Here’s what Code Pink and Pope Leo get wrong about war |
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Here’s what Code Pink and Pope Leo get wrong about war
Countless protest signs have informed us over the years that “war is not the answer.”
We hear this message, with varying levels of sophistication and differing underlying worldviews, from institutions and people ranging from Code Pink to Pope Leo.
“War does not solve problems,” the pontiff said in an Angelus address last year.
“On the contrary, it amplifies them and causes deep wounds in the history of peoples — wounds that take generations to heal.”
Now, there are many things that can be said about the tragedy of warfare without crediting the blatantly ahistorical cliche that it is never the answer.
Or that it doesn’t solve disputed questions, often with a terrible finality.
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Warfare can determine international boundaries and the nature of governments.
It can decide who will rule and who will not.
The relative power of states, the extent of religious faiths, and the status of a culture can depend on it.
Wars might be pointless, or fought for prestige, revenge or........