In war, the winners lose more than the losers

Fazeel, quoting a friend, wrote:> There is no glory in war, or in death.....
> if we think the "enemy" is as "human" as we are....we might developan abhorence to war...one of the first things propagandists do in war or near war is dehumanize the enemy....
> ... let us teach our children that we should judge a man "by the content of his character, rather than the colour of his skin"...
> I am sorry if my message seems out of touch with reality and naive....I think the naive should not become extinct...

I think that most people in the world believe this way. That is what makes 'Turning It Around' such an important movement for change.

When we think of war, especially of past wars, we tend to think of the men and women who made "the ultimate sacrifice," by giving their lives. What a shame that we miss the greater tragedy of war.

At the end of a war, the "losing" side harbours a bitterness at its loss. But it prepares to rebuild, to reform itself as a significant influence in the world. The "winning" side savours its victory.

The winning side had more powerful guns and more devastating bombs. It also turned more of its people into killing machines who have little regard for the lives of others who are not like them. These people become the breeding ground for hate, for abuse of drugs and spouses, for crime involving the use of weapons and for mental illness because they cannot re-adjust to a society at peace.

Modern militaries go to great expense to turn their people into killing machines. They spend nothing or almost nothing on changing them back to law-abiding, well adjusted citizens. Instead, they turn killers they have created loose into communities across their country.

The losing side in a war suffers deprivation and damage to the bodies of its people. The winning side suffers harm to the minds of its own people.

War is, ultimately, self-destructive.

Please feel free to pass this message along to others who might benefit from reading it. We can, together, turn it around.

For more information about how to do this, see www.billallin.com

Bill Allin
'Turning It Around: Causes and Cures for Today's Epidemic Social Problems'
www.billallin.com
http://tiabuilder.blogspot.com
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/turningitaround