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The enemy has no problem killing you exactly for the same reason that you have no problem killing the enemy. If these kids didn't listen (weren't forced by the
by codeshaman 11y ago
The enemy has no problem killing you exactly for the same reason that you have no problem killing the enemy.
If these kids didn't listen (weren't forced by the State to listen) to older men telling them horror stories about the 'enemy', they would just hang out, drink and party together.
Anyway, it's impossible and inappropriate to explain this on HackerNews.
Above all, War is an infectious mental disease and we need to vaccinate ourselves from it if we don't want to get infected by it in the future.
It occurs primarily in our minds and then it manifests in destruction and bloodshed.
That's why I recommended Tolstoy's book. He does a much better job than I at explaining it.
- JoeAltmaier 11y agoIts prisoner's dilemma. If all nations would only read this book or that, then voila the world is a better place. But the first one to read and adopt (No more war!) is the first to be victimized. Its not a disease; its game theory. Tragic, tragic game theory.
- 0xdeadbeefbabe 11y agoAlso called the human predicament.
- lbaskin 11y ago> "If these kids didn't listen (weren't forced by the State to listen) to older men telling them horror stories about the 'enemy', they would just hang out, drink and party together." I'm sorry, but that shows a complete misunderstanding of human nature. It's the same kind of "everyone is the same and wants exactly the same things as we do" attitude that led to the belief that we need to bring democracy to the Middle East, leading to the Arab (nuclear?) Winter there is now. People fight wars. Always have and always will. And they don't stay out of wars in order to drink and party together - they stay out when the perceived costs are greater than the perceived benefits.