All Wars Are Not Wrong Term Paper
- Length: 6 pages
- Subject: Drama - World
- Type: Term Paper
- Paper: #66884346
- Related Topic: Toulmin Argument, Iranian Revolution, Korean War
Excerpt from Term Paper :
deteriorating effects of wars. The line of reasoning follows the commonly used Taulmin's Model. The Works Cited four sources in MLA format.All wars are not wrong?
The world that we live in is estimated to have the age of 5000 years plus. All wars throughout the history of the world have ended in terrible devastation and extensive destruction in terms of economic, social and political repercussions for the countries and their people (Sullivan- Wiley & Eisentein) [Sullivan-Wiley K. & Eisentein J. How are the effects of World War I similar to the effects of World War II. Retrieved February 08, 2003 at http://www.pomperaug.com/bass/a_block/kirajess/kirajess.html]
Different wars led to different end results. In some cases, the economies crashed such as the Great Depression in the United States of America after the World War 1 which reduced the value of the currency to mere its paper, cost of living escalated beyond human imagination, millions of people lost their jobs and millions could not enter the job market, the whole structure of trade and industry fell apart, private and public investment became shy and there was doom and gloom all around for the American people (Why World War II?) [
Why World War II?. Last updated 29 Dec. 1999. The History Ring. 2 Mar. 2000]. On the other hand, some wars resulted in massive uprisings, mass destruction of property, indiscriminate killings of people, uprooting of the power base, widespread lawlessness through revolutions like the French Revolution, the Chinese Revolution and the Russian Revolution and most recently the Iranian Revolution. These revolutions have had far reaching repercussions for the countries in which these revolutions erupted as well as for the entire regions and the world at large. French Revolution over-turned the centuries-old monarchy and brought in republic governments which in turn changed in quick succession until the end of the Second World War (Koeller). The period between the end of monarchy and the establishment of stable republic government in France is a witness to the loss of French colonies. The Chinese Revolution turned around the people from a capitalistic economic system to socialist economic system under a new political system of communism expounded by Marx (Why World War II?). The Chinese Revolution in turn created a major rift between China and the United States in particular and the West in general. The Chinese socialist economic and communist political systems were never acceptable to the United States and the West which had totally different economic and political systems based on laissez-faire economies and democratic governments (Why World War II?). The Russian Revolution saw the fall of the centuries -old monarchy and birth of socialism and communism like the China. The United States of America and the West could not reconcile with the socialist economic and communist political system of Russia. As a result, two super powers emerged on the map of the world, namely, the United Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) on the one hand and the United State of America on the other. Both the super powers diverted their economic and human resources to the building of military might and spent billions of dollars every year on amassing war weapons of mass destruction (Why World War II?). Ultimately, the Soviet Union collapsed and independent Central Asian Republics emerged in the 90's. Likewise, the most recent Iranian Revolution overthrew the monarchy and instituted theocracy in the country. The change of guards in Iran became unacceptable to the United States and the West as well as Arabs for the free world termed Iran as a major threat to peace and tranquility in the Arabian Peninsula and the Gulf Region. That hostile attitude between the free world and Iran continues to date and does not seem to have a solution in the foreseeable future. Some wars simply ended in turmoil and chaos (Sullivan- Wiley & Eisentein), sometimes not even resolving the conflict at hand like the several
Arab-Israel Wars, Iran-Iraq War of the 80's and the Gulf War of the 90's though these wars were confined to a few countries and the world at large was saved from their devastating effects. Look at the several Arab-Israel wars fought over a period of forty plus years without resolving the burning issue of the establishment of the State of Palestine. Billions of dollars have gone into war machinery, hundreds of thousands have died and economies of the Arab world have enormously been hit. The Arab-Israel conflict remains ripe till to date. Similarly, the Iran-Iraq war led to no gains for either country. In fact, tremendous loss of human lives and financial resources put both the countries under severe economic pressures with long lasting effects. The brewing conflict still horrifies both the nations and a war can erupt at any time with further destruction in both the countries. The Gulf War involving Iraq, Kuwait, USA, Britain and France freed Kuwait from the occupation of Iraqi forces but the conflict between Iraq and the U.S.A. remains unresolved till to date. Yet another round of war between the U.S.A. And Iraq appears to be on the anvil. Wars are not necessarily the solution of conflicts; they are rather the causes of new conflicts.
World Wars One and Two were fought among a few countries as the rival foes but the results were most devastating and unimaginable in the recorded history. The First World War lasted from 1914 to 1918 (Koeller).
Koeller D. The World Wars: 1900- 1989. Retrieved February 08, 2003 from: http://campus.northpark.edu/history/WebChron/World/WorldWars.html]
The Second World War was fought between two power blocks, namely, the Japan, Germany and Italy in one block and USA, Great Britain and France in the other and it lasted from 1931 to 1945 (Koeller). Each of the two world wars led to the deaths of over 10 million people across the world (Sullivan-Wiley & Eisentien)
Sullivan-Wiley K. & Eisentein J. How are the effects of World War I similar to the effects of World War II. Retrieved February 08, 2003 at http://www.pomperaug.com/bass/a_block/kirajess/kirajess.html]
Let us have a look at the aftermath of the Second World War. Japan was subdued with two atomic bomb attacks on its cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It was for the first time in history that a nation was subjected to atomic bomb attacks (Why World War II?). Millions of people were killed, injured and crippled and several generations of Japanese people had to suffer mental retardation and physical incapacity as a result of the inhuman radiation effects of the nuclear bombs (Why world War II?). The economy of Japan was completely shattered and it took Japan several decades to make up for the economic losses it suffered during the Second World War. However, the human sufferings could not be compensated by any stretch of economic prosperity. Each war brought in new ideologies, political systems, economic philosophies and foreign policies, which transformed the post-war world (Why World War II?). At the end of the day, we can safely say that each world war provided an environment ripe for breeding of conflict for the next war as well as armed conflicts in the ensuing period like the Korean War and the Vietnam War after the end of the Second World War. The world as it stands today may have under pinnings of a Third World War at any point of time in the future. So, it is fairly correct to state that all wars are wrong. Why some countries or nations feel proud of the wars they fought and do not believe all wars are wrong are basically shortsighted, selfish and narrow minded. They probably see the world as it exists today and have forgotten or do not know how the present day countries and nations emerged, how much their older generations suffered and how much economic, political and social power they lost. Take for example the case of Germany. Its land and resources were divided, two countries called East and West Germany were carved out under two totally opposite economic and political systems and its people were separated between the borders of two independent countries after the Second World War (Why World War II?). It took West Germany several decades of immense economic activity and political drives to put the nation back on its feet and to ultimately share the fruit of their economic prosperity with their brethren in East Germany. Both the countries finally united more at the cost of West Germany for East Germany did not have much economic resources. However, there can be no compensation for decades long separation of German families living across the border (Why World War II?). The other country to witness a similar division of land, resources and people was Korea split into North Korea and South Korea and each country adopted practically opposite economic and political systems. Korean people had to face a similar fate like the Germans. The Korean families lived in separation for decades across the borders of two independent countries. We may thus be right in claiming that those who say all…
