An Unexamined Life
Questions unasked on the paths to endless wars
No Man’s Land, an anti-war song written in 1976 by Eric Bogle, brings tears to my eyes every time I listen to the lyrics.
and I can’t help but wonder oh Willy McBride
do all those who lie here know why they died
did you really believe them when they told you the cause
did you really believe that this war would end wars
well the suffering, the sorrow, the glory, the shame
the killing and dying it was all done in vain
oh Willy McBride it all happened again
and again, and again, and again, and again (listen here)
And, as in the song, wars happen again, and again, and again. Not because man is inherently evil, but because most of us lead unexamined lives. We don’t want to examine things that cause emotional discomfort.
We behave like young children who still believe that if we close our eyes and plug our ears, the problems will disappear. We struggle with the mental discomfort of cognitive dissonance, as we are too fearful to remove the blinders of illusion.
It is scary to let go of illusions. To realize that so much of what we believe in is the result of a constant barrage of propaganda. The critical thinking skills required to recognize propaganda have been discouraged by an education system designed to “teach to the test”…
