CompuServe Thread

Firstly, I'd like to say that I am not targeting my rebutal to anyone in particular but to the concept of war and genocide in general. <<A Bosnia portal is an option. War is an option.I don't think he was seriously advancing an argument for the continuation of blood and gore. He was saying it is within the realm of all possibilities.>> I would not be so inclined to discount it merely as an "option" but as a direct intent to kill. When we have options open to us, we look at the information then do some rationalization, then decide. If war and death is an option then you obviously aren't capable of rationalizing. The right to take someone's life for the sake of a false ideal can never be justified, so why consider it as an option. War is not an option but instead an intent to murder. <<War, death and destruction are a part of our existence. But we have within us the power to reject that option.>> Do you have the power Kevin? Everyone has it within their power to kill and even the instinct to carry it out. This is human nature, but when killing is instigated by supposed "clear thinking rational government leaders" I beg to differ. Sometimes I wonder if when a conflict arises that the military quickly jumps forward and says "We'll handle it". With the current cost cutting by the American government after the end of the cold war, the military are finding it harder and harder to justify their existence beyond that of protector rather than instigator. In the past there was supposedly a reason for such expenditure on the military. But should it continue? As long as people are scared, there will always be a need for the military and therefore they will continue to be funded. But at what point do you say, "No, this conflict can be resolved without death". Take the Gulf War for instance. The American government ONLY intervened because they saw the consequences if Iraq controlled the oil fields. America needed the oil fields but honestly cared little for the Kuwaities. It is too bad for the Croatians that they don't have any oil fields that the American's need. If they did, maybe there would be a more prompt effort to help them. <<The "war games" that mesmerize our children, who sit glassy-eyed with mouth agape shooting monsters by the second, teach reflex without thought.>> Yes it does possibly help their reflexes, but I still believe that such games don't CREATE a monster. It is only the children who have been susceptible to violence, typically at home, that deal with their problems through violence. I don't play many arcarde games but when I do, I can differentiate between reality and fiction. The problem arises when the reality these children live in is "violence" and something that they can't escape by unplugging the machine. I personally feel that too much emphasis has been put on the consequences of video games and not enough on the conditions a child has to grow up in. <<In the world they face, good reflexes are necessa