War is like Love

Entry posted by Jean Valjean October 3, 2017

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:kaukau: The word "war" is like "love." What I mean by that is that I see a lot of people on Youtube who ask questions such as "What if X went to war with Y," or "What if all of the countries of the world went to war with each other?"

The answer is, it depends on what you mean by war. There are many different styles of war, and there are also many different purposes for war. You can't simply ask "What if X went to war with Y;" you have to also consider the goals that each country would have in this conflict and what would constitute as a victory. Are we talking about a Cold War in which countries are trying to gain an upper hand in the balance of power? Are we talking about a war where the objective is for one country to "contain" another? Is one country trying to merely weaken another? Take away a territory? Eliminate a threat? Take a rival down a peg? Force another country to meet some sort of demand, such as "Stop trading with Z?" Is the goal of the war to nation build? Are you uneasy with your allies and only allied out of convenience, or are you actual close friends? Is it an international policing action? Is it a war of conquest? Is it to solve a border dispute? Is it a defensive war where the goal is merely to survive?

With regard to the purpose of the war, how important is it to the countries involved? What politicians were in power at the outset of the war, and will any of the involved countries see a political shift? How important is the war too the politicians? How important is it to civilians? How important is it to the military? What are people willing to sacrifice for victory?

With styles of war, are we talking about a blitzkrieg? Trench warfare? Arms race? Is there an invasion, or are there proxy battles? Is it a siege? Is it merely a standoff, with war only being declared but no one really wanting to cross either country's borders? Are international laws and treaties followed? Is it naval war? Urban war? Guerrilla war? Are civilian casualties on the table? Is it a nuclear war?

How was the war declared? Surprise attack? Formal statement at the E.U.? Was it never declared at all? Did both countries anticipate the war and react immediately when one line in the sand was crossed?

So many things to consider. I find it pretty ridiculous when people take these "what if" scenarios and act like all war is going to look the same, like all war is an invasion.

I end this random ramble with an interesting thought: There's the saying of yester-generation, "Make love, not war." What if we were to make the word "love" even more ambiguous than it already is, and have it become synonymous with war? Boy, that would mess with people. I already had an idea for a language with one word for "love, like, want, and need." Con-langers tend to like breaking the word "love" up into several different, more specific words, but I rather enjoy obfuscating it even more.

Love,

Jean Valjean