Cat's rants

EtherealMerc said:
To believe there is no point in fighting if you do not believe that you are going to win is the thought of an unworthy and cowardly leader who is not willing to faithfully follow his soldiers into battle. In fighting only the strong survive and it is those who are most dedicated to their ideals that become the strongest. If a leader isn’t willing to die for his ideals then what are his values worth when he isn’t willing to die to protect them? What are his values worth when he isn’t willing to die with his soldiers? People who are not willing to die in battle have no courage and because of this they have no right to be fighting, or leading, as they will surely cause unneeded losses.

Wars are heartless times in mankind’s history. Honorable, courageous, and compassionate people are required to keep sanity and moral from becoming an issue during times of bloodshed. True soldiers, warriors on the field of combat seek out battles that are worthy of their deaths. That is the true definition of courage. To die for the mission, to set your self to a higher set of moral principles, purpose, and meaning in life is Honor.

Honor, strength, and, courage are all required to make good decisions during times of war. Leaders should not be easily influenced; their moral character and their ideals must be strong and unwavering. What is the point of having ideals or moral character if the one who is supposed to have them cannot stand by them?
We have become more powerful than our understanding of what it means to be powerful. Through greater power comes greater responsibility, but as mankind gains power he loses sight of that responsibility. When you remove responsibility from war it becomes nothing more than a game of chess beset by those who move men across the battlefield. The men who fight become ready-made causalities. Furthermore, upon realizing that war without responsibility is just a game, without consequences, that game becomes nothing more than entertainment for the ruling class who would never send their sons or daughters into war.

How many wars we been involved in during the last 50 years that we had no justification to be involved in? Vietnam, Korea, Somalia, Desert Storm, Iraq 20XX… How many times did we, Americans, go in guns blazing only to back out later because we got tired of playing war? How many times did we realize later that our leaders are playing war games with the lives of our people and people from other nations? How many times was patriotism hiding irresponsibility? How many times did we get into a war that neither side wanted? How many times did we get into a war that neither side wanted us involved in? The next time you look at a picture of Uncle Sam telling you to get involved in war, remember that ‘here is a picture of nationalist propaganda telling you to point and shoot a gun at another person, someone’s brother, someone’s father, maybe even someone’s daughter or mother’. Keep in mind also ‘that it might be your brother, your father, maybe even your daughter or mother that has a gun pointed at them’.