On War and Selfishness

Just recently, I finished reading the book Johnny Got His Gun by Dalton Trumbo, which I found to be an incredibly moving and rational indictment against war. However, in my case, since I am not anti-war, a position that Trumbo asserts in this book, I still found this book to efficaciously illustrate why war should rarely, if ever, be fought. Which leads me into the reason why war should be fought- only in support of fighting to defend one's individual sovereignty in the face of a tyrannical and/or a totalitarian government after all civil methods have been ruled out; not for reasons of imperialism, procurement of natural resources, or for charity, as has been customary for centuries. For a well-reasoned defense of a "just war" see Objectivist philosopher Leonard Peikoff's speech at West Point.

-etw

“You can always hear the people who are willing to sacrifice somebody else’s life. They’re plenty loud and they talk all the time. You can find them in churches and schools and newspapers and legislatures and congress. That’s their business. They sound wonderful. Death before dishonor. This ground sanctified by blood. These men who died so gloriously. They shall not have died in vain. Our noble dead. Hmmmm. But what do the dead say? Did anybody ever come back from the dead any single one of millions who got killed did any one of them ever come back and say by god I’m glad because death is always better than dishonor? Did they say I’m glad I died to make the world safe for democracy? Did they say I like death better than losing liberty? Did any of them ever say it’s good to think I got my guts blown out for the honor of my country? Did any of them ever say look at me I’m dead but I died for decency and that’s better than being alive? Did any of them ever say here I am I’ve been rotting for two years in a foreign grave but that’s wonderful to die for your native land? Did any of them say hurray I died for womanhood and I’m happy see how I sing even though my mouth is choked with worms?

Nobody but the dead know whether all these things people talk about are worth dying for or not. And the dead can’t talk. So the words about noble deaths and sacred blood and honor and such are all put into dead lips by grave robbers and fakes who have no right to speak for the dead. If a man says death before dishonor he is either a fool or a liar because he doesn’t know what death is. He isn’t able to judge. He only knows about living. He doesn’t know anything about dying. If he is a fool and believes in death before dishonor let him go ahead and die.”

-Johnny Got His Gun by Dalton Trumbo, pages 115-116.