A THOUGHT FOR NOW -THE IRONY OF MAKING WEAPONS OF WAR AS A WAY OF LIVING!

So, how ironic is it that an industry, the sole purpose of which is to ensure death and the threat of it, should exist as a major part of any country's industrial and economic livelihood? Is this not giving legitimacy to the act of killing, and killing on a mass scale? Should we even seek to apply the question of morality to this industry, and use it to analyse the 'rights or wrongs' of such an industry?

After all, the creation of 'the arms industry' is not a new one. We could argue that it has always been around since us humans evolved to walk on two feet, instead of 4, and graduated from using our flint knives, axes, spears, tomahawks and bow and arrows to kill animals to feed our families, to using them to attack and make war on other tribes who invaded the lands we occupied, or whose lands we want to occupy.

According to the Christian Bible, Cain was responsible for having slain his brother, Abel, apparently because of jealousy over the fact that god preferred his his offering and disrespected Cain's earthly offering. From this, we might perceive jealousy, disrespect, shame and anger as having led to deadly conflict between two brothers, Abel and Cain, and resulting in the killing of Abel by Cain. In a ironic way, we could see god as having given rise to the combination of events which has lead to a brother killing his own brother, and, using the Christian analogy, setting of what was to become a perpetual process of fellow humans killing each other.

Of course, the Cain and Abel anecdote is, in my view, not very convincing, as is the Biblical concept of god and the creation of the earth. We can, however, see certain truisms in the Abel and Cain story, with its reference or inference to people's desire, if not need to be respected, to not be marginalised and put to shame, to wanting to be valued and have their contributions valued, to having a tendency to be jealous of others who gain favour with those whose favour and approval they, the jealous person/s value, to feeling angry when ones dignity is attacked, etc, etc. 

When we apply these attributes to tribes, ethnic groups, and nations, we can see how conflict and wars have become almost an integral aspect of the relationship between them.

What has changed over the centuries and decades, in the arms industry, is its evolution into more varied and potent arms and killing power. Nations have moved from mustering armies when they are in conflict with other nations, to having standing armies, which they endeavour to provide with the latest and biggest amount of arms and equipment they are able to afford, or other nations are willing to trust them. The arms or human death industry had also developed independently of the state or government, and then, where the relevant government will allow it to do so, secure as many customers for its wares as possible. 

It is even probable that arms manufacturers will use surreptitious means to sell its arms, including encouraging armed conflicts and encouraging the relevant government to intervene in foreign conflicts militarily, in order to maintain or increase the demand for its arms and other equipment.

And so we have this ironic situation where the weapons industry has been legitimised, on the basis of a nation needing to defend itself, by killing other people. But with the added irony that, in order for the weapons industry to protect itself from becoming redundant, it has to ensure that there is a constant demand for the weapons it is manufacturing. Which it does by fomenting existing conflicts or new ones, and by lobbying its parent country to fight foreign wars.

Wars - as opposed to the slaughtering of defenceless people - are the result of humans quickly or gradually falling into a state of mass insanity, with both the victims and the aggressors becoming affected. It is a condition which is usually activated by a minority of demonic individuals, who infect their fellow humans with it, oftentimes using one or a combination of 'the Cainist' syndrome' I referred to above. 

Endeavour to live your life peaceably, and take pleasure in in living and promoting peaceful coexistence with your fellow humans, as it can reduce the opportunity for some 'demons' amongst you will activate the conditions giving rise to wars and bringing about the loss of your and other's sanity.