The War Lust in the West

War lust. Blood lust. The fever for world-wide conflict has grown to epidemic proportions in the West, and it is very disturbing. The phrase "Lest We Forget" or "Never Again" is honoured every November 11 to mark the madness of war and the victims - generations of soldiers and civilians slaughtered. However, November 11, or Remembrance Day, now serves as some sort of show of support for our current troops rather than the mournful reminder it was meant to be. A reminder of loss - senseless loss.

What makes the current march to war even more difficult to watch is the inescapable fact that we are on the wrong side of the very values we claim to uphold. In Canada our government is supplying a massive amount of arms to Saudi Arabia, a country so draconian in its beliefs that it beheads people publicly for crimes as simple as believing in Christianity. Its dark and evil intentions only surpassed by the black coverings it insists the women of the country wear at all times.

Now our federal government, lead by the most immature and self-loving Prime Minister in recent memory, has decided we should sell arms to and train soldiers of Ukraine. A country that openly supports neo-Nazis and has several organized battalions of them serving on the front lines of a conflict with its own citizens in the republics of Donetsk and Lugansk (formerly Eastern Ukraine). The Ukrainian government has committed mass war crimes in Donetsk and Lugansk against its own citizens. It has shelled schools, hospitals and power stations. It has slaughtered thousands of civilians in cold blood - many elderly, women, and children. It has destroyed villages, towns, and shelled cities. The crime of Donetsk and Lugansk? They want autonomy. Their penalty? Death and destruction at the hands of their own government. Our indignant response? Give the Ukrainian government arms and troops.

In the most recent act of futile war lust, Canada is sending ships, troops and fighter aircraft to Latvia to deter "Russian Aggression". There is a serious problem with that reasoning though. Russia is not being aggressive militarily with its neighbors. If it were being aggressive its neighbors would have already ceased to exist. The Russian military is within its own borders. It is not massing on its border to invade any other country. The exact opposite can be said for us. We are massing troops and equipment on the Russian border as I write this post. We are committing the kind of provocations that have not been seen since Hitler massed forces on the Soviet Unions border in 1941. The point is we are, as hard as it is to admit, becoming the same animal that invaded the Soviet Union so many years ago. An invasion that cost the lives of 25,000,000 Soviet citizens, and which destroyed the entire country in a war of previously unknown horror. This is what now passes as civilized policy in a nation of "peace loving" citizenry.

As yet Canada has not become too active in the similar push happening with China, but the trend seems to show that will happen sooner than later. It may be true that China has pushed its claim to the South China Sea too aggressively considering its geography, but is that a reason to cause a thermal nuclear war, or any other kind of war?

The truth is quite obvious. The US is almost begging for a war with Russia and China. Its economy, and that of its western allies, has been in stagnation for years and now is turning negative as evidenced by the negative returns on government bonds and central bank interest rates. Russia, China, and allies in the BRICS are turning toward an insular Eurasian economy which will deny the US and its allies markets to export to. Even more importantly, these nations won't be trading in US dollars, but rather their own currencies backed by gold. The western countries essentially faced a decision: allow China to take over the lead of the world economic order or have a war to try and prevent it. It has become quite obvious they have chosen war. A war over economics. How fitting considering all the values we claim to hold true have really been supplanted by the dollars in our bank accounts. Canada selling arms to Saudi is a good example, but there are any others. The western countries have ceased to be entities based on this or that ideal, or language, or political system, or what have you. They are now nothing more than branches of the US government serving the interests of money. It is blatantly obvious, and unfortunately a dark stain on the memories and souls of those who served and died so selflessly in the name of their country in the two previous world wars.

You reap what you sow, and for the West that is going to be the kind of death and destruction that we haven't seen on our shores. Frankly, that is part of the problem. The Americas have not had the hell of total war unleashed on their populations and lands. It's lead to a type of arrogance and false sense of security when it comes to war and the spilling of an entire generation's blood. The kind of disassociation that comes with not seeing 75% of your country lying in rubble. The curse of the arrogant? The curse of the ignorant? They are doomed to bring that horror to their own shores, as well as others. They are sentenced to repeat history. It sickens me to watch events around the world unfold and the lustful march to war and all it entails. It sickens me to watch the stupidly macho prancing of our Prime Minister beating the drums of war while wearing the mask of "deterrence". If and when a war ever broke out with Russia, that Canadian "deterrent" would be slaughtered with in hours - as would the remainder of the NATO "deterrent" on Russia's border. A mere speed bump. Mere sacrificial lambs.

The warmongers never get enough blood. The question is whether we will offer it up to them. "Lest we Forget" the sacrifice of so many others before us. The biggest breach of faith with our war dead is to allow a new generation to be added to their ranks. It is unforgiveable.