SOME THOUGHTS ON POLITICAL WARFARE

August 10, 2016

War is a hideous business.  It is one group of human beings trying to take by force that which another group of human beings possess.  The aggressors wage battle to gain more; the defenders battle to protect what they have from being taken.  There is little that is noble or good about what occurs.  There is much that is revolting and heartbreaking.

Mankind has made attempts through the years to paint a façade of civility on war.  For instance, the four Geneva Conventions were designed to establish rules of conduct which would regulate how enemies treated each other. That those conventions have been shredded repeatedly in the heat of war is a matter of history.  War has never been about humanitarianism.  It has always been about the skillful use of lethal force to defeat the enemy.

In a very real sense, war is thievery.  It is taking from someone by force what is theirs by right of law.  Wars, in miniature, are fought daily in this country.  When a robber enters a convenience store with a gun, when a rapist invades a victim’s apartment, these are, in a very real sense, acts of war.  The perpetrator’s purpose is to take from another what they have no right to take.  Wars between gangs amount to the same thing.  One group of thugs is trying to dominate and control another group of thugs.  The only difference between these acts and nations going to war is the scope of the action, not the motive behind it.

At its root, war is not only about seizing someone else’s territory or possessions, it is very much, perhaps even ultimately, about power.  That intoxicating drug of power drives some humans to use unspeakable means to reach awful ends.  One of the heartbreaking truths about war is that it is inflicted upon the many by a few who will go to any end to get what they want – whether it be an armed robber or a dictator.

You see, the heartbreaking true story of any war is written, not just on the battlefield, but in the suffering of the innocents.  The Syrian refugee crisis, which has turned Europe and North America upside down, has been brought about by a few monsters whose lust for power trumps any concern over destroying a country in the process.  Farmers and shopkeepers in Syria who just want to work their farms or run their businesses have lost everything.  They didn’t vote for war.  They didn’t ask for war.  They didn’t want war.  They just have to pay the price for it in economic devastation and dislocation.

Not all wars are about building physical empires or seizing physical assets.  For instance, we now find ourselves, in this country, in the midst of what can only be called a political war.  It is not being fought with rifles and bombs, but it is just as real, and capable of delivering its own form of devastation.  Political wars are pursued by the few who, lusting for power and the ability it brings to enforce their values and agendas on others, will do whatever it takes to achieve that power.  

These last few months we have seen the fruits of political wars in this country.  I have watched with great sadness as ruthless, amoral people without honor or integrity seek to destroy their political opponents.  I have viewed both parties, driven by those whose lust for power knows no bounds, adopt a kind of “scorched earth” policy toward opponents they view as the enemy.  There is no nobility in this battle – only naked aggression.  The ultimate goal is not the good of the American people, it is to seize or hold on to positions which, in many ways, allow one to rule the world.

There have been a few lame attempts to justify what has become an incredibly degrading process.  I have heard it argued that more than a few presidential campaigns in the past have degenerated into ugly, mudslinging messes.  That history teaches presidential campaigns can be a blood sport.  True.  And it’s argued that the country survived it.  Also true.  But is there any sense in which we have been made better or nobler for it?  I would argue that children being subjected to watching their mother and father berate and degrade each other in a custody fight certainly does harm the children.  No matter how well-intentioned or self-justifying the parents attacks on each other may be, the ultimate result is going to be children who are scarred, and whose attitude towards both parents is negatively affected by what they have experienced.

No matter who “wins” this political war, with the way it is being fought, it is inevitable that the American people’s respect for, and trust in, our government is going to be lessened.  Wars are not fought without casualties, and those casualties are not always physical.  Just as many of our soldiers have returned from Iraq and Afghanistan suffering from PTSD and other psychological issues associated with war, so the bitter divides that now afflict this country as one side demonizes the other are only going to worsen.  The paranoia and downright hatred that characterize these divides too often lead to physical violence – riots – which are often correctly characterized as “race” or “culture” wars.  Those who would seek to divide and conquer must bear the responsibility for the hideous fruit their efforts produce.  

One final observation…  I really am of the conviction that “what you see is what you get.”  We should not expect some sudden, miraculous transformation in a candidate once he, or she, takes office.  True character is revealed under pressure.  I can think of few things more pressure filled than running for public office – particularly the office of the presidency.  As I watch two people who will apparently do just about anything to win that office, I find it difficult to believe they will function any differently in office.  I believe what we are now experiencing in this presidential campaign from the candidates is merely a foretaste of what we’ll see when they take office.  Frankly, that gives me little comfort.

May God, PLEASE, bless America with the leaders we need, not the ones we deserve.