an explicit realist perspective, but we are always on the brink of war. I don't mean this in an arms race, Cold War kind of way, but there will always be problems that we, as a planet, must confront. Religion, government, social norms, ethnicity, are just a few things that could become a "flashpoint" in the near future.
There are many obvious cons to war. If we simply choose to not go to war, lives will be saved, destruction will be nonexistent, and we can go along our merry way attempting to bring our unemployment rate down to a reasonable percentage. Unfortunately this is not always an option. Just because WE may not choose to go to war doesn't mean another state will not attempt to challenge us. Sure, we could bring in a preemptive attack, neoconservative doctrine type of thing into the mix, often the United States first choice. Or even if we don't, eventually a state will attack. In this case what are we to do? Roll over onto our backs? Of course not. Sometimes war is imperative. It is how we got to be the superpower and world leader that we are today.
Don't get me wrong, I would definitely say I'm a dove in the dove vs. hawks debate, but I do see the practicality of war and being prepared for us. We cannot predict the future, but I certainly hope we see less and less wars in the future.
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