Will War Ever End?. Paul K. Chappell
Table of Contents
NOT ALL SOLDIERS ARE HUMAN BEINGS
UNCONDITIONAL LOVE IS STRONGER THAN HATRED
THE FIRST STEP ON THE ROAD TO PEACE
For my parents,
the brave soldiers I have served with,
and
all who have suffered because of war.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I would like to thank my agent, Bill Gladstone, for taking a chance on a young new author, always having faith in this project, and being a loyal friend during difficult times. I would also like to thank Ming Russell and Nathalie McKnight at Waterside Productions for encouraging and supporting me throughout the publishing process. I would like to thank Susan Mc-Combs for pulling one of my manuscripts out of a slush pile several years ago and becoming interested in my writing; and I must thank Patricia Heinicke for taking the time to hone and refine my skills as a writer. I owe so much to my editor and good friend, Vicki Weiland, whose talent and dedication greatly improved this manuscript and whose generous help continues to inspire me. I am extremely grateful to David Wilk for enthusiastically believing in this message, agreeing to publish this book, and being a comrade in the struggle for a brighter future. I am also indebted to Gray Cutler for skillfully copyediting the manuscript, Barbara Aronica-Buck for beautifully designing the book, and Dave Grossman for writing the foreword and influencing my ideas with his groundbreaking research, brilliant insights into the problem of violence, and bold determination to make our world more peaceful. Finally, I must thank Jo Ann Deck. Words cannot express how important she has been in helping me bring this hopeful message to the world. She is the best friend anyone could ask for and the person who made all of this possible.
FOREWORD
Lt. Col. Dave Grossman, U.S. Army (ret.)
author of
On Killing: The Psychological Cost of Learning to Kill in War and Society
The book you hold in your hand makes a powerful new contribution to our understanding of war and peace, and provides us with vital insights into fundamental aspects of human nature. I sincerely believe that the fields of philosophy, anthropology, history, military science, peace studies, and many others, will be able to build upon the concepts set forth in this book in order to help guide our civilization toward a world without war.
A bold statement? Perhaps. Read this book and see what you think.
As for me, I was consumed with an admiration verging on awe when I first read this book. Paul K. Chappell’s concepts of fury, rage, and “the pain of hatred” struck me with an almost physical impact. He has transformed my way of thinking about war and peace. And I believe (and hope, and pray) that his powerful logic and lucid insights will continue to contribute to our civilization for generations to come.
My book, On Killing: The Psychological Cost of Learning to Kill in War and Society, is currently being used as “required reading” in peace studies programs at Berkeley, and in Mennonite and Quaker colleges. On Killing is also on the U.S. Marine Corps Commandant’s “Required Reading List” and is required reading at the FBI Academy and in courses at West Point. How do you make institutions as diverse as Berkeley, the FBI, the Quakers, the U.S. Army and the Marine Corps happy with the same book? The answer is: you just tell the truth. New truths. Powerful truths. Useful truths.
I freely and willingly take whatever credibility On Killing gives me, and “put it on the line” to commend this book to your attention. For it has provided me with new, powerful, and useful truths. This book has drawn from my work (and that of many others, for mine is but a small contribution) and brought them to a deeper, more useful, and more important level.
And there is cause to hope, and believe, that there can be an end to war.
The West has won the Cold War without resorting to mega-death, genocide, or nuclear holocaust. For the first time in history the majority of the world’s population elects their national leaders, and democratically elected governments generally do not go to war with other democracies.
Writing in his syndicated newspaper column, political science professor Bradley R. Gitz flatly states “there is no agreed-upon historical case of a democratically elected government going to war against another democratically elected government.” He believes that one of the “axioms” of political science is that “democratic states don’t fight