War is integral to human history – older than culture, society, even humanity. Combat is as primal as eating. It is not clear whether this should make it more or less surprising that war persists today – that, despite all the cultural, societal and technological advancements of humanity, there still should be war.
Even with all that experience, humanity still doesn’t know how to handle war, both during and afterward. Once the decision is made to go to war, it’s the youth of the world who go into battle – those same best and brightest who are the future of humanity. It seems strange that a society should endanger its future by sending its youth into battle, yet, perversely, they are the ones most capable of fighting.
Once soldiers return from war, society has to decide what to do with them, and unfortunately it’s really bad at the decision. One would think that those who have put their lives in jeopardy to serve their country should be taken care of as needed and given good jobs in honor of their service, yet in reality many soldiers feel abandoned after they return. In the past, programs such as the GI Bill gave soldiers a course of action to enter back into society and there are traces of that remaining today. More serious is the problem of the hardship and stress endured in war. Treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder is an ongoing issue. Whatever the specifics, it is critical for society to figure out how to welcome back those who have worked so hard to protect everyone.
