War Essay, Research Paper

"The 20th century has been dominated by the machine gun,

the tank, the B-52 bomber, the nuclear bomb and, finally,

the missile. It has been distinguished by the bloodiest and

most destructive wars than those of any other time." So

said History professor Hugh Thomas and he certainly knew

what he was talking about. Since the beginning of the

century, men have been at war for different reasons that to

me do not justify the aftermath of war. Negative effects on

soldiers, suffering children and affected countries are part

of the aftermath that makes war a horrible and unfair thing.

All the soldiers involved actively in any war come home

with negative effects. The mental health of these men is

affected because of the strains, tensions and the "kill or be

killed" mentality of the battlefield. Many of them have

physical ailments as a result of the injuries received in battle

or the exposure to biological weapons that tamper with the

many systems of the body. The quality of their family life

suffers because they have been scared mentally,

emotionally and physically; therefore their behavior will not

be the same and that affects family life significantly.

Another aftermath of war is the suffering children. Many of

them experience the painful loss of family members such as

their parents, grand parents, and brothers, which

sometimes leaves them alone in a harsh world. In addition,

the physical health of the children is affected because of

injuries, lack of food and medical care. All of this leads to

emotional problems that can conflict with the children?s

development and future well being.

Finally, war can leave lasting repercussions on the countries

that are involved in it. Due to contamination by biological

weapons, insufficiency of food, or the bad administration of

it, hunger appears and people become desperate. In

addition to this, the economy of the countries involved is

affected because of the great quantities of money being

used for armaments and defense. The effect of this can be

long lasting. With all of this comes an increase in disease as

a consequence of the biological weapons, the lack of

money for medicines, the destruction of vital buildings such

as hospitals and the contamination of the water.

The negative effects on soldiers, the suffering children, and

the affected countries are only part of the aftermath that

makes war a truly horrible and unfair thing. Over time, we

have seen that war only brings negative effects to the well

being of humanity. That is why we must learn from our

mistakes, so we do not repeat them. When people start to

have love and compassion for each other that is when the

change will come.