What is it Good for? Absolutely Nothing.

As I approached my last blog of the semester, I tried to think of something that I was passionate about that had to with war. After I ruled out the color pink in war, the Disney movie Mulan and the legend of Hua Mulan, I went to a song about war. I will focus on one of the most popular war songs. It’s not a coincidence that the name of the song is “War.”

    “War” was written by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong in 1969. It was one of the first Motown songs that made a statement. It was first sung by the Temptations. However, the song was an Anti-war song so in order for the Temptations to keep their conservative fans, Edwin Starr then sang the song and recorded it.  Starr’s version of this song was on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1970.

"War"  protested the Vietnam War. I think one of the reasons this song did so well is because so many people were so passionate about getting American soldiers out of Vietnam.The lyrics are powerful and they convey the emotional side of how much people did not want their soldiers in Vietnam. Mother's of American soldiers can relate to this song when it says, "cause it means destruction of innocent lives. War means tears to thousands of mother's eyes." 

The Americans of this time had many things about this war to be angry about. First of all, they felt the Vietnam war was a war on Communism, and they felt it was it was not our place to get involved in. They also were angry because the draft was not a random pick. Mostly lower and middle class people were forced to fight and the upper class were excused. The last reason that American’s hated this war was because this was the first war that the American’s got television coverage of. Our nation saw blood on the television, and they saw no progress being made.

What I think of when I hear this song is “War, huh. Yeah. What is it good for? Absolutely nothing.” I can just hear protesters screaming this song as they march down the road in protest of the Vietnam War. Sometimes a song can sing something that words can not say. This song is crucial in America’s history because it tells a story that a story can not tell.

Origins of War and Is War Necessary?

My English 101 theme for this semester has been war. As we as a class have traveled through the unit I have began to wonder when war started. It seems to me that it has always been around, not only in America but in countries all over the world. I decided to do more exploring of its origins. I wonder not only when it started but is there really no other way countries and states can solve their problems?

Historians do not know when the first war occurred because we have been fighting wars longer than we have been writing.  However, the first war  ever recorded was in 2700 B.C. I believe war has probably been around since the very beginning of time. I contribute this to the fact that humans had to be violent to survive. If humans were starving and food was scarce they may have chosen to massacre a village just to have food. I also think war has been around since the beginning because people want their way. I can just imagine a man wanting territory because he wants power. What does he do when he can’t have the land? Oh, just kill the people living there. No big deal he thinks… This brings me to a quote from Prussian military general Carl von Clausewitz, “War is thus an act of force to compel our enemy to do our will.”

Now that the world’s technology has grown more than we can imagine, wars are much more violent than they used to be. Is there not any other solution? Can we not just have the Olympics as a substitute for wars? On debate.org 55% of people say war is a necessary evil and 45% of people say war is not a necessary evil. What is interesting is that most people that say that war is necessary actually have a reason and the people that say war is not interesting have a reason but it is not logical. Some of the reasons people say war is necessary is for the nation’s advancement, it is the only way to bring peace and to unite, and it prepares humans to handle travesties better. The people that said war is not necessary said war costs to much money and time and that we should learn to solve our problems with love and compassion. Yes, that sounds wonderful but is this idea even feasible? 

This blog has shed some light on the subject of war for me. I would not say I am pro war but I am not sure peace could exist without war. War is upsetting and uncomfortable and honestly I am still exploring for sure what I believe. Here is a link to an interesting clip entitled War is Necessary.  Even though it is hard to see through all the deaths in war, war can bring good things. War sometimes boosts the economy but most importantly it can bring peace and solve problems.