Vive La Revolution
Like most Americans, I’m more acquainted with our own military escapades: The (aptly-named) Revolutionary War, The (not-so-aptly-named) Civil War, WWs I and II, Vietnam, Iraq. The wars waged by other nations throughout history are also deeply embedded in my psyche: The Punic Wars, the Spanish Conquests, the French Revolution, and the Russian.
They’re called wars of aggression, wars of religion, wars of conscience and the preposterously-named “War to End All Wars”. They may be termed revolts or rebellions, conquests or crusades, and their armies are the stuff of legend: the Spartans and the Mongols, the Vikings and the Samurai. We know them by their length: Hundred-Year or Six-Day. We know the combatants – Alexander the Great, Ivan the Terrible, Attila the Hun, Sun Tzu – and we admire the heroics they embody by naming our sports teams after them: the Admirals and Generals; Warriors and Titans; Fighting Irish and Silver Knights. If you’re Boston, you name your Major League Soccer team after the whole war: The New England Revolution. And Nashville, you can claim all you want that the Predators were named for a saber-toothed tiger, but we know you’d really love to replace that logo of an extinct toothy feline with one of an extant drone missile.
There is much to be learned by the study of war, especially its devastation. In all recoded history, mankind has expended more time, effort and capital (monetary and human) defending against, preparing for and waging armed conflict, than other endeavor humans have ever undertaken. It is estimated that in the past 2,000 years, over 1 billion lives have been lost in wars between or within nations. Add to that total, anthropogenic disasters such as genocide, government action, oppression, famine and other events caused in whole or part by active human influence or unintended consequences, and you have another quarter-billion or so souls that have perished simply due to man’s inhumanity to man.
As of December 31, 2013, 2.2 million Americans were actively serving in the Armed Forces or Armed Forces Reserves. And, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs, 2.5 million more who served from 2002 to 2013, encompassing the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars. That’s 5 million Americans who, just in the past dozen years, have served or are currently serving in a war in which America has either joined or started. VA statistics also show that as of 2012, there were 21.2 million surviving US military veterans who had served in all the wars America fought since the mid-20th century. There are probably more people living in the United States right now who have fought our wars than teachers who have taught our children, doctors who have treated our sick, workers who have built our buildings and farmers who have raised our crops, combined.
War is sometimes necessary, though I wish it were only waged as a last resort rather than a first strike. And by no means do I denigrate any man or woman who has ever answered the call of duty, whether their service was by enlistment or conscription, in the trenches or behind a desk. Quite the contrary; I admire them more than I can ever acknowledge or repay.
It would be nice if there just weren’t so many of them.
Click here for reuse options!Copyright 2014 Liberaland
By: Mark Hersch
Mark Hersch is a Boston-bred, DC-raised liberal now living in Chicago with his liberal wife and two liberal dogs.
6 responses to Vive La Revolution
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fahvel June 19th, 2014 at 12:49
hard to imagine your delight and enthusiasm about the basest of human activities – not one war of which one can say accomplished anything over the long term – american revolution – wow – and now the usa is militarily supported machine with regard (honestly) for no one. French Revolution – lots of heads rolled but in the end the same elites live in the Elysee palace and do what thy damn well please. Indicate any govt that has come to power as a result of a war and is or was a kind caring place where nice (check the accurate definition) things prevailed – just one please.
edmeyer_able June 19th, 2014 at 12:49
I don’t know what it is but now days when I watch a documentary on any war tears will form in the corner of my eye’s for the poor souls who were killed, maimed, or suffered as the result of these conflicts. It’s too bad we are so damn greedy when there is more than enough for everyone.
fahvel June 19th, 2014 at 12:49
hard to imagine your delight and enthusiasm about the basest of human activities – not one war of which one can say accomplished anything over the long term – american revolution – wow – and now the usa is militarily supported machine with regard (honestly) for no one. French Revolution – lots of heads rolled but in the end the same elites live in the Elysee palace and do what thy damn well please. Indicate any govt that has come to power as a result of a war and is or was a kind caring place where nice (check the accurate definition) things prevailed – just one please.
edmeyer_able June 19th, 2014 at 12:49
I don’t know what it is but now days when I watch a documentary on any war tears will form in the corner of my eye’s for the poor souls who were killed, maimed, or suffered as the result of these conflicts. It’s too bad we are so damn greedy when there is more than enough for everyone.
Prof B in LA June 19th, 2014 at 13:20
“There are probably more people living in the United States right now who have fought our wars than teachers who have taught our children, doctors who have treated our sick, workers who have built our buildings and farmers who have raised our crops, combined”
Probably not. For one thing, you’re conflating veterans who have served since, say, 1950 with combat veterans. Two entirely different things. Some kid who enlisted in the Navy in, oh, 1976, served a couple years, went to college on the GI Bill, and never left the USA still counts as a “veteran” for VA purposes today. Wartime veterans are about 1-2% of the American population. For another thing, you’re vastly undercounting teachers, doctors, etc. In 2009, the last year for which there’s good data, the Census Bureau identified 7.2 million active K-12 teachers. Assume for sake of argument each does a 20-year career, you’ve essentially got 3 generations of K-12 teachers since 1950, that’s over 21 million right there — your VA veterans figure.
Prof B in LA June 19th, 2014 at 13:20
“There are probably more people living in the United States right now who have fought our wars than teachers who have taught our children, doctors who have treated our sick, workers who have built our buildings and farmers who have raised our crops, combined”
Probably not. For one thing, you’re conflating veterans who have served since, say, 1950 with combat veterans. Two entirely different things. Some kid who enlisted in the Navy in, oh, 1976, served a couple years, went to college on the GI Bill, and never left the USA still counts as a “veteran” for VA purposes today. Wartime veterans are about 1-2% of the American population. For another thing, you’re vastly undercounting teachers, doctors, etc. In 2009, the last year for which there’s good data, the Census Bureau identified 7.2 million active K-12 teachers. Assume for sake of argument each does a 20-year career, you’ve essentially got 3 generations of K-12 teachers since 1950, that’s over 21 million right there — your VA veterans figure.