I ask myself why...all the time.

[stillcool]

I did some reading and found the term 'shell shock' was coined by C.S. Myers, a physician in 1915...and that the high rate of soldiers exhibiting symptoms was due to advanced technology in all aspects of weaponry. The never before seen catastrophic destruction and increased lethality due to poison gasses, air-power, better bombs, tanks, etc.,According to “The War with Germany, a Statistical Summary” by Lt. Colonel Albert G. Love circa 1919, the total battle deaths of WWI, were greater than all the deaths in all wars for more than 100 previous years. What an impact.

Government's, needing to maintain troop levels, refused to acknowledge the mental injuries caused by war, and instead labeled the victims as cowards, sissies, insane and the like. What an impact.
Here's an interesting article regarding how those afflicted were treated. http://www.wfa-usa.org/new/shellshock.htm

So...anyway..I got to wondering...after all the wars that followed WWI... how this imposed mental mind-set, that by necessity has defined masculinity has affected society. If there is a correlation between things like alcoholism, drug abuse, child abuse, child neglect, foster children, the increase in prison population, police brutality, a more violent society. I just wonder.

And then I wonder about politics and lies..and the necessity for those lies. I wonder how necessary it is for some people to maintain a vigilant and restrictive view of their own identity and how they fit in the world around them. And I wonder how that translates to the beliefs of their children. How important is it to believe and belong. And, how righteous is that belief. And, other than pain and suffering is there anything that can change that belief. Is it even important to know why. How do things change if you don't know why.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

1. All wars are traumatic

The Civil War was horrible, and many a man who fought in it never got over it. I know of men who became drug addicts and others who left their families, became alcoholics, bandits, etc, because of it. Ambrose Bierce was one who wrote of the horrors in graphic detail. So I'd say the mindset of what defines masculinity has been effecting society for longer than simply WWI.

As to why people lie or believe lies--that is because of fear. Fear of finding out who they truly are. Fear of losing the old comfort level found in misinformation.

[stillcool]

2. Actually....my father...

was 'never the same' after the war...so my interest in the cause and effect of war is personal. I recall that in the Civil War it was called 'Soldiers Heart'..and I am sure that all war..has consequences to those fighting it. However I do not believe that the effects of all wars are equal..individually or collectively. I question the why of the society I live in...the why of my own reality. I also believe the need for identity is not fear, but necessity...like the catalyst for change. I guess what I really want to know is, does it matter?

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

3. now you are getting into philosophy

the Hindus call this place where we live Maya, the duality of illusion. Mystics talk of this life as a role we are playing, that the thing to do is to act as if all this really matters, but know that it doesn't.

[stillcool]

4. I think I realize how little truth...

can be found in life, but it doesn't stop me from yearning for reason..and I think maybe I think too much.

[defendandprotect]

5. Very long ago feminists comments on that kind of thinking ---

not directly re Hindus -- however, from an even higher perspective re our destruction of the planet.

This was probably 25-30 years ago . . . and they commented that there was a philosophy out there that we could just destroy and overpopulate this planet --- and move onto a new one.
Trash that one and move on again ---

Overall, a wasteful use of nature and life ---

Unfortunately, I think pain and suffering do matter --- destruction of the mind does matter --

And, I would guess that those spirits who have reached the highest levels of kharma/whatever probably
take on the most difficult lives.

Shakespeare, of course, gave it a different meaning in suggesting that all life is a stage and we are merely actors upon it ---

[defendandprotect]

6. It would be only "girl-y men" who would be willing to acknowledge death and

destruction of war and PTSD as it is now called ---
they keep changing the name in order to hide the evidence.
However, we must encourage journalists and writers to keep telling the truth --
and for veterans to speak out without fear of being considered less than male.
Behind that macho image, must is hidden!

On the other hand, others say that war is really a war on women and children ---
they don't get guns and protective clothing ---

[stillcool]

7. I have found some pretty interesting...

sites.. One of them is The Long Walk Home, but their site seems to be down.
http://www.thelongwalkhome.org/Mission.php
but here's another one.
http://www.promethea.org/Misc_Compositions/FightingFutureWar/TheEffectsofWar.html#PsychologicalSymptoms

....I think the war on women and children happens after the soldier comes home.