the spoils of war vs survival
There must be something about war that makes men – and now women – line up in droves in order to get into it, and it may have something to do with the adrenaline rush that goes with it, and the kill or be killed survival instinct that enlivens you like nothing else can, but it also has a lot to do with the mythical spoils of war boasted about by the WWII vets who were, in fact, the only generation ever to profit from war, if not the war they fought in, then every war since.
“It is counter the whole notion of intuitive survival to engage in warfare,” says Marina, “and yet if you are told that there are spoils to be made and a hero status to be attained for ‘saving the world’ by going on a killing spree – and those feeding you these lies are war heroes themselves, in positions of great power and influence – then it is easy to see how one’s better judgment may be swayed.”
“The spoils of war, these days, seem to amount to nothing more than the promise of an education and some health benefits,” says Marina, “but they are hardly worth losing one’s life or limb for – so there has to be something more.”
“That ‘something more’ appears to be ‘hero status’ or ‘respect’ but as any Vietnam vet will tell you it is nothing like they expected it to be,” says Marina, “and they were essentially fed a lie by the Golden Generation before them who were ‘real’ heroes because they fought in a ‘real’ war, WWII.”
“Those of the Golden Generation who survived WWII were the first, and most certainly the last, to receive worthwhile spoils of war in modern history,” says Marina. “Apart from unprecedented hero status and respect, they had land grants, generous loans and a good job for the rest of their lives, no matter how inept they were, and they had unprecedented opportunities to advance themselves or snaffle the market because the massive loss of life during the war led to an unprecedented lack of competition after it.”
“How different the spoils of war are for today’s men and women,” says Marina. “They will leave the battle field to return to joblessness, little support for their mental and physical wounds, poor opportunities because of massive competition from China and India – and undoubtedly as little respect and hero status as the Vietnam vets were afforded because the wars they are fighting are drains on our national wealth and lost causes dreamed up by old men who refuse to imagine a world without war and the wealth it brings them.”
Read more by Marina on this issue:
Labels: spoils of war, survival, vietnam war, war heroes, warfare, wwii
