War-What Is It and Whats Wrong with It

WAR

Go,go,GO...JUST ONE MORE GOAL AND WE BEAT THEM. We beat them by the number of goals we score. Al-falaah Vs Orient. This has been a long drawn-out game like the Palestinian/Israeli war, the only difference being that, it is not points we are talking about and there is no trophy. The points in war are human beings with families and loved ones having to endure brutality, bombings and pain.

Whose side shall we take in the tournament? After all, we feel very good about ourselves when we have a side to back. Will we pick the Palestinians-they are the underdogs, Muslims like us — or shall we pick the Jews of Israel? We would perhaps feel better if the Jews lost more men. Is this how the world looks at a conflict, as a glorified tournament?

In the tournament of war we must of course have a winning side, so get out the boxing gloves since we can never sit down and talk to each other? So the winners claim victory when the losers can fight no more. And then what? What about the civilians? Leave them to pick up the broken pieces of their lives. For some, a life after that will never be the same. What about all the loved ones they will never see again? Nothing, just nothing can replace human life. My heart aches for every picture of the victims I see in the paper. I see the pain and their eyes constantly brimming with tears, anguish and hurt. There is no winner, only a greater collection of broken hearts.   Even the soldiers of war cannot resume normal life after a bloody battle – the flashbacks of blood, blown-out limbs and wounded children haunt him forever. His psychiatrist will diagnose him with post-traumatic stress disorder and prescribe anti depressants for life.
Now, you tell me who are the winners?

God has made us humans, the highest of his creations since he gave us a brain that can reason, negotiate, communicate and engage in constructive dialogue. We have the perfect example right here in South Africa. The White man stepped down and allowed the...