“War, huh good God y'all

What is it good for?

Absolutely nothing, just say it again
War whoa Lord
What is it good for?
Absolutely nothing, listen to me
War, it ain't nothin' but a heartbreaker
War, friend only to the undertaker”
War by Edwin Starr

Introduction

I have never in my life been a proponent of war, nor do I ever

believe that I could become one. As Edwin Starr sang; “war, what is it

good for”? It is senseless. I am not alone in these feelings, as millions

of others around the globe share these same sentiments, but it seems

we are only a minority. While a majority of the population of the world

accepts justification for war and has through research developed

ethical theories to promote and justify their reasons for their actions.

“The question whether war is ever justified, and if so under what

circumstances, is one which has been forcing itself upon the
attention of all thoughtful men… Opinions on such a subject as
war are the outcome of feeling rather than of thought: given a
man's emotional temperament, his convictions, both on war in
general, and on any particular war which may occur during his
lifetime, can be predicted with tolerable certainty. The
arguments used will be mere reinforcements to convictions
otherwise reached. The fundamental facts in this as in all ethical
questions are feelings”. (Russell)

Is Russell contending that the justification for war is tied to the ethical

beliefs of the participants which are precipitated by their feelings

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towards their enemies? The collective ethical beliefs of those in power

often override the ethical beliefs of those who are the actual

participants of warfare. This situation will eventually create dilemmas

for those unwilling warriors in the battlefield and the family members

having to deal with the absence of sons, husbands, and fathers. The

call to war will try the souls of the common man.

Writers and poets have used these themes to create great works

as support or opposition to war, to symbolize the greater challenges

created by man’s interactions with one another, or to reflect the issues

and tribulations associated with man’s very existence.

The Basis for War

War has been a part of human nature since the beginning of

civilization, maybe even pre-dating civilization. John Keegan writes in

his History of Warfare that,

“War is a universal phenomenon whose form and scope is

defined by the society that wages it. The conduct of war extends
along a continuum, from the almost universal tribal warfare that
began well before recorded human history, to wars between city
states, nations, or empires.”(Keegan)

Mankind has, in my opinion, engaged itself in warfare for the primary

purpose of control; either control of the state’s inhabitants, control of

resources, control of political power, or the populations of another

state. According to the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy,

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 “War should be understood as an actual, intentional and
widespread armed conflict between political communities… War
is a phenomenon which occurs only between political
communities, defined as those entities which either are states or
intend to become states…(or) between rival groups or
communities, like the American Civil War. Certain political
pressure groups, like terrorist organizations, might also be
considered “political communities,” in that they are associations
of people with a political purpose and, indeed, many of them
aspire to statehood or to influence the development of statehood
in certain lands.”(Stanford)

To legitimize the need for control of the state’s inhabitants, friendly

societies, and enemies, war has become a study in ethics and often a

contrast between collective and individual values. For the benefit of

this study and for the purpose of my writing, I will highlight three areas

of war ethics; “pacifism, rationalism, and the just war theory.”

(Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy). As a working interpretation of

the three, I will use these ideas in the following manner; the Pacifist

would never see a reason for war, Rationalist can seemingly create a

reason for or against warfare at will, and the Just War theorist contends

that warfare must follow a set of agreed upon standards for aggression

to be virtuous.

The Arts in War

The creation of war and subsequently the rules and standards for

warfare have also been influential in the realm of Literature and the

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Arts. Authors Stephen Crane and Mark Twain both wrote on the

conditions of war while never having experienced armed battle

personally. Crane’s The Red Badge of Courage and Twain’s The War

Prayer both speak of the collective feelings and sometimes, in

contrast, the feelings of those individuals caught up in the conflict.

