Pantagraph.com | Letters | War nearly constant in recorded history

Note: All views and opinions expressed in reader comments are solely those of the individual submitting the comment, and not those of the Pantagraph or its staff.

ThosSpence wrote on Sep 5, 2007 11:03 PM:

" This dispiriting letter is, first and foremost, evidence of the horrendous failure of the Amerikan education system. Every point the writer makes is risible. We shouldn't try to prevent wars because they are inscribed in our genes (or even worse, in the stinking bible)! Incinerating innocent women, children and elders was morally righteous! And those who disagree with this McCarthyite bum of a writer are enemies of the Republic! Most dispiriting of all are the gushing posts of those who love war and suffering. This country is inreasingly unrecognizable. "

WHAT is it... wrote on Sep 5, 2007 6:20 PM:

" with people their repeating the ignorant factoid of "3000 years" of this and that? Here it is recorded history and that is certainly an error since history was recorded in clay and stone long before 1000 BC, in both the East and the West. On another front, we have one of the local TV stations pushing a tour of Egypt and its 3,000 years of history. I guess the tour is a cut-rate jaunt that just ignores older monuments, artifacts and mummies. As if the whole world was tied to the stunted view that nothing ever happened until BC became AD. Get a clue, read a book and give up this silly notion that "culture" was invented by anyone you ever learned about in school. "

Better Blue than Red wrote on Sep 5, 2007 2:49 PM:

" Excellent post by "To hey renee", but too much info and detail for a 25%er to digest (facts give them indigestion). Isn't it interesting how our history with Iran is paraleling our current relations with Venezuela? "

To hey renee wrote on Sep 5, 2007 1:55 PM:

" The current US problem with Iran (in the middle east) all began over fifty years ago when a CIA man by the name of Kermit Roosevelt instituted a coup d'etat against the democratically elected President Mossadeq. This was done at the bidding of US and British oil companies who were kicked out of Iran after Mossadeq nationalized the oil. When the Iranian students, against International Law, took over the US embassy in 1978, it was because CIA records were released to the American public, by American Law. So, the US has been a major impediment to, not only democracy but, peace in the middle east. Iraq not about oil, too? Think again, as you pay $3.00/gln. "

to hey Renee wrote on Sep 5, 2007 12:44 PM:

" So you're saying that the United States government has had ZERO involvement in the Middle East in the last 30 years? That nothing our government has done could possibly have rubbed Middle Easterners the wrong way? "

hey Renee wrote on Sep 5, 2007 12:22 PM:

" Tell that to the terrorist who for the past 20+ years have been bombing the he!! out of innocent people not to mention 9-11 and their constant talks that no matter what if we don't think like them and surrender to their beliefs they'll eliminate us. Use you brain just a little. It's sad that the media gives front page news to a very small group and nothing to those who think otherwise "

Gary wrote on Sep 5, 2007 11:34 AM:

" And the chair is green, therefore the sky is cloudy. "

Nice Guy wrote on Sep 5, 2007 11:05 AM:

" I think we should stop having mean people exist! "

The Bible wrote on Sep 5, 2007 10:44 AM:

" Outside of a World Religions class, Sunday School and a National Republican Convention, The Bible as a reference, is not a good reference. "

Amazing wrote on Sep 5, 2007 10:10 AM:

" Well, disease and famine have plagued the world for the same amount of time that war has. Should we not try to eliminate them because it is in the Bible? All of the things I mentioned cause massive death. We should devote the same effort to stopping war. "

Hypothetical Question wrote on Sep 5, 2007 8:34 AM:

" See, that's the problem with you YadaYada, and your hero, Baby Bush... If you tell me you want to come over to my place and take my belongings, I'll respond by locking the door. You and Baby Bush would respond with something like; "Bring it on!" I would equate the securing of our borders and ports to locking the door. Likewise, I would equate striking out against a nation that never threatened us in the first place to your "Bring it on" mentality. In closing, let me ask this one hypothetical; If a law required the Bush twins to fight in the first wave of the Iraq war, would GWB have proceeded with it? "

hahah Judith wrote on Sep 5, 2007 6:23 AM:

" I love your reasoning: "The bible said there would be lots of war...therefore there has been"...hahaha you only get that kind of gold from an apologist. "They died for your right to say these things that are going to welcome the terrorists"...oh that's good. To the former point, take a class in logic. To the latter, stop making things up and stating them as fact. "

YadaYada wrote on Sep 5, 2007 4:31 AM:

" Great letter, Judith. But, remember, Liberalism is a chronic mental disorder, so don't really expect to persuade them. "

YadaYada wrote on Sep 5, 2007 4:16 AM:

" So, "to Judith", your solution would be to yield to our enemies rather than engage in wars? Where do you live? I think I want to go over to your place and take any of your belongings I might want. I know you won't resist. "

Renee wrote on Sep 4, 2007 11:42 PM:

" To answer your questions: 1. A line from a fictional historical figure saying that nation will rise against kingdoms is scarcely justification for thousands of years of war. Do you realize what war is? War is death, destruction, pain, anguish, lives ruined, babies and small children blown apart, families shattered, communities leveled. There is nothing good about war. War happens when the leaders of one country can't agree with the leaders of a second country, so they send their poorest people to die for their arguments. Winning a war doesn't mean you have the better country, it just means your men and women ultimately won. 2. There is no excuse for the atomic bombs dropped on Japan. Are the lives of all the innocent Japanese who died not worth anything to you? I can't write anymore, my whacko cat won't stop jumping up and my ice cream is melting. "

