I believe In an end to conflict

“When it comes right down to it, all a man has in life is his values”

-Harry Morgan

I thought I’d start this essay of with one of my favorite Quotes. No matter how many possessions a person has, the only thing that is really theirs is what they believe. That may be one of the most important things in life, because your beliefs dictate not only your thoughts, but your actions. Your actions are what people remember you by.

For me, beliefs have been grown and cultivated throughout life using what I see and hear, basically my experiences. I do not just let people tell me what is wrong and right, I need a reason. My beliefs are my own, nobody else’s.

My actual beliefs have been learned not only by doing, but by learning. History has always fascinated me, and seeing the way things have been before has given me insight into what I would like to see in the future.

Many people ask me, “Why do you like war so much?” judging my appearance, drawings and choices in literature. I reply “A love of War would be a love of hatred amongst people, a love of bloodshed and terror, and it would be completely against my values to support such actions”. I love and support my country and its armed forces. I hate war. I can’t see the images of legless, maimed, and killed soldiers that come from every single battlefield, of the destroyed houses, cities and families that were created by war, and think that humans did that to each other. We are one species, separated only by geography, but we are so consumed by ourselves and our own wants and needs that we forget about those of others.

So why do I read and draw the things I seem to hate so much? Well, I do this to try to find some bit of sense, some reason for it all. I just can’t believe that humans would kill each other in such great numbers over a border or a religion. I believe we should honor and respect one another and just live and let live. Unfortunately, peace is more of a concept than a state of being, because somewhere in the world people are always dying or killing in one meaningless dispute or another. The sad thing is, it’s over topics that should only be the business of the individuals themselves.

I value human life, respect, honor and tradition. My mom’s family is made up of service men and women, all having fought for and defended our country. That is honorable. The United States does not start wars, but we almost always finish them. We followed the rules and fought and lived honorably no matter what. Some conspiracy theorists may disagree with my view of this country and its people, but I am not one to go by the word of others without concrete evidence.

As I started this essay with a quote, it seems only fitting that I end it the same way:

“What we learn from history is that we learn nothing from History”

-George Bernard Shaw