IS WAR A SOLUTION FOR PEACE?

"There was never a good war, or a bad peace." - Benjamin Franklin

I'm starting my essay with a qoute of Benjamin Franklin which aptly describes how insignificant war is in
front of peace. To ask this question , is war a solution for peace? The simple and direct ans is 'no' , war
and peace are quite opposite of each other. There is no way that they can co-exist in a suitable habitat or
could create a symphony of their own.

Peace is the state of mind where you can enjoy your choice of life and live co-habitually in an
environment without being affected or trying to infringe upon anybody else's freedom and
rights.Now,imagine a world with crumbled families, faded smiles,scattered lively spirits, a population
comprising either depressed or handicapped people. Does this imaginary figure which will be the factual
scenery post war, exhibit any characteristics of peace? NO ........Then how can war be a solution to
peace? The co-existence of war and peace is nothing but just a contradiction. If a nation wins a war, the
other nation will wait to retaliate. Waiting for another war is not restoring peace. There is no country in
the world without an army and every army is meant for a war. Every war will make way for another war,
but no war will ever be the final. It will always have some precedents and subsequents.
The history of mankind has had many landmarks. Unfortunately some of these landmarks and turning
events have been full of violence brought by fights, battles and wars. We as humans gains nothing from
it. People sometimes forgets the value of life because then only they will place a doom of war over
everyone's head. As in the poem 'futility' , Wilfred Owens aptly evokes the pity of war. 'Futility’ follows
the aftermath of a battlefield. A soldier has died, and his companions reminisce on death and its
proximity to wakefulness. Images of death and life are intertwined throughout the poem, and the final
effect is of a poem that is close to Biblical, tortured, and beautiful, but ultimately a lament on the waste
of innocent lives.For governments the number of men dying are mere casualties but for the famliy there
whole world totally takes different turn.

Buddha, Jesus Christ, Mahatma Gandhi and many other great men have been teaching the world to
practice non-violence and pursue peace. They did succeed to a certain extent as well, however, some
people, in their mission to achieve success and power, have used force and war. It appears that the
violence runs in the very blood of men because it is the survival of the fittest and the weak will have to
succumb to and suffer at the hands of the one who is strong. As Abraham Lincoln has said 'The best to
destroy an enemy is to make him a friend.' Why does it becomes so difficult to keep the enemity aside
for the mere sake of being human. Love should be trait of humans not violnece.

Take a look at our two World Wars. They have proved that wars cause major suffering and in fact, the
only reason that World War I ended was that most of the countries involved were exhausted and fed up,
and begged their leaders for a ceasefire to be called. Wars would be endless if it was not for humanity's
own limits. And one more war will prove the qoute of Einstein so true. He said "I know not with what
weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones". Still,
humans crave for violence. Unless enough people are supporting peace the masses will not stir but the
day the people who propose peace are not enough, it will be a blood bath. At most of the turning points
in history , war/violence has been involved in a way or other.

Peace, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, is the absence or the end of war. So on one level,
peace is a negative concept. It cannot exist without war, just as death is a meaningless concept without
life. For some, however, “true” peace is a positive concept, signifying harmony in world affairs, or
perhaps well managed social conflict. War can sustain short term peace, but conflict is bound to happen
at some point. Whether it is due to some sort of power vacuum in a region, the rise of radicalism in the
country that loses the war, or just instability in the aftermath of war in general, conflict will always arise
somehow after war.

War is never the way to bring peace. There are many alternative ways such as negotiating to terms which
are reasonable for both the countries and hence resolving the problem. There shall always be a win-win
situation. Some terms shall be accepted by one party and some by the others. We might be divided by
religion, sex, color and the boundaries between our countries but we all belong to the human race. One
should treat the other like a brother and help each other out. There will be differences for sure, which
should be sorted out in a peaceful manner

It's time we understand that war will never be able to bring true, long-lasting peace. Nations will be hit
emotionally and economically. Violence is never the answer to anything . War is a negative and dark path
to follow. War is neither a solution nor an option to bring peace. People may debate over it , there may
be various implications but still there exists somethings like right and wrong. War , is a deliberate wrong
means to an end. It may bring temporary peace but the real peace will only follow once we start
introspecting ourselves and deciding what we really need. Only tolerance and common sense can bring
real peace.