Green swords

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As much as I laud the gains of science in educating and increasing humanity's control over nature the religious Luddites who decry technological advances for religious reasons and justify their delight in human ignorance with Biblical fantasies do have some solid ground in examples of how primitive vicious human activities such as war and mercantile industry are destroying the basic livability of our planet. This article http://www.counterpunch.org/stclair05012009.html details how the latest advances in warfare technology is inevitably destroying large sections of the planet to support and maintain life. Although the invention and utilization of gunpowder and other explosive material has radically increased human ability to indulge in its most vicious cruelties the innovation of creating various radioactive materials has done something profoundly different. It has more or less permanently released technological demons which remain deadly for many centuries after their initial application. History has amply demonstrated that humans so delight in torture, mutilation, and murder of each other that stopping this seems a hopeless task. But it might be possible to induce basic sadistic instincts to draw pleasure in the actual sight of blood and guts by the use of instruments that merely kill humans and release groans and screams of pain and horror which can more intimately be obtained by the use of knives and swords and bludgeons rather than with radioactives that, in the long run, will exterminate us all and ultimately destroy the source of all this sadistic pleasure. If nast characters can be induced to return to the use of swords (which surely have a delightful romantic quality) the planet may, in the long run, be made safer for the rest of us cowards who prefer to hide in the woods rather than exercise our pleasures in murderous combat.

That reminds me of how the British made a pact with the Americans back during the "revolutionary war" to have a gentlemen's war where battles were planned in such a way that you described. The Americans agreed and snickered as they planned their guerrilla attacks.

I think you overlooked the word "allegory".

The point is that humans have an instinct to destroy despite the fact that it destroys our habitat and endangers us more so than if we were to be peaceful. During times of peace, men get ants in their pants to do something deranged, and women get naggy for even more luxuries.

The essential psychological problem with gun people is their lack of resolution in the long tradition of slaughtering people. Modern life is basically detrimental to the physiology and psychology developed in humanity for joyous aggressive acts of homicide. Along with McDonald's super calorified meals the gun merely and simply permits a rather strenuous task to be accomplished with a well timed finger twitch. No exercise at all to burn off that extra fat. A proper sword or battle axe, along with suit of hefty armor plate requires considerable energy output to prance around and whack off somebody's head or even to bludgeon an arm or leg. A well proportioned and slim and even acrobatic warrior is a joy to behold as he guts a wealthy tradesman and flings the bloody entrails into the air with a whoop of delight. Raping a daughter or two is, of course, the proper R&R to relieve the strains of battle and is certainly more enjoyable than dull push-ups to develop stomach muscles. What better way to improve the human race and keep down burgeoning populations? If only a few true crusaders had invaded the financial sector down in Wall Street and happily butchered a raft of greedy financiers wouldn't the nation be better for it? I doubt there are sufficient Percherons around to provide satisfactory mounts but with the decline of General Motors it should be possible to put the firm back into successful business breeding them and the joys of organic farming would also be enhanced with all that glorious horshi t. American have shown a definite love of horshi t as demonstrated by the most recent election and the continuous output of it by the shattered remnants of the Republican Party. The ecology and the world in general would doubtless benefit. Fie on all that virtual battle in computerworlds. TV is turning out perfectly boring crap and the 40,000 automobile deaths we have each year (which makes 9/11 insignificant) inspires no sagas. Time for a change!

It is true that the US military is the single largest polluter on the planet (One of the many reasons why I refuse to ever join up with the armed forces)
One particularly heinous example for me, in my opinion, of this destruction and disregard for nature, is not found in Iraq, but Okinawa. As detailed in David Suzuki's book The Other Japan, the US military built airports and bases with reckless disregard to how it would affect the local coral reefs. Now, over 50% of Okinawa's coral reefs have been destroyed, along with it, a livelihood for many local Okinawan people who depended on the sea for food, work, and local life. The further south Ryuku islands are more pristine, but I wonder how long it will be until the military uses either China or North Korea as an excuse to put up more concrete there.

Debatable.

Wow, Sand, I didn't know you had it in you.
If you ever become a sadistic, tyrannical dictator,
you will at least have an avid follower...

...And you're right, swords are sexy.

Yes religion plays a part when it comes to warfare, but I don't think weapons of mass destruction have so much to do with religion as it does with evolution.

Modern weapons are still being perfected with the materials we need. If you go way back, bows and arrows, stones, and whatever man had necessary to fight off a supposed enemy was not as reliable or damaging as the weapons of today are.