War is not profitable to the progress of humanity- even decisive battles that determine the fate and path of the human populace should take the back seat as we continue to strive towards peace and development, democracy and its freedoms. Yet, for all their complexities and carnage, all wars could have been settled as a mere discussion over a cup of coffee or in the worst case, over two glasses of red wine.
My point is that all wars end in treaties and memoranda of understanding (MOUs). So why don’t we change pace as intelligent beings to eliminate violence from war and conflict? We are capable of resolving the most significant conflicts without shedding a drop of blood or firing a single bullet. This is not idealism nor is it a question of putting the cart before the horse. As intellectual beings, we are more than able to negotiate without the flare of violence taking the centre of the march to peace and progress.
As humans, war and violent conflict appeal to our primordial instincts when resources are scarce. In all ages of human civilization and history, war has been present and at the forefront of society despite its negative impact. Whether it was some prehistorical humans stabbing themselves with flint spears, the Mongolian army invading Europe, or Pearl Harbour being attacked followed by two nuclear bombs being dropped in faraway Japan, war seems to be part of our story as a species.
Most humans today have experienced one form of violence or the other and find it difficult to imagine that great shifts in collective paradigms can be accomplished without the violence of war. Violence, like many other human traits, is a learned behaviour that needs quelling. Although many people believe that violence is embedded in our DNA stemming from the way our ancestors handled sexual conflict, this in my opinion is a generalization of an observation that has no bearing in modern-day science. This is also a lie that has come to live amongst us since we know that not all humans are violent in nature. And I believe we can change that narrative together.
While writing this article, I decided to think about the “costs of war” and it turned out there is a non-partisan project at Brown University named “The cost of war Project” doing just that. First, although this research is mainly tilted towards America’s war projects, they estimated that almost a million people have died in conflict on both sides of the warring parties due to direct violence while about $8 trillion has been spent post 9/11 alone for wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Syria, and elsewhere.
This means that education and development were the forgone alternatives to war and conflict. War or conflict is also recognised as a social determinant of health by epidemiologists, health and social scientists. Currently, about 110 million people have been displaced by conflict globally exposing them to sub-par living conditions such as poor access to safe drinking water, ostracization from the health grid, poor living conditions and post-traumatic stress disorder amongst other related mental health conditions. This is only the tip of the iceberg of what the costs of war look like in reality.
What can we do? Well, first, it is important to realise that there is no simple answer to this. However, doing something about it is better than doing nothing at all. We have to start from the ground up. We have to start by teaching children better conflict resolution skills as well as negotiation skills.
Addressing social injustices would also help to calm the polity and ensure that we can all start with a fresh slate and paint a better, more beautiful picture for ourselves and for the children of the next generation. This is because our very survival is hinged on being able to allow peace to thrive. It was the Director-General of WHO, Dr Tedros, who said, “there cannot be health without peace, and there cannot be peace without health”-thereby highlighting the need for both social justice and the need to create an environment for people’s social needs to be fulfilled.
In our social relationships with each other on this planet, we must always remember that; the goal of conflict is not to vanquish or even annihilate the enemy. You must be able to trust your enemy to fight fairly with you and thus make you a better person. All wars, no matter how dreadful, end with negotiations even when chaos determines a victor. What pleasure is there in the world without the companionship of even a hitherto enemy? Is violence and conflict really a practice that we can jettison to the trash box of history or will they continue to remain with us until we annihilate ourselves? Well, we must decide for ourselves or situations will make the decision for us.