Who is Going to Save our Souls?

I could never imagine women without boobs or males without penises... I mean... what would I ever look at or want to scratch? But, what I could imagine is a world without wars...

My sources tell me that there have been right at 268 wars during the last 100 years which means we are averaging almost 3 wars each year. Another one of my sources tells me that between 1900 and 1944, we conducted 167 wars and that 153 of those 167 wars took place before WWII started in 1939. There is no doubt in my mind and there should be no doubt in your minds either that the inhabitants of this world love to fight and kick each other'/s asses.

So, what does boobs and penises have to do with war... nothing really... it was just a catchy first line to catch the reader's attention... so, now that I have your attention, why do you suppose that mankind loves to fight?

And, I really mean much, much more than just fight because what it really means is that we really like to kill or be killed and since that seems to be true, why?

Wars and killing have always been how territory was acquired where “MIGHT WAS RIGHT” before the slogan of the times... but, our Christian Crusades was not about acquiring land at all, was it? It was more about killing those who believed differently than we did and this war was endorsed and sponsored by the Catholic Church and the Vatican City wherein has always lived the POPE or the religious leader who has a conduit of communications to God.

If I am not mistaken, the Bible indicates that the people of Israel who were being held captive and used as slaves by the Egyptians to break free of their captors, killing if necessary, and stealing whatever could be taken to finance future life in the “promised land.” It does not get much clearer than this where on certain and specific occasions, killing others who believe differently is justified. Of course, religious leaders of today will tell you that this direction was only sanctioned back then and because of very unique circumstances and it would not be tolerated in today's day and time.

And, I suppose that is true and no doubt that is the reason that incest was allowed when the first couple was put on earth to populate the world. And, since Jesus was the only one who was immaculately conceived, then the rest of them at the beginning had to be conceived the old fashion way as one might venture to say.

But, this article is not about incest, it is about war which, no doubt, in many people's minds is just as bad, so I will try to stay focused.

Incidentally, one of my sources, has indicated there are several reasons for these wars...

1. The Male Warrior Hypothesis
Formulated by a group of evolutionary psychologists, this hypothesis suggests that men evolved to be violent and warlike in order to secure access to women and other resources. Essentially, forming violent coalitions with fellow men was a mating strategy
2. War as Predation
Essayist Barbara Ehrenreich spent many years researching the origins of war, and determined that the male warrior hypothesis didn't exactly fit the facts. Instead, she suggests that war grows out of the ancient human fear of predatory animals.
3. The Persuasive Hawk
In debates over conflicts, there are hawks and doves, with hawks favoring forceful actions to end tensions and doves advocating negotiation. Hawks usually win because of inherent biases we all have.
4. Malthusian Overpopulation
Based on Thomas Malthus' population theories, this idea suggests simply that war is the inevitable result of an expanding population with scarce resources.
5. Youth Bulge
A popular theory right now, this idea suggests that violence and wars are the result of a large population of men with a lack of peaceful employment opportunities. The excess youth will be drawn to fighting and be killed, reducing the population.
6. Groupthink
Groupthink theory explains that during a crisis, groups — no matter how smart or well-informed — will suppress dissenting opinions because of the pressure to agree on a plan of action, leading them to make terrible decisions.
7. Bargaining Model
Perhaps, say some social scientists, war isn't a deep-seated urge that or emotional reaction that comes from our evolution. Maybe it's just a form of political maneuvering that we've developed along with civilization.
8. Terror Management
The theory suggests that humans form cultural groups such as tribes and nations because they need to believe in something that will live on after they die. We all fear our own mortality, but our cultures give us beliefs and rituals that buffer us from that fear.
9. The Aggressive Drive
Aggression is a fighting instinct that helps individuals and species survive. In animals, there are innate inhibitions against killing others of the same species, such as the display of submissive gestures.
10. War Is Learned (And Can Be Unlearned)

First proposed by anthropologist Margaret Mead in the early twentieth century, this hypothesis suggests that war is not the inevitable consequence of our competitive, aggressive nature. Rather, it is a social invention that can be unlearned.  Click on source to read more...  Source: 

I cannot imagine war ever becoming an “unlearned” concept, but what I did not see in that list of 10 was the reason why to US goes to war so often which is to protect Democracy and I would have thought that one would have been at the top of the list since we Americans sit on top of the hill that everyone is trying to climb.

Of course, I think some of the wars that America has gotten into has been to control the flow of oil and control governments so that they could indirectly control votes in the United Nations and I also think that sometimes we have engaged in wars because it really is a good profit generator for our Engineering Companies when they are sent into those devastated countries to rebuild. Although, I cannot imagine that our Christian Country would ever sanction killing and bombing so that they could make money after the fact... I mean that would be a “tad” worse than the reason for the Crusades, wouldn't it?

As I was gathering my thoughts to write this article and started doing some research on how many wars were recently fought throughout the world, I began to wonder how many wars were fought since creation... and this is really very interesting but this is what I found:

From the New York Times...

'What Every Person Should Know About War'

By CHRIS HEDGES

Published: July 6, 2003

What is a war?
War is defined as an active conflict that has claimed more than 1,000 lives.
Has the world ever been at peace?
Of the past 3,400 years, humans have been entirely at peace for 268 of them, or just 8 percent of recorded history.
How many people have died in war?
At least 108 million people were killed in wars in the twentieth century. Estimates for the total number killed in wars throughout all of human history range from 150 million to 1 billion. War has several other effects on population, including decreasing the birthrate by taking men away from their wives. The reduced birthrate during World War II is estimated to have caused a population deficit of more than 20 million people.