War belongs in a Museum...
...Oorlog hoort in een museum
Thats the motto of the Oorlogsmusem Overloon in the Netherlands. Nothing could be closer to the truth. Even though my website and hobbies cover military aircraft, world war battlefields, tanks and equipment, I fully oppose war.
Wouldn't it be perfect if war would just be a museum topic - without any more wars today or in the future. War is the cause of intense suffering and pain, and most people (even those who don't know it) are somehow affected by it from the past.
If war belonged to museums we would enjoy (then) historical fighterjets doing their unique demo's. Tanks would show and display their formidable strenght and power. The weapons would remind us of 'old enemies' or 'heroes of the past' from a time when disputes were fought by battles. The human race tends to forget its past over and over. And once again it will step into the same mistakes. Causing conflict and war. Therefore history can never be forgotten. This is one of the reasons why I share my knowledge, and keep warfare history commemorated, not just to show the interesting and 'mighty' equipment and technologies, but to not forget mistakes we made in the past.
A very confronting and impressive book is 'The Angel of Grozny' about orphan children trying to survive in the Chechnya capital - home of one of the many forgotten wars. Only difference with most wars is the fact that this describes the situation TODAY, at the start of our new millenium. It is almost unbelievable for most of us Europeans that this world exists. It's a truly gripping story especially if you have children of your own. Another harsh fact is that most of us 'rich' people of this world do not even know about places like Grozny. One of the many forgotten and never healed wars.
It is not just that easy to say war must stop and never be waged again. Conflict is in the human nature, it has always been. In fact we are just mammals originating from predators and prey. Not even the top of the foodchain - therefore we learned to fight and defend. Get what we need to survive by force, defend our lifes with anger and defend those we hold precious.
It would take a lot of 'inhumanity' to abandon warfare. The entire human race is based on it through all kind of manners. The 'Culture of War' by professor Martin van Creveld deepens these origins. We must be better than just be able to progress by war - it must be possible to progress by peace.
I will not depict any horrors of war or tell tales since these are much described on many websites, books and movies. Although in the section 'KNIL' I will tell some of my personal and my families sad outcomes and pain which we endured after war.