General Discussion

mopinko

(73,527 posts)

15. war and violence have served the human animal well.

Tue May 29, 2012, 09:38 PM

May 2012

imho, it is what made us the ones to evolve- altruism, self sacrifice and the willingness to gang up and go thump the other guy. chimps do it, and it serves them well, also.

i think we are evolving out of it, as evolutionary biology would predict. now that we have mutually assured destruction, violence is just becoming too costly. at least on an epic scale. while we are at war now, we are doing it with a fraction of the soldiers, a fraction of the popular support and a fraction of the public frenzy.
it no longer serves us all that well. there is little new ground to take.
we do have a very long way to go, tho.

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Why military participants who die in war are called heroes [View all] SoCalDem May 2012 OP

if you are a believer in evolutionary psychology, as i am, you would posit mopinko May 2012 #1

agreed. SoCalDem May 2012 #2

yes pretty much, and hero-worship is fundamental to fascist regimes. Warren Stupidity May 2012 #3

well, that unraveling is also something mopinko May 2012 #5

As some here on DU idolize some of our political leaders. RC May 2012 #6

That's exactly what Chris Hayes meant tularetom May 2012 #4

Most die of artillery, mines, machine guns, IEDs, drowning and plane crashes FarCenter May 2012 #7

Gotta keep that cannon fodder coming. 99Forever May 2012 #8

It goes back to the ancient Greeks, and probably long before them... TreasonousBastard May 2012 #9

war and violence have served the human animal well. mopinko May 2012 #15

What I have to offer is probably too simplistic, but look at the culture we are raising, rustydog May 2012 #10

Simplistic? Perhaps. gratuitous May 2012 #11

Just take a look at what the HISTORY channel is offering SoCalDem May 2012 #12

and then there is the LEARNING channel SoCalDem May 2012 #13

Generally a war "hero" is someone who has sacrificed themselves raouldukelives May 2012 #14