History and future, so inter-twined wrote on Sep 4, 2007 8:12 PM:

" I'm sure the 'better people' in all of history only had to mention their status and the 100 others coming up behind them to bash their skulls simply apologized and went on their way. I think some of these posts are the definition of naive. I doubt the people of Dafur, Aceh, South Basilan, Tablisi, etc. are so naive. They must really wonder how the American peace-mongers sleep at night. This letter is not about Iraq, it's about eternal vigilence. "

Gregg Brown wrote on Sep 4, 2007 4:43 PM:

" We can do the hard work of becoming better people or we can stay in same old ruts and use our immense power to ruin our world. Our choice.. "

to: Sometimes wrote on Sep 4, 2007 4:23 PM:

" Certainly, invading Iraq is not going to keep me from being enslaved. 9-11 has absolutely nothing to do with Iraq, except that it gave the neocon ideologist the opportunity and cover to convince a less than astute president to attack their dream target.Wolfowitz had pressed for this invasion since 1992. What was a dream for the ideologists will be recorded as a nightmare for the United States. "

Yup, no reason to fight wrote on Sep 4, 2007 4:07 PM:

" 'Hmm" will be first in line for the camps when we all lay down. We may not be 'the good guys' but there are far worse. Get outside the borders more often and off the net. "

And Sometimes an Aweful Mistake wrote on Sep 4, 2007 3:48 PM:

" Example: Iraq! "

Sometimes war is necessary wrote on Sep 4, 2007 2:30 PM:

" Only the naïve think they have no enemy. They are often enslaved or wiped out in the midst of that illusion. These people choose to forget things like 9-11, and when they are in power they do nothing but talk while the enemy grows in strength and feels more empowered. "

to Judith wrote on Sep 4, 2007 12:41 PM:

" And war has always destroyed empires, as it is now destroying us. I'm glad you're so anxious to get this accomplished. If you analyze what you say, it sounds like you are constantly in need of an enemy. "

to: to Greed wrote on Sep 4, 2007 12:34 PM:

" What Bush has done with Russia is to reintstate the Cold War. Everything Bush touches turns to garbage. We do not need anti missile systems in the Czech Republic, right next door to Russia anymore than the Soviet Union needed missiles in Cuba in 1963. It is idiotic to presume that Iran would spend 1 or 2 nuclear bombs on Europe before it gets obliterated by our vast arsenal, or by Russia's. "

Pull my other leg, it plays jingle bells wrote on Sep 4, 2007 12:31 PM:

" So you are using the words of Jesus Christ to justify violence and killing through warfare? This is an amazing demonstration of your lack of understanding of his teachings. "

Holy war, Batman! wrote on Sep 4, 2007 12:30 PM:

" Blessed are the peacemakers. Or are they? "

The Irascible Fachna wrote on Sep 4, 2007 11:33 AM:

" Well, you prevent what you can, and you try to limit the duration and the carnage of what you can't prevent. And you never, never, never give up. "

To Greed wrote on Sep 4, 2007 11:31 AM:

" Try to keep up. Iran DOES have missiles. Iran is developing nukes. An antimissile defense seems reasonable, and is no threat to Russia. To your other point, the Soviets DID send advisors and surrogates into Central and South America. So what? Do you think Russia should have veto power over where we station troops and advisors? "

Vic Connor wrote on Sep 4, 2007 10:01 AM:

" Judith, we've had slavery longer than wars, so are you saying we should continue this practice too? And have you ever been in one fist fight? I have, and I realize that they are not very useful or satisfying and I haven't had any for over 99.999% of my life span. Don't you think we can learn from the past? "

Hmm wrote on Sep 4, 2007 8:38 AM:

" Well maybe its time to learn from our past mistakes... just because we did things in the past doesn't mean that we should keep doing them. Violence begets violence. "

Leland Lesher wrote on Sep 4, 2007 8:14 AM:

" Excellent letter, Judith. "

Viet vet wrote on Sep 4, 2007 7:56 AM:

" While it is true that wars have been nearly constant in recorded history, there is no reason to accept that it must continue. In fact, surrendering to such an attitude guarantees that we will continue to have war. I disagree with the BNPJ group on the necessity of using the A-bomb, and I think they could have been more sensitive to the veterans who fought in WWII (how about an equally prominent demonstration lamenting the victims of Pearl Harbor?), I applaud their goals. As a combat veteran myself, I earnestly support finding a better way to settle our differences. "

Rob Renman wrote on Sep 4, 2007 7:17 AM:

" Yeah yeah! So people are war-like. Glad you discovered that for us. Excuse some of us for trying to change that! Some of us just don't like death and destruction, sorry that bothers you. "

Greed wrote on Sep 4, 2007 5:50 AM:

" There will be wars so long as bullies are elected to The Presidency. Right now, as we read the paper, Bush is needling Russia by installing a anti-missile system in Eastern Europe. He claims it will protect us from non-existent Iranian missiles. He has also sent our troops into Georgia, and other countries surrounding Russia. What would we think here, if Russia sent their troops into Mexico, or South America, to increase their sphere of influence. Bush is an antagonizer. You can remember them from your school days. It is a congenital personality defect that is shared by others that start wars, and crave attention. "

OGS Unfortunately... wrote on Sep 4, 2007 1:46 AM:

" ...our government is destroying us from within. Rather than relying on mainstream media you should attempt to open closed doors by searching the internet for "real news." The "good guys" are not good. "

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