The spoils of war
a column by Chris Jungle

Maybe I've just never lived in the proper time. Then again, I might be living in the time to see it the most clearly. What I've noticed lately is that many people are not understanding the full devastation of war. Jews are demanding that money and gold stolen from them in WWII (which is probably in Swiss banks) be returned. Germany is asking for stolen pieces of art back from Russia, and although Yeltsin said he would, the Russian parliament is saying otherwise. The war in Bosnia has caused those countries to ask for food from larger nations. Well, if war is hell, then post-war must be right down the road.

People seem so intent on getting back what was theirs before the bad times, but it just doesn't work that way. Not only does war kill thousands and sometimes millions of people, destroy property, and ruin the small niches it took families years to carve out for themselves, it also means the enemy will take stuff away from you and never give it back. Just because a bully took my lunch money didn't mean I got it back because I told the teacher.

Since Vietnam took place when I was more concerned with the white growth coming out of my gums and every other war which concerned my country after that lasted less than a month, I've used a little known directory when learning about war: history. The American Indians can prove they used to own land all over North America. Records of their ownership of certain parts of this continent are undeniable, but for some reason, the United States and Canada haven't returned what was theirs in the first place. The government in Taiwan used to be in charge and own many parts of mainland China, but they can't even get the current Chinese officials to admit they exist. North and South Korea are still North and South Korea. That war is over, isn't it?

The truth is that war changes a lot of things. It changes the population, the landscape, the owners of land, the outlook for countries, the rulers, and even money and valuables. I'm not saying that it was right for Swiss banks to accept stolen gold from the German government, or Russia to take German art, or American soldiers to take women from Vietnam for their wives, but it happened. It was war, and people do some bad things during wars.

Some people say banks got rich because of WWII. Well, lots of people get rich because of wars. Banks, governments, defense contractors, gun runners, investors in companies. Wars take things from good and bad players. I wonder if everyone who spent more money for drugs during the War On Drugs will ask for the extra money back when that war is over. Those are people who have lost a lot of money to war.

No matter how much new technology we create or how much we swear all of our targets are military targets, there are still major consequences for civilians. Just ask all of the widows of the Iraqi military. Of course, that raises another question. If a country is being attacked, isn't it the duty of its citizens to defend themselves, making them part of the military, and thus a military target, meaning that an attacking country can say anything is a military target? Where's Joseph Heller when you need him?

Basically, a war doesn't really end when the countries sign a peace treaty. The effects can be felt far into the future. Because of war, many Indians live on or near reservations, there is no country called Prussia, or Gaul, or Yugoslavia, many people have limbs blown off because of land mines, thousands of Vietnam veterans are on medication, Dresden is synonymous with 'fire bomb,' Hemingway wrote some good and bad novels, the hippie culture grew, people hate other cultures for decades, the movie The Dirty Dozen was made, women began working outside the home, and millions and millions of people have died.

Good things come out of war, and bad things come out of war. There are heroes, and there are goats. There's a lot we can learn about war through its consequences, but one of the most difficult things to do is change those consequences. Germany tried to change the consequences of the Great War, and it led to WWII. So to all of those people wanting stuff they lost because of war, forget it. You can't have it. Finders keepers. Be thankful that you're around to complain about losing all your stuff.

Chris Jungle has been caught during delusional moments to say that he's the reincarnation of a soldier whom no one cared about and died in Vietnam.

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