第35章　戦争と平和

Throughout human history, war has been one of the most destructive forces. Across every culture, battles have left enormous numbers dead, while many of the wounded never fully recovered. Defeated peoples were sometimes carried off as slaves, their old life destroyed forever.

The face of war has changed over the centuries. Ancient soldiers fought with swords and spears; modern military forces use far more powerful weapons, and in the twentieth century the bomb dropped from the sky became the symbol of total war. The two world wars of the last century introduced something entirely new. Nuclear weapons, developed at the end of World War II, made it possible for a single device to destroy an entire city. The fear of nuclear war has shaped international politics ever since.

Not all wars are between nations. A civil war, in which the people of one country fight one another, can be especially terrible. Neighbors are suddenly forced to treat each other as enemies, and the wounds in such a society take generations to heal. Modern military life affects ordinary citizens as well. Many countries draft young people into the army for a fixed period, while others rely entirely on volunteers they recruit. Soldiers are trained to defend their country and, in war, to occupy land that has been taken from the other side.

The history of war is also full of dark moments. There are reports of murder, of soldiers who betray their own comrades, and of cruel violence aimed at civilians who took no part in the fighting. Such crimes are now condemned even by those who fight.

Eventually, every war ends. One side may surrender, or both may grow too exhausted to continue. Countries that began as enemies sometimes become close allies a generation later, having concluded that an evil regime, not a whole people, was the real cause of the conflict.

After the fighting stops, a frontier line is redrawn on the map, but the deepest scars are inside human hearts. A peace agreement built on harsh demands tends to collapse, while a peace built on understanding can last for many lifetimes. The choice belongs to us.