[EN] The so-called ‘war to end all wars’ finished 93 years ago – at the 11th hour, of the 11th day, of the 11th month of 1918. [RO] Aşa-zisul ‘război pentru a sfârşi toate războaiele’ s-a încheiat acum 93 de ani – la a 11-a oră, a celei de-a 11-a zi, a celei de-a 11 luni a lui 1918.
[EN] The whole world would change a lot, yet wars didn’t come to an end. [RO] Lumea întreagă avea să se schimbe mult, dar războialele nu s-au sfârşit.
[EN] Is the illusion that made soldiers charging senselessly towards certain death, over and over again, still present today ? [EN] Este această iluzie care i-a făcut pe soldaţi să şarjeze fără sens către moarte sigură, iarăşi şi iarăşi, încă prezentă azi?
[EN] I guess so; there are even more blood thirsty pacifists in our times as in 1914… [RO] Cred că da; sunt chiar mai mulţi pacifişti însetaţi de sânge în zilele noastre decât în 1914…
[EN] Aren’t peace activists very agggressive in our times? Can peace be preached with clenched fists and riots? [RO] Nu sunt activiştii pentru pace foarte de agresivi în vremurile noastre? Poate fi pacea predicată cu pumnii încleştaţi şi răzmeriţe?
[EN] Today – armed with iPods, smartphones, skilled with information technology. [RO] Azi – înarmaţi cu iPod-uri, smartphones, iscusiţi într-ale tehnologiei informaţiei.
[EN] Tomorrow – cannon fodder, ‘knowing’ death from horror movies, unaware of and unprepared for eternity. [RO] Mâine – carne de tun, ‘ştiind’ moartea din filme de groază, neştiutori şi nepregătiţi de eternitate.
[EN] Many of those dying in 1914-1918 (pic 1) had a warm sense of afterlife… [RO] Mulţi dintre cei care mureau în 1914-1918 (poza 1) aveau un cald simţ al vieţii veşnice…
[EN] Those who will die tomorrow – in wars ending the world, not all wars – are cold as statues (pic 2). [RO] Cei care vor muri mâine – în războaie ce-or sfârşi lumea, nu războaiele – sunt reci ca statuile (poza 2)…
[EN] Will death change anything for those who are already spiritually dead? [RO] Va mai schimba ceva moartea pentru cei care sunt deja morţi spiritual?
[For all the episodes of this series, and all the posts on this blog go to/Pentru toate episoadele din această serie şi toate postările de pe acest blog mergi la: Contents/Cuprins]
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3 comments:
[EN] Photo legend:
[1] Fresco from The Scottish National War Memorial, Edinburgh Castle.
[2] Statue from London, picture taken by my reader Mihai Gociu.
[RO] Legendă foto:
[1] Frescă din Memorialul de Război Naţional Scoţian, Castelul din Edinburgh.
[2] Statuie din Londra, fotografie făcută de cititorul meu Mihai Gociu.
Bogdan,
Was it really illusion what made soldiers charging senselessly towards certain death in WW1 ?
Maybe it was, but not their illusion. Rather their rulers' vain dreams of power.
The common soldier, I think, had no illusion and maybe very little hope when he had to charge towards enemy trenches, with machine-guns pointed at him. For what illusion can stand in the face of (almost) certain death ?
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I don't know how young men nowadays (including myself) would do in the face of war, of cruel and painful death.
Isn't that why we have professional armies ? Because no one else is willing to sacrifice their life for their country, unless being well paid to do so ?
Who knows what the "soldier of the future" will be like. Most likely, he'll be a cruel, cold blooded mercenary, who kills people "for a living", using very advanced technology.
If the WW2 was the first war in human history when the front-line disappeared (mostly "thanks" to aviation and tanks) and so did the difference between soldiers and civilians, what will the future world war be like ?
One thing is for sure. Bombs and guns can kill our bodies, but not our souls. And if our souls are dead, it won't matter much whether we die by "peaceful" death or killed in the war.
Mihai,
I couldn't imagine to what extent soldiers truly believed this idealistic vision of a 'war to end all wars'; however, in the summer of 1914, many were eager to go to war.
Many dreamed of an ever shorter war than that of 1870-1871 between Prussia and France:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franco-Prussian_War
Hordes of foolish young people rushed to volunteer for the armies that were being organised, and it was a common belief, shared in all countries, that "it will all be over by Christmas":
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Why_did_World_War_1_not_end_by_Christmas
Maybe this belief in a short and 'full of glory' war was also a factor that contributed to the Christmans Truce of 1914:
http://www.firstworldwar.com/features/christmastruce.htm
Later on, WW1 would prove a messy affair, and the conflagration swept away all traces of humanity...
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I guess your view of the 'soldiers of the future' is realistic.
I also agree that there will be no separation whatsoever between armed forces and civilians.
Everyone will be more or less 'engaged' in the conflict (as even bloggers were in the Israel-Hezbollah war of 2006). No one will be spared...
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Your comment ends with a very good remark that many of those obsessed with '11-11-(20)11' and other show-biz 'ends of the world' can't understand.
It is irrelevant when the world ends, as our own death is our 'end of the world'.
It's sad that many people are already dead within their lack of spiritual horizon. And among those who consider them interested in the afterlife, very few know Christ's only "way and life and truth" :-(
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