What is it about people that makes them think that they have to kill each other in order to get their point across?

I have wondered for a long time about war. Usually, there is a high minded ideal attached to get people to go and fight- oh, the crusades come to mind- but there were countless others.most often, people go to war to steal. they want what someone else has- so they decide to take it. Napoleon, the british empire, hitler, japan, america- of course i could also mention Alexander the Great, the mongols, the romans... you get the picture.

The funny thing about war is that most of the people involved suffer. The soldiers suffer and the folks caught in the middle (even if they support the war) suffer. What we are seeing in Iraq, Afghanistan, Israel, Lebanon, Sudan- and other parts of africa- is what war has done. Especially in Africa; famine, drought, disease- We'd like to think we have escaped that. We have inflicted that on Iraq- but we here will reap the harvest of the seeds we have sown. Even now- we are marching towards bankruptcy; our food supply is changing, and we have no friends. We aren't suffering like the Iraqis- or any of the other places i mentioned. But the wounds to this country run deep. We may not have the bombs and guns here- but the devastation to our constitution are going to be long felt for decades.

Cross posted at The Peace Train and Life's Journey.