Is war really a joke?

[Cooliegirly]

I wrote this. It's not a TOEFL-style essay but all critiques will be appreciated:

War Is a Joke

There is a famous saying, “War doesn’t determine who is right, but who is left.” People fight for liberty, for freedom, for dignity, but at the end, nothing is more important than being able to live. Nobody considers themselves evil, the dark force is always on the other side. Liberation, on the enemy’s side, is called occupation. Preparing for defense, on the enemy’s side, is called a sign of offense. A war then starts. We fight for a people we never met, they fight against foreign invasion. The war goes on. People are dying. Finally, we win, they surrender. But look, the people we used our life to liberate, are all dead.

[Lucien_Librarian]

"We fight for a people we never met, they fight against foreign invation" Rather "We fight a people we never met, they fight against foreign invasion".

Otherwise it's fine and -being a pacifist myself, I agree with those notions.

[Cooliegirly]

But I didn't mean we fight a people we never met, I meant we fight for a people we never met like during Korean War, American arm forces fought for South Koreans (against North Koreans) who were a people they never met.

[Lucien_Librarian]

I understand..The wording was a little ambivalent (both interpretations were possible), though. It's "armed forces" btw.

[Cornelius]

I think there's what they call pyrrhic victory.. wherein a party won but most of its members were dead...

[Prezbucky]

Maybe the key to identifying the "bad guy" in any war is to single out the side that's targeting civilians.

Beyond that, it's all about perspective.

All else being equal, I tend to side with the ones fighting for freedom. (US/peaceful Iraqis now; South Vietnam in the 1960s/early '70s; South Korea in the early 1950s; the colonies in the US Revolutionary War; etc.)
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Billie Jean is not my lover. Hee.

[Cooliegirly]

[Lucien_Librarian]

It's okay to say it as you did "We fight for a people we never met, they fight against foreign invasion", but I'd suggest to embed that sentence into a more precise context. The examples citing the Korean War asf. should suffice.

[Jamie (K)]

Don't you think it's a virtue to fight for people you've never met? Think of what would have happened to the Jews still alive in the concentration camps at the end of World War II, if strangers hadn't fought for them. What about the American Flying Tigers who joined the Chinese air force to try to stop the Japanese? Should they have waited until they'd met and shaken hands with every person in China?

[Jamie (K)]

[Prezbucky]

I'm glad you checked out the Iron Curtain to confirm how sucky the Soviet Way was/is... so that when I say it, your personal experience backs it up.


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Billie Jean is not my lover. Hee.

[Che Gevara]

Cooliegirly
We don't fight for people We've never met, We fight for freedom , for peace ,for idea…
I've seen war, this is awful and I really love peace, but there can be asituations, when every man has to fight for he's Country..
If my ancestors though like you , my Country-Georgia could be a part of Russia ,or some other big Countries..
There are 2 territories Abxazia and South Osetia (both parts of Georgia) ,but temporarily Our government can't control them, cause Russians, Chechens, Armenians and other hired murderers helped them 10 years ago..
Now We're now strong ,We don't want war, We want to be friends with them and live together, but they not...
So I think We'll have to fight these regions back...
I've never been there before (Abxazia and South Osetia) but If the war starts ,I will go and every man will go..
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Bombing for peace is like f.. for virginity

[Prezbucky]

that sucks, Che

Were those people persecuted previously? Is that why they're acting up?

At any rate, you can't do better than to treat people well to help bring them back to your side, to live in peace.
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Billie Jean is not my lover. Hee.

[Ahmadov]

[Che Gevara]