Dunkirk and the Insanity of War
Over the weekend, I saw the new Christopher Nolan film, Dunkirk. The movie follows the World War II story of British soldiers trapped on the French beach of Dunkirk, trying to get home while the enemy closes in.
The movie was excellent...
But that's not what this post is about.
Since I became a Voluntaryist, the experience of watching war movies has changed dramatically for me. I can't watch any war movie without thinking that...
War is the Result of Collective Insanity
I see images like this (some from Dunkirk, some from other movies):
...and I think to myself:
How can human beings do this to other human beings simply because their governments tell them to?
It's insane. It's absolutely insane. People will go overseas and commit brutal acts of violence against others just because some men who claim to have authority say that it's a good idea. And those people that they're killing? They're only the enemy because their "leaders" told them to do the exact same thing.
There would be no enemy other than government if people stopped obeying and killing in the name of government.
Stop listening to your government. Stop fighting their battles. Stop making yourselves slaves and a murderers.
Stop the insanity.
~Seth
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You should go onto the Actual Anarchy podcast. They take movies and discuss voluntaryist themes that occur throughout. Let me know if you want me to get you in contact with them!
I appreciate the offer, but I prefer to organize my thoughts in writing rather than the spoken word. But that podcast sounds really interesting! I should check it out.
Cool. Cheers!
War is chaos. Leo Tolstoy's "War and Peace" addressed this quite thoroughly, as well as Oliver Stone's "Platoon." Thank you for reviewing the movie Dunkirk, which is yet another modern retelling of War and Peace in a different setting. As Edward Gibbon wrote in his masterful prose "Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire," as long as man continues to glorify the sociopathic tendencies and accomplishments of their leaders, the world will continue to produce the same sociopathic behavior in their leaders (to paraphrase).
The pictures made me cringe. It's so sad that the ones below have to be the ones to give up their lives for a campaign that is not their own x.x
Wise words friend. Most deaths are caused by state (against state) violence.
So are you against military then? What do you mean by voluntaryist?
Yes I am against the military and any violent government mercenaries (read, "police".)
Voluntaryism means I believe the only moral human interaction is what is done without the use of violence or corrosion, i.e. voluntary interaction only. That excludes government.
Wars just show the most ugly side of human beings but real question is would we all be civil if there were no government ,no law and order whatsoever?
No government does not mean no order. No, I am not under any utopian delusions that we would behave perfectly without government. There will always be people who try to get away with whatever they can. The utopian idea is to put some of those people in power and think that they'll make the world a better place.
A world without government won't be perfect, but it will be much better.
In My Enemy, the State, Nock makes a distinction between "government" and "the state". Any administrating body can be a government. It is only when coercion is involved do we have the state. A government that serves the people is not the state. It is when it grows to control the people that it becomes the state. This distinction is important.
Also, anarchy is not the absence of rules. It's the absence of rulers. This plays into the same terminology. If we volunteer to assign governing duties to a group, then they are not rulers. They are servants. When they extort funds from us to "pay" them to perform those governing duties, then they are rulers.
This post got a
9.45% upvote thanks to @sethlinson - Hail Eris !Its not always war because of leadership, sometimes its war because of individuals and governments intervene
It's always due to "leaders" rallying a bunch of pawns to fight their battles. Whether those leaders are recognized as "true" governments or militaries is irrelevant.
Well its true the leaders are the ones declaring war, but its not just because they dont like each other or are just flexing. Most of the times its cultural differences in terms of religion or habits that make entire nations clash
I never disputed any of that. And none of those reasons make it any less insane to kill people
I know, there is no reason at all. If it were up to me, everyone would just mind their own business and connect wherever and to whomever they want to. Dont like each other? Fine, but leave each other alone. Its just not realistic to think we will ever have world peace, ever. Sadly
You're right, we will never have peace, but I believe if the majority gives up the illusion (delusion) of authority, we won't ever see massive armies following leaders into battle. There will still be violence, but there won't be the mass slaughter of war.
In some other comment you stated you woukd prefer not having governments because the people are self regulatory. Also youre talking about mass troops. Dont you think if it were so bad people would be self regulatory enough not to sign up for the military? Wouldnt you think those people would take up on arms themselves to protect or hurt without any government sending them somewhere?
I think people could create a non-governmental militia if things got so bad. But I believe the only reason they would have to do so was if another government or pseudo-government was threatening them. I can't imagine a scenario that needed armies that doesn't involve government or some form of authoritarian system.
Yes war is total nonsense,i wanted to join the millitary when i turned 18 but never did.I love a good war movie tough...(((SPOILER ALERT)))What about that pilot turning his plane and gliding to shoot down that divebomber at the last possible moment wow! Goosebumbs all over!