Evidence of castigation towards the unpatriotic is highlighted in these

lines from The War Prayer by Twain, he writes,

“…in the churches the pastors preached devotion to the flag and
country, and invoked the God of Battles beseeching His aid in our
good cause in outpourings of fervid eloquence which moved
every listener. It was indeed a glad and gracious time, and the
half dozen rash spirits that ventured to disapprove of the war
and cast doubt upon its righteousness straightway got a stern
and angry warning that for their personal safety’s sake they
quickly shrank out of sight and offered no more in that
way.”(Twain)

This passage is clear evidence of the mass appeal of the collective

ethics associated with Just War theory overriding the Pacifist or

Rationalist view of the individual or minorities’ feelings of imminent

and permanent loss. Fear is swallowed, conscious thought is

suppressed into the unconsciousness, and our youth are blindly carried

away with the swelling tide of pride and patriotism without a minute’s

thought to the inevitable consequences that warfare will undoubtedly

bring. War is an unchanging beast that swells young men to feelings of

immortality until faced with their equally courageous counterparts.

War not only shreds men’s bodies but equally destroys their minds and

souls. Bertrand Russell writes of this inevitable waste of life, limb,

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mind, and spirit in The Ethics of War pointing to the history of war and

the ethical justifications for such wars without giving credence to the

irreversible and expected harm which has been recorded throughout

history:

“To begin with the most obvious evil: large numbers of young
men, the most courageous and the most physically fit in their
respective nations, are killed, bringing great sorrow to their
friends, loss to the community, and gain only to themselves.
Many others are maimed for life, some go mad, and others
become nervous wrecks, mere useless and helpless derelicts. Of
those who survive many will be brutalized and morally degraded
by the fierce business of killing, which, however much it may be
the soldier's duty, must shock and often destroy the more
humane instincts. As every truthful record of war shows, fear and
hate let loose the wild beast in a not inconsiderable proportion of
combatants, leading to strange cruelties, which must be faced,
but not dwelt upon if sanity is to be preserved.”(Russell)

In the Red Badge of Courage, the main character, Henry,

displays this mindset of being swept up in the fervor of combat without

much forethought about the destructive nature he is embarking upon.

“The youth was in a little trance of astonishment. So they were

at last going to fight…For a time he was obliged to labor to make
himself believe. He could not accept without assurance an omen
that he was about to mingle in one of those great affairs of the
earth.” (Crane, Pg. 3)

His confidence reigns supreme while embarked upon the journey

toward this “great affair” played out upon the battlefield while being

buoyed by the mentors that surround him. While he does not quite

know what to expect he is inflated by the crowing of others in his

company:

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 “We’ve got ‘em now…if the truth was known …They’ve licked us
about every clip until now…At last by the eternal thunders, we’ll
lick ‘em good.”(Crane, Pg. 17)

From this exaltation, some confidence arises from within the youth as

he takes on the collective mindset of his excited partner while the

other proclaims,

“(as) He arose and began to pace to and fro excitedly. The thrill
of his enthusiasm made him walk with an elastic step. He was
sprightly, vigorous, (and) fiery in his belief of success. He looked
into the future with clear, proud eye, and he swore with the air of
an old soldier.”(Crane, Pg. 17)

The mindset of the collective had enveloped the youth in this story and

was driving him, willingly, into the unknown, even as he was still

unsure of his own inabilities and the ever present thoughts of fleeing.

What ethical battles were playing upon the character as he

marched ever closer to the showdown with his choices? How would

Crane use these contrasts to entice the reader while demonstrating the

battles he assumed that all men must eventually face? Had Twain used

the same device by demonstrating the double-edged sword of the

prayer? The ethical dilemmas of war, contrasting the desires of the

group while negating the sacrifices of the individual, continually play

themselves out in works of literature throughout written history.

Individual’s Ethics

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 The study of ethical philosophy began with Plato and Aristotle. The

premise of the Ethics of Virtue lies in two concepts.

“The Question of Action: How ought I to act?

The Question of Character: What kind of person ought I to be?”

(Hinman)

The question of action pertains to the momentary reaction to any given

situation, while the question of character is judged over the lifetime of

the individual or of a particular situation. During stressful situations,

such as war, the will of the individual may be influenced or negated by

the group or collective ethical stance, thus creating the psychological

dilemma mentioned by Bertrand Russell, and impairing the nature of

the individual’s personal viewpoint of themselves as ethical beings. As

the initial battle has begun for Crane’s main character, he realizes that

such events are not within his realm of enjoyment, and he retreats but

not without justification.

