[Previous entry: "Not mentioning the war"] [Next entry: "Sophie" ]
War
30 March 2003
Who was it said that violence was the last resort of the incompetent?
Actually, I have a sad & sneaky feeling that it'll turn out to be someone like Asimov (from one of the Foundation books, perhaps?). It definitely feels like it came out of that time of my life, early teenage, when I was reading nothing but SF. It sort of goes hand in hand with 'Violence never solved anything/Tell that to the city fathers of Carthage', which is the opposite sentiment and definitely Heinlein.
Incompetence does it for me, though, especially right now. I know I'm hopelessly naïve, but it still seems extraordinary to me that supposedly mature political systems can decide to solve a problem by sending their own citizens halfway round the world to fight and kill the citizens of another system. What is equally extraordinary is that they should actually believe - or pretend to believe - that that will solve the problem. Delenda est Carthago, sure, but look what happened to Rome...
© Chaz Brenchley 2003
Reproduced here by permission of Chaz Brenchley, who asserts his moral right to be identified as the author of this work.