What’s So Civil About War Anyway?

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E x t e n d e d R e a c h P r o d u c t i o n s

p r e s e n t s . . .

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What we’ve got here is…failure to communicate.

Strother Martin, Cool Hand Luke

Some men, you just can’t reach. 

So, you get what we had here, last week.

Which is the way he wants it

well, he gets it.

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What’s so civil about war, anyways?

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Look at your young men fighting

Look at your women crying

Look at your young men dying

What difference does it make to the dead, the orphans and the homeless, whether the mad destruction is wrought under the name of totalitarianism or in the holy name of liberty or democracy?

Mahatma Gandhi

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Look at the hate we’re breeding

Look at the fear we’re feeding

Look at the lives we’re leading

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The Way We’ve Always Done Before

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From Britannica.com:

• Trojan War (dates uncertain)
• First Messenian War (c. 735–715 BCE)
• Lelantine War (c. 720–680 BCE; dates uncertain)
• Second Messenian War (c. 660 BCE)
• Greco-Persian Wars (492–449 BCE)
• Peloponnesian War (431–404 BCE)
• Lamian War (323–322 BCE)
• First Punic War (264–241 BCE)
• Second Punic War (218–201 BCE)
• Third Punic War (149–146 BCE)
• Gallic Wars (58–50 BCE)
• Jinshin-no-ran (672)
• Norman Conquest (1066)
• Crusades (1095–1291; sporadically thereafter)
• Gempei War (1180–85)
• Barons’ War (1264–67)
• Hundred Years’ War (c. 1337–1453)
• War of the Eight Saints (1375–78)
• Thirteen Years’ War (1454–66)
• Wars of the Roses (1455–85)
• Ōnin War (1467–77)
• Count’s War (1534–36)
• Araucanian Wars (1541–58)
• Livonian War (1558–83)
• Eighty Years’ War (1568–1648)
• War of the Three Henrys (1587–89)
• Kalmar War (1611–13)
• Thirty Years’ War (1618–48)
• Powhatan War (1622–44)
• Bishops’ Wars (1639; 1640)
• English Civil Wars (1642–51)
• First Northern War (1655–60)
• War of Devolution (1667–68)
• King Philip’s War (1675–76)
• War of the Grand Alliance (1689–97)
• King William’s War (1689–97)
• Second Northern War (1700–21)
• War of the Spanish Succession (1701–14)
• War of the Emboabas (1708–09)
• Carnatic Wars (1746–48; 1749–54; 1758–63)
• Queen Anne’s War (1702–13)
• Yamasee War (1715–16)
• War of the Polish Succession (1733–38)
• War of Jenkins’ Ear (1739–48)
• War of the Austrian Succession (1740–48)
• King George’s War (1744–48)
• French and Indian War (1754–63)
• Silesian Wars (1740–42; 1744–45; 1756–62)
• Seven Years’ War (1756–63)
• Lord Dunmore’s War (1774)
• Rohilla War (1774)
• American Revolution (1775–83)
• First Maratha War (1775–82)
• War of the Bavarian Succession (1778–79)
• Cape Frontier Wars (1779–1879)
• French Revolution (1787–99)
• French revolutionary wars (1792–1801)
• Cape Frontier Wars (1779–1879)
• French revolutionary wars (1792–1801)
• War of the Oranges (1801)
• Tripolitan War (1801–05)
• Second Maratha War (1803–05)
• Third Maratha War (1817–18)
• Napoleonic Wars (1803–15)
• Black War (1804–30)
• Peninsular War (1808–14)
• War of 1812 (1812–15)
• Creek War (1813–14)
• War of Greek Independence (1821–32)
• Padri War (1821–37)
• Naning War (1831–32)
• Pastry War (1838–39)
• Mexican-American War (1846–48)
• Crimean War (1853–56)
• Bleeding Kansas (1854–59)
• American Civil War (1861–65)
• War of the Triple Alliance (1864/65–70)
• Seven Weeks’ War (1866)
• Selangor Civil War (1867–73)
• Franco-German War (1870–71)
• Acehnese War (1873–1904)
• Red River Indian War (1874–75)
• Serbo-Turkish War (1876–78)
• Anglo-Zulu War (1879)
• War of the Pacific (1879–83)
• Gun War (1880–81)
• Sino-French War (1883–85)
• Serbo-Bulgarian War (1885–86)
• Sino-Japanese War (1894–95)
• Spanish-American War (1898)
• Philippine-American War (1899–1902)
• South African War (1899–1902)
• The War of a Thousand Days (1899–1903)
• Acehnese War (1873–1904)
• Philippine-American War (1899–1902)
• South African War (1899–1902)
• The War of a Thousand Days (1899–1903)
• Boxer Rebellion (1900–01)
• Moro Wars (1901–13)
• Russo-Japanese War (1904–05)
• Pig War (1906–09)
• Mexican Revolution (1910–20)
• Italo-Turkish War (1911–12)
• World War I (1914–18)
• Baltic War of Liberation (1918–20)
• Russian Civil War (1918–20)
• Russo-Polish War (1919–20)
• Rif War (1921–26)
• Chaco War (1932–35)
• Italo-Ethiopian War (1935–36)
• Spanish Civil War (1936–39)
• Sino-Japanese War (1937–45)
• Phony War (1939–40; no actual hostilities)
• Russo-Finnish War (1939–40)
• World War II (1939–45)
• Greek Civil War (1944–45; 1946–49)
• Arab-Israeli wars (1948–49; 1956; 1967; 1973; 1982)
• Korean War (1950–53)
• Algerian War (1954–62)
• Vietnam War (1954–75)
• Six-Day War (1967)
• War of Attrition (1969–70)
• Yom Kippur War (1973)
• Dirty War (1976–83)
• Afghan War (1978–92)
• Iran-Iraq War (1980–88)
• Falkland Islands War (1982)
• Persian Gulf War (1990–91)
• Bosnian conflict (1992–95)
• Kosovo conflict (1998–99)
• Cape Frontier Wars (1779–1879)
• French revolutionary wars (1792–1801)
• War of the Oranges (1801)
• Tripolitan War (1801–05)
• Second Maratha War (1803–05)
• Third Maratha War (1817–18)
• Napoleonic Wars (1803–15)
• Black War (1804–30)
• Peninsular War (1808–14)
• War of 1812 (1812–15)
• Creek War (1813–14)
• War of Greek Independence (1821–32)
• Padri War (1821–37)
• Naning War (1831–32)
• Pastry War (1838–39)
• Mexican-American War (1846–48)
• Crimean War (1853–56)
• Bleeding Kansas (1854–59)
• American Civil War (1861–65)
• War of the Triple Alliance (1864/65–70)
• Seven Weeks’ War (1866)
• Selangor Civil War (1867–73)
• Franco-German War (1870–71)
• Acehnese War (1873–1904)
• Red River Indian War (1874–75)
• Serbo-Turkish War (1876–78)
• Anglo-Zulu War (1879)
• War of the Pacific (1879–83)
• Gun War (1880–81)
• Sino-French War (1883–85)
• Serbo-Bulgarian War (1885–86)
• Sino-Japanese War (1894–95)
• Spanish-American War (1898)
• Philippine-American War (1899–1902)
• South African War (1899–1902)
• The War of a Thousand Days (1899–1903)
• Acehnese War (1873–1904)
• Philippine-American War (1899–1902)
• South African War (1899–1902)
• The War of a Thousand Days (1899–1903)
• Boxer Rebellion (1900–01)
• Moro Wars (1901–13)
• Russo-Japanese War (1904–05)
• Pig War (1906–09)
• Mexican Revolution (1910–20)
• Italo-Turkish War (1911–12)
• World War I (1914–18)
• Baltic War of Liberation (1918–20)
• Russian Civil War (1918–20)
• Russo-Polish War (1919–20)
• Rif War (1921–26)
• Chaco War (1932–35)
• Italo-Ethiopian War (1935–36)
• Spanish Civil War (1936–39)
• Sino-Japanese War (1937–45)
• Phony War (1939–40; no actual hostilities)
• Russo-Finnish War (1939–40)
• World War II (1939–45)
• Greek Civil War (1944–45; 1946–49)
• Arab-Israeli wars (1948–49; 1956; 1967; 1973; 1982)
• Korean War (1950–53)
• Algerian War (1954–62)
• Vietnam War (1954–75)
• Six-Day War (1967)
• War of Attrition (1969–70)
• Yom Kippur War (1973)
• Dirty War (1976–83)
• Afghan War (1978–92)
• Iran-Iraq War (1980–88)
• Falkland Islands War (1982)
• Persian Gulf War (1990–91)
• Bosnian conflict (1992–95)
• Kosovo conflict (1998–99)
• Afghanistan War (2001–14)
• Iraq War (2003–11)
• Syrian Civil War (2012– )

