[14] Of the angels and demons of war

“Another head hangs lowly, child is slowly taken
And the violence caused such silence
Who are we mistaken

But you see it’s not me, it’s not my family
In your head, in your head, they are fighting
With their tanks, and their bombs
And their bombs, and their guns
In your head, in your head they are cryin’
In your head, in your head, Zombie, Zombie
In your head, what’s in your head Zombie

Another mother’s breaking heart is taking over
When the violence causes silence
We must be mistaken
It’s the same old theme since 1916
In your head, in your head they’re still fightin’
With their tanks, and their bombs
And their bombs, and their guns
In your head, in your head they are dyin’

In your head, in your head, Zombie, Zombie
In your head, what’s in your head Zombie “

Listening to certain music will certainly make me think of a unwanted situation. A situation where war is everywhere; peace is nothing but a vain hope.
War is humanity greatest enemy. It kills lives unnecessarily, without mercy, without a second thought. Nevertheless, human long history has been tainted with blood. The red cold blood.

Can you imagine a child, who knows nothing of the cruel world, hugging her dead father body in the middle of a crossfire between two different group with different ideology. Both sides keep on firing; the child keeps on begging her father to wake up, hoping that her father will open his eyes and bring safety to her. She will keeps on hoping haplessly in the middle of the battlefield. The war will continue on. The firing will not stop. Never, ever.
Will you cry? Will you be indifferent? Will you be moved to run toward that child and pull her over? Will you say to yourself, “It’s too bad but I have my own life to live”? Or will you stop the war?

I myself am not very sure what I would do in that situation, seeing a child in the middle of a war. Of course, I, right now, in Minnesota, in a comfortable friend’s house, in front of a state-of-the-art laptop, knowing that I am safe here, knowing nothing of the real pain of war, will say, “Stop the war!!! For pity sake, cease firing!!!”. That’s a typical peace loving human. A peace lover will say anything but I doubt that I will ever go into the fire zone, run to the child aid, risking my precious life. In my opinion, most of the typical peace lovers will join the anti-war rally in the middle of the street but will be reluctant to join the people who are in the battle zone. I, myself included. By saying this, I’m not denying that there is somebody out there that really has the courage to fight for peace. To them, my uttermost respect.

However, isn’t fighting for peace, with M-16, Ak, etc. is an act of war itself?

In order to save the child, we send a bomb to both sides, killing all, including the child that we are going to save.

Peace, to achieve peace, we commit the crime of war. To let peace prevail, we force peace onto war. Isn’t that an act of war itself?

Maybe, right now you are thinking that I’m a person that thinks this is a world that just consists of black and white. Grey area is a non-existence. Well, in a way, I’m including the whole colors of this ironic world. Peace and war, they are two different terms describing one, single thing. Peace and war, they co-exist with each other. They are symbiotic to each other. Peace and war, they are yin and yang. Omnipresent, ominous.

In a battlefield, two sides, one is a rebel group, fighting for their state’s independence for the oppressive central power. The other is the government force, trying to preserve the integrity of the state for being torn apart by the cruel rebel. A girl, weeping in front of a dead body, innocent. The rebel, fighting for the future of their children. The government, fighting to preserve peace. The child, innocent, just wanting a peaceful life.

Will we help stop the war?

Will we help the child without any regard for our live?

Will we sit back and think who is right and who is wrong first?

There is a reason for peace. There is a reason for war but the fight is not merely between good and evil. It’s a combination of both. No sides are purely a devil, purely a saint.