Epilogue -Dissolution of Glory and Honor -The evolution of modern warfare -Consequences of change
World War I can be considered the last major armed conflict where honor was what was truly at stake. No longer do men fight and die on the plains of battle for love of God and country, but now for hatred of an enemy unknown. No longer is it for glory and honor, but for wealth, fame, and power.
What has happened to the sense of honor that was once universal? In the Great War, Germany fought to preserve Kultur, their mission; their honor. France fought to redeem herself for the losses of Alsace and Lorraine and the massive defeat at Sedan in the previous war, their redemption; their honor. Belgium fought to keep her neutrality, their right; their honor. Finally, Britain fought because it was “the right thing to do,” their duty; their honor.
What can we say about this? The wars we fight now are done with mobile armor and flying bombs, not with men and horses and cannon. We fight now with fuel, bullets, and electricity, not with blood and sweat and iron. The face of modern war has changed, and perhaps not for the better. In those days, war was far more personal, more meaningful. We fought for a cause, not a tangible one that could perish, but an ideal that was immortal, one that countless men sacrificed their lives for. What is war now? It is dominance, superiority, death. No longer do we fight for allegiance, for identity. The glory that we now seek is far different from the glory of the battlefields long past. Theirs was for the honor of country; ours is for the honor of self.
Thus is the plight of those who fight for hatred and not love, dominance and not freedom, death and not life. Thus the hammer of those that have evolved and not learned has fallen. Thus falls the way of modern warfare.
**It's a mini-essay I wrote as the final entry for my Seitz assignment. I figure this will make up for the BS I put into the rest of it...:P I hope :shock:
Epilogue