Assignment 9: Clifton Grady

      War is perhaps mankind’s greatest atrocity. Over issues that could be resolved with reasonable communication and compromise, more than 100,000 lose their lives every year in a violent death resultant of war or civil disorder. The lives of countless innocent civilians are taken, and when all is said and done, the animosities which sparked the war are only further perpetuated by the fact that members of the opposing parties were killed at the hands the other’s militants. I don’t think there are many people who would agree that war is a good thing.

      But is it a necessary evil?

            

      I would say so. Despite how terrible war is, when a body is threatened by an opposing force, military action is absolutely necessary to ensure the peace and safety of that body. Without war as we know it, a lack of preparation could lead to a militant force marching through a country at any given moment, committing mass genocide of their people and conquering without any force to stop them. Countries have the responsibility of going to war when their safety is threatened. The alternative, of course, would be for everyone to act civilly and discuss world issues without the need for violence, but in a world where the push of a button could initiate a nuclear holocaust, wars are, ironically, necessary to maintain peace.