“As he ran on he mingles with others. He dimly saw men on his

right and on his left, and he heard footsteps behind him. He
thought that the whole regiment was fleeing,…In his flight the
sound of following footsteps gave him his one meager relief. He
felt vaguely that death must first make a choice of the men who
were nearest…so he displayed a zeal of an insane sprinter in his
purpose of keeping them in the rear.” (Crane, Pg.40)

Crane writes of self-preservation and with a “to hell with the

collective, let them be shields for the swift” mindset. An extreme sense

of superiority has begun to emerge within the mind of the youth as he

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judges those who were keeping rank, even as he, now at a safe and

distant vantage point, views their impending doom,

“He scrambled upon a wee hill and watched it (relief troops)

sweeping finely, keeping formation in difficult places…This sight
also filled him with wonder. The brigade was hurrying briskly to
be gulped into the infernal mouths of the war gods…” (Crane, Pg.
41)

Just as quickly as these feelings had begun to find comfort within the

psyche of the youth and his plan of retreat is his salvation, news of

victory by his own regiment squash him. He is a coward and a

deserter. The need of the individual to survive is quickly thwarted by

the need to belong to the collective, and thus, identification of the self

has created an internal struggle that is universal throughout humanity.

“He had been overturned and crushed by their lack of sense in

holding the position, when intelligent deliberation would have
convinced them that it was impossible…He felt a great anger
against his comrades. He knew it could be proved that they had
been fools.” (Crane, Pg. 43)

Crane’s writing displays the rationalization of survival and the

justification for choices for individuals who face life and death

situations. The intense situation, the thought of one’s own demise will

make one question his own values, morals, and ethics, and Crane was

able to describe that a few short paragraphs. Is the tossing and turning

of the youth in the story believable when put in the context of war? If

so, then what is man to do, whose will should be at the lead of any

conflict, that of the individual or of the collective? Crane writes the

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youth back into the story, disguises his shame with newfound bravery,

and creates from chaos and internal personal turmoil the feelings of

triumph. However, though the youth has saved face, the scar of

weakness in the face of fear will not soon subside even if he is the only

person who will ever have to know.

Conclusion

War as a theme of literature I’m sure predates written language.

Stories of great battles have been looking glasses for civilization to

view the past, process the feelings associated with this greatest

struggle we simply deem life, and reflect upon all of its experiences.

Stephen Crane used the backdrop of the American Civil War to give

society a view of the battle within a battle, the struggle within the

individual who has been swept along by the overriding feelings of the

collective. The character in this story is able to find reason and valor

for his actions while dehumanizing the defenses of the enemy. The

same concept can be seen in Mark Twain’s poem, The War Prayer.

Within this poem, there is a sudden and implicit contrast between the

words spoken by the elderly stranger and those of the minister. These

powerful words are casted out towards the congregation with the

implication that spoken words and prayers of destruction will invariably

come to fruition. The stranger speaks of the need for compassion of

others and the consequences associated with misplaced aggression.

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He implies that our thoughts, words, and actions will go from us and

create that which they were intended for. If our prayers are calling for

destruction then our prayers will surely be answered. If we truly detest

the idea of war and devastation, and our intention is to create

freedom, equality, peace throughout the world, then all of humanity

will need to nurture and heed their words, deeds, and actions. The use

of these ethical dilemmas in literature offers us an opportunity to see

the results of our actions and the chance to change the collective

beliefs that continue to create just exactly what they were meant to

create. The elderly stranger ask, “Ye have prayed it; if ye still desire it,

speak! The messenger of the Most High waits." (Twain, The War

Prayer) Be careful what you ask for, it may just come true!

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Work Cited

Starr, Edwin War, Chicago: Motown Records, 1969

Russell, Bertrand The Ethics of War, International Journal of Ethics,

Vol. 25 No. 2 (January, 1915).

Keegan, John A History of Warfare, New York, NY Random House,

1994

Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy War, plato.stanford.edu, 2004

Crane, Stephen The Red Badge of Courage, New York, NY:

Penguin Putnam Inc., 1960

Twain, Mark The War Prayer, New York, NY: Harper and Brothers

Publishers, 1916

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Hinman, Lawrence The Ethics of Character, Virtues vs.Vices,

The Values Institute, University of San Diego, Ca. 2009

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