According to Merriam Webster, the word war originated in the 15th Century. Derived from the Old Scottish Languages it simply translates into worst. A few centuries later an Old High German Dialect gives us the word werra, which means strife and werran, which means to confuse.

The modern definition of the word? War — a state of usually open and declared armed hostile conflict between states or nations; a state of hostility, conflict, or antagonism; a struggle or competition between opposing forces for a particular end.

History is, of course, chock full of wars and conflict. Many of them were unavoidable but many of them could have been resolved with clear vision, moral leadership, strict negotiations, and/or a healthy dose of common sense!

It is the sheer intent that makes the whole scenario of conflict so unnerving. Violence and brutality literally staggers the mind of most human beings, and war is the most vicious of all because the strife inflicted upon fellow humans is carried out on purpose.

We Americans, for the most part, live our lives in a protective bubble of everyday life and our doses of violence come to us as sanitized events, filtered through our friends, the television, or a movie screen. These mediums have desensitized us. “Arnie killed 100 guys in that flick.” “Look at that train wreck on the news, wow.” “A plane crashed in New Guinea?” “Another child missing?” “Kids brought guns to school and did what?” “Pass the salt!”

It’s not that we don’t care. WE DO! It’s just that we see so much bad stuff all the time we are getting used to it. The Oklahoma City bombing as well as Sept 11, 2001, woke us up for a while, but many of us have gone back to sleep on the issue. The fact is, we have NOT witnessed the horror up close and THAT my friends, is the essence of what war is all about.

Death and violence at close range. Ask the Tough Ombres of G.I. Joe’s 90th Infantry division, the old Marines who fought the Japanese in the Pacific, a Korean war veteran, or a Viet Nam vet. As I wrote in G.I. Joe and Lillie, they probably will NOT talk to you about it. The sheer agony of remembering is too great.

I would guess that folks, who witnessed the horror and shock of 9-1-1 up close, carry with them the same trauma. They will never fall asleep on the subject. Their minds eye and their heart will not let it happen.

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