Reading Philosophy

I've never seen so many reality TV cliches in such a small space of writing.

Props.

If the world should blow itself up,the last audible voice would be an expert saying it can't be done

'War, what is it good for, absolutely nuthin.'

Yeah, war, as the monty python boys once said. 'What a stupid concept.'

BUT

Why does anyone fall out with the neighbour? Why do you have to sell more than the guy next to you? Why does it annoy you sooo much that the guy on the news can't see how wrong he really is? Why have desert tribes fought over a piece of useless sand for generations? We try to fight it guys but it's built in , hardwired, instinctive and sadly it's part of the reason we got this far. Look at the chimps scene in 2001, the tribe who learned to kill first survives. Or to paraphrase an earlier post about genitals, the guy with the biggest tool wins.

That is why War. Nature has made us competitive and aggressive in order that we had a chance to survive. We just applied our intelligence to make war so much worse and our weapons able to kill so many more. Instead of a tribal war involving a few score of participants we can now involve millions and the more intelligent among us know we now have to curb our aggression before we achieve the opposite of surviving.

I thinks therefore I is

Excellent point, though not only.

War exists because war exists, I would say. What do I mean by that exactly? I mean to say that there is already war and weapons and violence. So in order to protect oneself, ironically, one must also have weapons and inflict violence and yes, be willing to participate in war. I'd like to say humanity has reached the point in which we could all throw our hands up and say, "You know what, this is silly. I'm putting down my weapons and I suggest you do the same." I like to say that, but I can't, and I sincerely doubt it will happen for many centuries to come.

It's like the bully on the playground in elementary school. He's there and he pushes the other kids around, you included. You can do one of three things: Get beaten up, fight back, or be a bully. Nobody wants to get beaten up, so most fight back, which means they have to punch and kick and throw dirt like the bully. You can't fight back by sticking out your tongue or calling him names. Then, as my wife would likely interject, America would be the third option, becoming a bully.

I (perhaps wrongly so), being an American, would like to think that America acts like the proactive kid on the playground which doesn't wait until the bully tries to beat him up, but beats up the bully and tells him to stop messing with the other kids. Ironically, you could argue that makes one a bully, and perhaps that would be accurate, though I hardly think it is wrong if the best interests of all the kids are in mind.

Of course the bully on the playground is not an accurate metaphor. People aren't beaten up. They're killed and lives are destroyed. And unfortunately, whether it be the bully or the proactive kid beating up the bully, people are killed and lives are destroyed. It is never a popular thing to cheer on America, and so the media points out only mishaps and wrongdoings which is rather inevitable for how many ways to screw up there are. And unfortunately, for most, all they hear are the bad things America does, and so they wish America would be like one of the kids that merely fights back but only when the Bully approaches them.

If the world should blow itself up,the last audible voice would be an expert saying it can't be done