Who in this world truly hates war more than any other? It is certainly not the politician making promises of peace. It is also, surprisingly, not the honest activist spreading messages of peace and desperately protesting for the same. It is most likely the war-battered soldier, spending most his life experiencing the true wretchedness of war. It is also the family of the soldier, forceful bystanders in the impacts of war, prepared to have their lives permanently torn apart every moment. The soldier, even in times of supposed ‘peace’, spends his life away from the most basic of human necessities, and is constantly required to present himself to life threatening situations. During active war, this drastically worsens – the soldier spends each day believing or even knowing it may be his last, all while seeing his brothers succumb to death or worse.
The fortunate soldier returns from war to his family, mentally scarred forevermore and incapable of re-integrating into society, isolated from those who truly understand his experiences. The immortal soldier returns to his broken family in spirit, proud of having spent his last breath protecting his millions of nameless siblings, but torn and helpless seeing his dearest family fall into endless struggle without him. The unfortunate soldier never returns at all, not in body or spirit. His body is sometimes returned in half, his sacrifice rewarded by exile from society into a lonely recess of some institution, and his soul shattered beyond repair. Sometimes his breathing body may be claimed by the enemy, cursing the rest of its existence into an endless cycle of repeated deaths, barring even the soul from escaping to its humble homelands.
The horrors of war are extreme, and none feel this more strongly than the soldiers experiencing them at the front lines. Then, why do they fight? Just why do they condone something they suffer from in such permanent ways? It is simply because that terrible option is often the best their society is presented with. When a society’s basic freedom and rights are under attack, the only options are surrendering the identity and lives of the many, towards an endless oppression spanning generations… or surrendering every breath, every sinew and every thought of a few, to preserve the rest. The soldier volunteers to be one of the sacrificial few, for he knows that while war is the worst possible option one can choose… it is better than having no option at all.