Sometimes war pilots return to geographies and cities they bombed. It is like a pilgrimage for them. This is especially true for World War II captains who conducted bombing raids.
When they visit these areas, they often have an emotional breakdown.
They cry. They contemplate. They commiserate.
They think of all the people they murdered and realize they were just other people with dreams, aspirations, and goals. They were human beings. Now those pilots are withered and broken. They are continusouly tormented by the sins of their past. They suffer from a moral wound so deep it is nigh impossible to overcome.
As a species, we are not built for warfare. We are not meant to murder each other. In this sense, war has become a sacrificial religious ritual, where we imagine we have a spate of enemies that must be destroyed for the greater good of the State.
Soldiers are thus broken down and trained to commit atrocities without thinking. They are manufactured like drones whose conscience is suppressed. They are simply constructed to obey commands.
However, this activity still effects the psyche. Once the soldier has dehumanized the enemy and spilled their blood, they become traumatized. They have vivid flashbacks of the incident and see the action as if it were crisp, clean cinematography. They experience this not because they simply witnessed a violent scene, but because they committed an evil action. They participated in harming other humans, and sometimes harming them in the most grotesque, shameful manner.
Bear in mind, this truth is not relegated only to American military personnel. This is all combatants. This is anyone who kills in cold blood and attempts to justify it by wearing a uniform and stripes.
Therefore, it is my message to all peopled lands that we work together to eradicate war, to create a civilization so adversarial to the concept that we view it in the same manner as rape or child abuse. Just because warfare has a statistical element to it does not mean it is right or just. We must act as arbiters of peace and dignity if we are to stay the fanatical drive to destroy our brethren. We cannot allow ourselves to bask in the blood of our kin. Let us unify and cooperate to delete warfare from the marrow of human activity. This is the most important undertaking of any age and it should a central theme in modern affairs.
The future will indeed be bright if we make this the defining work of our era. Will you join me in this magnificent march toward peace in our lifetime? Will you help save humanity?