The Insanity of War

  •   Fri, Jun 29 2018
  •   By Anita Britto, Auckland

June 29, 2018


The Insanity of War

Anaesthetised to images of war brutality
In almost every narrative or brush with history
I watch gut-wrenching coverage of agonising pain
And Bruce Springsteen sure comes to mind with "Adam raised a Cain"

The inhumanity to man by another man
Can be witnessed through the carnage of battle-scarred Sudan
A trip to Jalianwala Baug, Auschwitz or My Lai
Dehumanises Modern Man with scenes that horrify


In Ypres, Somme and Verdun where one man fought another
Beneath the crimson poppies lies the son of one more mother
Kosovo & Khmer Rouge as well as Hiroshima
Represent Mans failings like Yerevan and Rwanda


Phan Thi Kum Phuc – the Napalm girl – her clothes stripped as she ran
If this image fails to haunt you, please look up the Saigon Man
Injured Omran Daqneesh – covered in blood and dust
That a 4 year old must withstand this is terribly unjust


The beast in man unleashed by war you see the worst in him
A headless infant splotched with blood – what could be more grim
Inured to war since infancy we witness wholesale slaughter
Though politicians need their war it's time we stopped the plotter

With pro-war propaganda and scant consideration
They justify a needless war which leads to mass cremation
We’ve been through World War 1 and 2, we do not need a third
That Peace is so elusive is senseless and absurd


The man who sells Howitzers is the only one to gain
Despite the kids he’s orphaned, he’ll rejoice and sip champagne
The whopping defence budget can be used for those in need
Flushing cesspits in our mind from hatred and from greed


BAE and Boeing as well as Lockheed Martin
Make a killing when there’s war despite the million lives they ruin
General Dynamics hates Peace and so does Raytheon
They’re on the Fortune 500 – Thanks to the Pentagon

Srebrenica and Darfur evoke sadness, shock and tears
Have the lessons learnt from Buchenwald fallen on deaf ears
Kalinga was the turning point that made Ashoka see
In war there is no triumph – all war brings is tragedy


If the Caveman was allowed a peep to watch our evening news
I guess he would feel shattered at the extent of abuse
Sarin Gas and TNT – Is this Man’s descent?
A Third World War – Armageddon – the Final accident

We, the people have to rise, determined and united
Condemn this mindless killing that Politics ignited
The "Trail of tears" was heartless, so was the "Wounded knee"
Let’s end this ruthless viciousness and make war "History"

It’s taken 4 millenniums for Man to get this far
We shouldn't let nukes destroy us, let's practise Ahimsa
As John Lennon imagined, let’s live our lives in peace
From all of Gods creations, we’re his Masterpiece.

 

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By Anita Britto, Auckland
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Comment on this article

  • Anita Britto, Mangalore/Auckland

    Fri, Jul 06 2018

    Humbled by your feedback. Thank you very much for your comments which I appreciate tremendously.

  • Nita Pinto, Mangalore/Auckland

    Sun, Jul 01 2018

    Well written Anita. War only destroys.
    Keep up the good work.
    Nita Pinto

  • Rob Stan, Udupi / US

    Sat, Jun 30 2018

    Even though I'm not a supporter of war, the nature of human beings is such that men are born to be adventurous. If women need to be given equal rights then energy level of men need to be higher than women. This is what Saudi Arabia is doing right now. They have defeated terrorism & encouraging their men to join army. They are giving driving & many other rights to women.
    This is also the reason why US is much ahead of rest of the countries in exploring extraterrestrial life. US is much ahead of others in exploring Mars so that our future generation can have a place live when earth gets saturated & resources get dried up.

  • John B. Monteiro, Bondel, Mangalore

    Fri, Jun 29 2018

    I am not familiar with rhyme; but Anita has much reason (and history and geography) in her “The Insanity of War”.
    Anita has a long portfolio of creative poetry listed in Daijiworld and may be elsewhere beyond my reach.
    Anita’s present poem reflects deep knowledge of the theatres of war and violence across geographies and over time. It is her metier and I hope she builds on her past record and comes out with a book of her poems.
    Please keep it up Anita; you are headed to go places.

  • Joe Britto, Nakre/Mangalore

    Fri, Jun 29 2018

    So True Anita,
    But the fact that there is so much arsenal and nuclear rubbish leftover form the 2 miserable and other wars and that this is NOT destroyed but used /sold to other countries.

    Today more than ever before we are in danger of a nuclear war and many of these are in control of madmen and fanatics who know no humanity.

  • R.Bhandarkar, Mangaluru

    Fri, Jun 29 2018

    Couldn't agree more Madam Anita.
    There will be no end to this madness if man does not understand his relation with another and also till the realisation of 'self' sets in. This seems simple in theory but very difficult to practice as we infer it from the speeches of world leaders. The adage 'Everything in Excess leads to disaster' ,I think was coined by the wise ,ages ago envisaging very well what was bound to happen.

  • Dr.Anand &Geeta Pereira, Mangalore/Sakleshpur

    Fri, Jun 29 2018

    A very touching poem. Unfortunately, despite the fact that all of us are God's Children, more people are dying in the name of religion.
    The man who sells Howitzers is the only one to gain......That's the Commercial Truth.
    We need to awaken our innate senses and live in peace and harmony before we become objects in the mirror.


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