Niki Campos-Tortosa
Mr. Jared Pangier
European Literature
31 March 2016
The Wild West Just War Theory
“Greed has poisoned men’s souls, has barricaded the world with hate, has goose-stepped us into misery and bloodshed.” (Chaplin 1940). War, just like anything else, is justifiable, but also just like anything else, there are boundaries and rules for winning, losing, and cheating. A war should be like a challenge to a gun duel in the wild west. You will be made fun of if you were to initiate without their consent. A war should be like a battle between two characters in a multiplayer game, an invite to battle. Handicaps and head starts are allowed and understood if one side has the upper hand if the underdog insists to fight. War is something that is horrible which had killed everyone back then even including their feelings and emotions, ”It can’t be helped-- who cry and clutch at our legs as we spring away over them. We have lose all feeling for one another” (Remarque 116). Since there are no ways to stop war, us humans have to cope with it using war theories created by theorists that will justify war. Using The Wild West Just War Theory, there are five rules that justifies war.
You should never fight for pride knowing that you will lose, your people's' lives are not something you should fool around with and you should never fight for prestigious titles. Attacking someone for fame is also not acceptable since that would be wasting lives which could also be seen in the book All Quiet On The Western Front “Again beds are empty. Day after day goes by with pain and fear, groans and death gurgles. Even the death room is no use anymore, it is too small; fellow die during the night in our room” (Remarque 261)”
An invitation is needed for a war to begin. What this rule means is that a war would not be justified unless one of the party receives an invitation from another party just like in the Wild West. Quick draws showdowns done by gunslingers in the wild west shows how wars should be. Gunslingers in the wild west do not shoot people without their consent and consider it as a victory but instead, challenges them into a showdown. This rule also includes the fact that if a surprise attack were to occur then the war would not be justified. The reason that a surprise attack would not justify war is because a surprise attack would not be playing fair against the other party.
People who are not associated with the war. For example, civilians shall not be harmed since they are not related. There is a Thai idiom which translates into "you lose, you accept it, and walk away". What this means is that a loss will be counted as a loss and a win will be counted as a win. After the war is over you cannot harm the other party nor their people. Every war should be thoughtful. People crawl to live day by day and it is very frustrating when a problem could have been solved through communication than war. Soldiers are just like world leaders, they both have families they love but unlike world leaders, soldiers do not have the power to stop war. “You be thankful if you get so much as a coffin” (Remarque 99).
A condition shall be stated before a war begins, you can not bring a gun into a knife battle, that's cheating. Just like wars, if a condition were to be stated that both parties could agree. By condition, it means that both the party would describe the weapons that are prohibited and not prohibited. This is to prevent the other party for using weapon of mass destruction such as nuclear, biological, or chemical weapons.
Last and the most important rule of all, communication. Communicating should be your first option since there are always miscommunication and misunderstanding between individuals. Starting a war is the last resort and if the initiating party did not communicate then the war shall not be justified. I admit it myself, humans are such disgusting creatures. Due to our instinct of nature, humans usually sort thing arguments through violence“So what did you think the devil would look like? If he were red with a tail, horns, and cloven hooves, any fool could say no” (Foster 1).
With more than several War Theories from major theorists yet no one from the higher ups follow these theories. Humans are not only disgusting because they fight with only violence but they do things individualistically. Us humans never listen to other people or try to understand, humans are just like that. Even with such great resources, I do not think we will ever achieve long term peace through out the histories of human and even until we humans extinct
Changes:
Theory itself, changing from condition based war into a more free war
bullet point style into paragraph style
minor grammar and types
Added explanation to the theory's name "Wild West"
re organized rule 2(communication) to 5th rule since more powerful
Work Cited
Foster, Thomas C. How to Read Literature like a Professor: A Lively and Entertaining Guide to Reading between the Lines. New York: Quill, 2003. Print.
"Documents." Just War Doctrine. Web. 04 Apr. 2016.
Augustine, St. "Just-War Theory." Just-War Theory. Web. 04 Apr. 2016.
"The Truth About Gunfights in the Old West." Neatorama. Web. 04 Apr. 2016.
Remarque, Erich Maria, and A. W. Wheen. All Quiet on the Western Front. Print.
Ristag, Mark. "JustWarTheory.com." JustWarTheory.com. 2004. Web. 04 Apr. 2016.