Did I miss any?

While that is an extensive list I’m sure more than a few were left out. If you know of any then please, feel free to let me know. After all, we are searching for the truth. History has a way of letting events fade into the fog of uncertainty while others are given the spotlight and a promise of eternity.

What I’m wondering is who’s holding the spotlight?

And whether we need to make an adjustment.

And history hides the lies of our civil wars

Without doing a deep dive into any event in particular, my biggest takeaway from that list was that we Humans have been at war for a long time. War has paved the way for Humanity to release their primal instincts and tear down our future’s past revealing our present state. War is an ill effect of mankind accompanied with symptoms of death, destruction and demise. We, as a species, need to take a step back and reevaluate what we are doing. And work together for a better future.

Fast forward to 2022. Ukraine’s still fighting for their freedom. The world watches but hesitates to aid them. And Russia continues to advance.

Taiwan waits in silence. China watches the progress. The world holds their breath in protest and I continue to digress.

What can we do?

First, education must be key. We must teach one another about life, compassion and the perils of war. We must enlighten ourselves to more efficient means of altering the streamline than picking up a weapon of choice and bludgeoning our enemy. Shouldn’t peace have a chance? Shouldn’t we find a way to work together towards common goals? With different cultures and beliefs I can understand the obstacles however we should take advantage of the fact that we still have time to make a difference. Right now, our biggest obstacle is ourselves. While novel viruses have managed to distract us, we still continue to let our primitive thinking to take over.

It’s almost as if Humankind needs a common enemy.

Pray tell we don’t get that anytime soon. While we’re fighting amongst ourselves we still have an opportunity to change. Given a common threat that pushes us from the top of the chain would be catastrophic.

We don’t have that yet, but we will. It’s only a matter of time before someone responds to our inter-galactic air drop of the movie “The Day The Earth Stood Still” beamed out to local residents of Alpha Centauri in December of 2008.

Maybe they’ll just stand on the corner of the intersection of Woodhaven Boulevard and Jamaica Avenue in the Woodhaven section of Queens to protest our portrayal of other beings visiting Earth.

Or maybe they’ll blast us from the heavens and take care of all of our differences. Either way, know that there are greater things at stake and we need to figure out our differences fast.

What Can You Do To Make A Difference?

M3g@Tr0n