War Essay, Research Paper
"The 20th century has been dominated by the machine gun,
the tank, the B-52 bomber, the nuclear bomb and, finally,
the missile. It has been distinguished by the bloodiest and
most destructive wars than those of any other time." So
said History professor Hugh Thomas and he certainly knew
what he was talking about. Since the beginning of the
century, men have been at war for different reasons that to
me do not justify the aftermath of war. Negative effects on
soldiers, suffering children and affected countries are part
of the aftermath that makes war a horrible and unfair thing.
All the soldiers involved actively in any war come home
with negative effects. The mental health of these men is
affected because of the strains, tensions and the "kill or be
killed" mentality of the battlefield. Many of them have
physical ailments as a result of the injuries received in battle
or the exposure to biological weapons that tamper with the
many systems of the body. The quality of their family life
suffers because they have been scared mentally,
emotionally and physically; therefore their behavior will not
be the same and that affects family life significantly.
Another aftermath of war is the suffering children. Many of
them experience the painful loss of family members such as
their parents, grand parents, and
sometimes leaves them alone in a harsh world. In addition,
the physical health of the children is affected because of
injuries, lack of food and medical care. All of this leads to
emotional problems that can conflict with the children?s
development and future well being.
Finally, war can leave lasting repercussions on the countries
that are involved in it. Due to contamination by biological
weapons, insufficiency of food, or the bad administration of
it, hunger appears and people become desperate. In
addition to this, the economy of the countries involved is
affected because of the great quantities of money being
used for armaments and defense. The effect of this can be
long lasting. With all of this comes an increase in disease as
a consequence of the biological weapons, the lack of
money for medicines, the destruction of vital buildings such
as hospitals and the contamination of the water.
The negative effects on soldiers, the suffering children, and
the affected countries are only part of the aftermath that
makes war a truly horrible and unfair thing. Over time, we
have seen that war only brings negative effects to the well
being of humanity. That is why we must learn from our
mistakes, so we do not repeat them. When people start to
have love and compassion for each other that is when the
change will come.