Who Suffers Most in Wars?

United States
March 30, 2016 8:15am CST
It's a fair question, no? Who suffers most in wars? Do the rulers suffer most? Not these days. They declare war, but you don't hear of them dying during one of their wars. Do the soldiers suffer most? No, not really. Some of them suffer and die, yes, but then they have agreed to participate, if not openly willingly, when they go to wherever they are to go and pick up a weapon. Is it not the women and children and older people? Most of them do not want war at all. They either detest it or are unaware of it. Yet they are all too often the victims of it. And, although sometimes a war is interpreted as a good-bad confrontation, the so-called good nation engages in the very same thing. Think not? Think Hiroshima and think Nagasaki. Think atomic bombs. But didn't they end the war? Yes. But who paid the price?
4 people like this
7 responses
@bobbyjoe143 (1287)
30 Mar 16
The average person is to me the victim of war, men, women and children that have no wish to be in conflict. Those that are happy to get on in their daily lives, those that have no wish or need for power struggles. Of course leaders and politicians have little to lose by declaring war, they get to sit and direct their armies from the comforts of their armchairs, never actually seeing first hand the effects of their directives. And of course those fighting suffer badly too, while many joined their armies, navies and air forces willingly, no amount of training can prepare for the horrors of actually having to kill or be killed.
4 people like this
• United States
30 Mar 16
I have to think it's the children who suffer most - they don't understand fully the intricacies of what is going on and they stand to lose fathers, mothers, brothers and sisters, or their own innocent lives while growing up in fear. And I do think the elderly are also suffering too - they already worked their whole lives and now have to entertain worries about their children as well as not being able to retire in peace that they and their families are safe. This is not to say that those engaged in battle do not suffer because of course they do - witnessing acts of atrocities on other human beings and being a part of it, the only thing in their favor is that they might feel they have a purpose while children and elders have to watch helplessly. It makes me think of how horrible it is to feel helpless - like I've always thought I would much rather have a devastating disease myself than watch a loved one suffer with it. In the end, I think we all suffer because war can erroneously create heroes out of villains and feelings of superiority and we forget that we are all the same human race.
3 people like this
@PapaBits (622)
• Philippines
30 Mar 16
I agree. They say that the children are our future but thats not gonna happen if they keep on harassing and instilling fear on their mind. The government is to be blamed for this.
2 people like this
• United States
30 Mar 16
As you point out, there are not "races" of man at all. There is only the one race. Language, geography, and gene pool all contributed to the physical differences we see today. In all major ways, we can marry, interbreed, and have kids.
3 people like this
• United States
30 Mar 16
@KuznVinny Exactly. That's why I always refer to us as a human race, a small reminder to even myself that we are all equally precious.
1 person likes this
• Calgary, Alberta
30 Mar 16
I remember an old quote, I dont remember who said it but it is still very clear to me. "there is no winner on any war, everyone are losers"
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@Shavkat (140170)
• Philippines
30 Mar 16
It is obviously the innocent people will suffer from such war. It had happened from the past and the remnants are still can be seen in the countries affected.
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@DWDavis (25805)
• United States
30 Mar 16
You are right that it is the survivors who suffer the most. Those women and children who sent their men off to die and huddled in basements and caves as the bullets flew and bombs burst. They are the ones who suffer the true deprivations and horrors of war. While the atomic bombs were horrific, most honest analysis shows they saved many times more Japanese lives than they took. The expected casualties among the Japanese population had an invasion of the islands been necessary to end the war numbered in the millions. Not to mention the hundreds of thousand of American and Allied soldiers who would have become casualties when every Japanese man, woman, and child able to walk and carry a rifle or grenade would have been potential combatants.
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@DWDavis (25805)
• United States
30 Mar 16
@KuznVinny Well met, my friend. Indeed, the least form of violence necessary for defense is the only appropriate amount.
1 person likes this
• United States
30 Mar 16
You are quite right. This is the logic. Yet, however it is measured, man's wars are wrong. And lives are not all equal. For instance, if a murderer is spared, is it sufficient to execute an innocent person? But, with the exception of criminal execution, it is not the right of humans to kill other humans. It's as Jesus said, at Matthew 26:52 - “Return your sword to its place, for all those who take up the sword will perish by the sword."
1 person likes this
• United States
30 Mar 16
@DWDavis Very nice response. And you're correct about the not murdering part. Self-defense is not an acceptable argument in general, however, as one needn't kill the other fellow to avoid being murdered. And how is it self-defense to go to another country carrying weapons to kill? But there is more to this picture. The one behind all man-made wars, egging them on, is none other than Satan. In Jesus' and the apostles' day, Christians did not go to war. While we can defend ourselves, bloodguilt is to be avoided.
2 people like this
@JohnRoberts (109846)
• Los Angeles, California
30 Mar 16
Civilians for sure. Also families of those in service who bear the suffering of them dying or being wounded.
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@IreneVincent (15962)
• United States
6 Dec 16
My heart cries for the innocent ones who die in war. Did you happen to read my poem about it? I posted it a few weeks ago. Some men are drafted into the army and don't want to be a part of it, but feel they have no choice. There are also many conscientious objectors who go to prison instead of going to war. Right now there are over 700 conscientious objectors in South Korea and many others in various countries.