Mr. Jared Pangier
European Literature
31 March 2016
The Wild West Just War Theory
“Greed has poisoned men’s souls, has barricaded the world with hate, has goose-stepped us into misery and bloodshed.” (Chaplin 1940). War, just like anything else, is justifiable, but also just like anything else, there are boundaries and rules for winning, losing, and cheating. A war should be like a challenge to a gun duel in the wild west. You will be made fun of if you were to initiate without their consent. A war should be like a battle between two characters in a multiplayer game, an invite to battle. Handicaps and head starts are allowed and understood if one side has the upper hand if the underdog insists to fight. War is something that is horrible which had killed everyone back then even including their feelings and emotions, ”It can’t be helped-- who cry and clutch at our legs as we spring away over them. We have lose all feeling for one another” (Remarque 116). Since there are no ways to stop war, us humans have to cope with it using war theories created by theorists that will justify war. Using The Wild West Just War Theory, there are five rules that justifies war.
You should never fight for pride knowing that you will lose, your people's' lives are not something you should fool around with and you should never fight for prestigious titles. Attacking someone for fame is also not acceptable since that would be wasting lives which could also be seen in the book All Quiet On The Western Front “Again beds are empty. Day after day goes by with pain and fear, groans and death gurgles. Even the death room is no use anymore, it is too small; fellow die during the night in our room” (Remarque 261)”
An invitation is needed for a war to begin. What this rule means is that a war would not be justified unless one of the party receives an invitation from another party just like in the Wild West. Quick draws showdowns done by gunslingers in the wild west shows how wars should be. Gunslingers in the wild west do not shoot people without their consent and consider it as a victory but instead, challenges them into a showdown. This rule also includes the fact that if a surprise attack were to occur then the war would not be justified. The reason that a surprise attack would not justify war is because a surprise attack would not be playing fair against the other party.
People who are not associated with the war. For example, civilians shall not be harmed since they are not related. There is a Thai idiom which translates into "you lose, you accept it, and walk away". What this means is that a loss will be counted as a loss and a win will be counted as a win. After the war is over you cannot harm the other party nor their people. Every war should be thoughtful. People crawl to live day by day and it is very frustrating when a problem could have been solved through communication than war. Soldiers are just like world leaders, they both have families they love but unlike world leaders, soldiers do not have the power to stop war. “You be thankful if you get so much as a coffin” (Remarque 99).
A condition shall be stated before a war begins, you can not bring a gun into a knife battle, that's cheating. Just like wars, if a condition were to be stated that both parties could agree. By condition, it means that both the party would describe the weapons that are prohibited and not prohibited. This is to prevent the other party for using weapon of mass destruction such as nuclear, biological, or chemical weapons.
Last and the most important rule of all, communication. Communicating should be your first option since there are always miscommunication and misunderstanding between individuals. Starting a war is the last resort and if the initiating party did not communicate then the war shall not be justified. I admit it myself, humans are such disgusting creatures. Due to our instinct of nature, humans usually sort thing arguments through violence“So what did you think the devil would look like? If he were red with a tail, horns, and cloven hooves, any fool could say no” (Foster 1).
With more than several War Theories from major theorists yet no one from the higher ups follow these theories. Humans are not only disgusting because they fight with only violence but they do things individualistically. Us humans never listen to other people or try to understand, humans are just like that. Even with such great resources, I do not think we will ever achieve long term peace through out the histories of human and even until we humans extinct
Changes:
Theory itself, changing from condition based war into a more free war
bullet point style into paragraph style
minor grammar and types
Added explanation to the theory's name "Wild West"
re organized rule 2(communication) to 5th rule since more powerful
Work Cited
Foster, Thomas C. How to Read Literature like a Professor: A Lively and Entertaining Guide to Reading between the Lines. New York: Quill, 2003. Print.
"Documents." Just War Doctrine. Web. 04 Apr. 2016.
Augustine, St. "Just-War Theory." Just-War Theory. Web. 04 Apr. 2016.
"The Truth About Gunfights in the Old West." Neatorama. Web. 04 Apr. 2016.
Remarque, Erich Maria, and A. W. Wheen. All Quiet on the Western Front. Print.
Ristag, Mark. "JustWarTheory.com." JustWarTheory.com. 2004. Web. 04 Apr. 2016.