Something To Kill For; Something To Die For

Come the war
Come the avarice
Come the war
Come hell

Come attrition
Come the reek of bones
Come attrition
Come hell

This is why
Why we fight
Why we lie awake
And this is why
This is why we fight

When we die
We will die
With our arms unbound

And this is why
This is why
Why we fight
Come hell

Bride of quiet
Bride of all unquiet things
Bride of quiet
Bride of hell



The purpose of this and the two previous blog entrees is to explore the reasons why some people react violently towards those who insult certain loyalties.  What are the psychological, biological, and social mechanisms behind the muslim extremist's call for the death of cartoonists, authors, and producers who depict the Prophet Muhammad in a disrespectful light?  Why have I heard rednecks (I remember a scene in the comedy "Borat") say threatingly "Now if you start dissing my God, we're going to have a problem."?  Prophets and gods aside, there seems to be plenty of other sensitive subjects that can compel people to violence if they're prodded just right.  Allegiances to various social leaders, traditional idols and symbols, sporting teams, ideologies, and beloved family members can instantaneously morph into rage given unwelcome insulting words.  Why is an insult to one's mom or girlfriend a good reason to start a fist fight?  Why do some sports stars have a fans who seem willing to go to war alongside them?  The mechanisms that spur violence in these instances are not contained within one social group in one part of the world.  They are universal, it seems, and we would be foolish to believe our culture is immune to its effects.  We owe it to future generations to bring these particular loyalties and sensitivities to light, and recognize that they can produce horrible consequences in the forms of racism, murder, terrorism, genocide, and war.  Finally, we cannot dismiss every loyalty as foolish and potentially destructive.  We need to ask ourselves what deserves our loyalty and when is it appropriate to fight for it.

I've talked about some of the natural, selective, and social forces behind the existence of this ugly human trait.  1) Non-violent insult may be something new for us, and some of us still react as though words coincide with a genuine threat.  2) The more passionate a society is about one or more sacred symbols, the more likely it will act as one for the promotion and survival of that symbol...and itself.  In conjunction, a society like this will harshly discourage dissent or any action that degrades the sacred "glue" that keeps the society vital in a world that may be hostile towards it.  2.5) Groups that are different may experience real and imagined hostility from its neighbors; and as a consequence, react violently towards them.  They may in fact, over the course of hundreds and thousands of years, successfully wipe out small tribes and weaker nations residing in their area; thus, selecting for and growing the group's psychological peculiarities.

Its fair to say that violent conflicts are so often not the results of decisions or feelings of those taking part.  Usually, there are many unwilling participants in war.  And then there are those who would never have thought to take part until someone influenced them on an emotional or intellectual level that killing was necessary.  Any serious study of the feelings that precede violence needs to consider the phenomenon of emotional transference.  How can one person stand, as Hitler did, in front of thousands and turn individual feeling into one great passion that welcomed war.  If we were to take a look at war time propaganda, we can identify additional cultural phenomenon that justify violence.