"War was waste. His parents had told him that more than once, and now he was seeing it with his own eyes."
-SM Stirling, Prince Of Outcasts (New York, 2017), Chapter One, p. 12.
"'...as a psychographic historian I realized that the war, poverty, and tyranny which cursed us were not due to any innate evil in man but to simple cause and effect. Machine technology had risen in a world divided against itself, and war grew to be an ever larger and more destructive enterprise. There had been periods of peace, even fairly long ones; but the disease was too deep-rooted, conflict was a part of our very civilization.'"
-Poul Anderson, "Time Patrol" IN Anderson, Time Patrol (Riverdale, NY, 2010), pp. 1-53 AT p. 39.
- part of our civilization but there are different actual and possible civilizations. I saw a TV discussion that counterposed peaceful civilization to violent humanity whereas, of course, humanity built the civilization and particular civilizations cause violence, e.g., conflicts for raw materials, trade routes and markets.
Despite the historically recent American Civil War, it is now unthinkable that North and South should go to war. Despite the historically recent World War II, it is now unthinkable that Germany and France should go to war. Such unthinkability can be extended globally.
Soon away on a day trip. Maybe post this evening.
10 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
Alas, I am not as optimistic as you are! There HAS been some anxiety lately in the US that factional strife might become so bitter that some states, like California, might rebel or secede rather than accept policies enacted by the governing party in Congress and the White House.
And the violent and bloody breakup of the former Yugoslavia barely not much more than 20 years ago is evidence that wars can still break out in Europe. Also, Angel Merkel's disastrous policy of letting in a million or more Mid Eastern "refugees" into Germany all at once has provoked fierce protests there. More potentiality for violence there!
Sean
Sean,
I think that refugees fleeing from wars should be welcome and that we should (peacefully) oppose those who protest against them. We have got to start changing attitudes now.
Paul.
Kaor, Paul!
Again, I cannot agree. All nations, if they are to be truly sovereign, has the RIGHT to set the terms and conditions on which outsiders can be admitted. What that disastrous woman Angela Merkel has done was to break the consensus most Germans agreed was tolerable as regards immigration. So she is being RIGHTLY opposed.
Sean
From the Emberverse and the Time Patrol to current immigration policies, it is all one debate.
Kaor, Paul!
I agree! To which I would add the desirability or not of defending a civilization likely to fall, which we discussed in another blog piece.
Sean
Paul:
Unthinkable? Terry Pratchett commented once that the French wife of one of his English friends had been asked how much it would take for England and France to go to war against each other again. Her answer was that it'd need significantly LESS THAN AN HOUR of disagreement.
By the way, I noticed just recently that I HADN'T noticed about Ketlan's hospitalization when it was posted. I belatedly hope he's getting or gotten better.
Kaor, DAVID!
I agree, human beings are human beings, of whatever nation they be. So I don't agree with Paul about the "unthinkability" of war between Britain or France or between Germany and France. Perhaps not LIKELY, as of now, but not impossible. And I wonder if Pratchett mentioned what the French lady might touch off another war between the British and French.
Sean
David,
Thank you. Ketlan is back home.
Paul.
Kaor, Paul!
Good! I'm glad Ketlan is better.
Sean
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