WAR SHADOWS: Reflections on the Dark Side of Humanity
		
	I marched with Napoleon
	across the plains of Russia
	& rode with Genghis Khan
	across fields where humans
	were harvested easily like wheat

	I advanced with Alexander
	to the edges of known civilization
	& sallied with Cortez
	anywhere rumored to have gold

	I followed the Führer
	out of blind lust for battle
	& supported Bush-Biden-Bin Laden
	so vengeance could unfold

	Wherever you find mass graveyards
	& places of bloody retribution
	my stench will assault your nostrils.

	The next time world leaders
	churn out doggerel about
	another 'just' conflict . . . 
	how will you respond?


Dmiritri: Who is the 'I' in this poem?

Frida: 	  That's the sort of question for a high school literature class. To me,
          a far more interesting question is why some people march to the tune 
          of such horrors.

Ying: 	  To some degree, humans are carbon-based robots who can be programmed 
          to do anything.


=====================================================================================
from Peace Pieces: Reflections on Violence and Conflict Resolution by T Newfields
SUMMARY:  Some thoughts about how easily humans are manipulated into violence.
KEYWORDS: war history, legacies of violence, social manipulation, problematizing conflict

Author: T Newfields [Nitta Hirou / Huáng Yuèwǔ] (b. 1955)
Begun: 2006 in Tokyo, Japan ⩝ Finished: Finished: 2019 in Yokohama, Japan
Creative Commons License: Attribution. {{CC-BY-4.0}} Granted

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Translations 

Chinese   https://www.tnewfields.info/zh/yinying.htm
Japanese  https://www.tnewfields.info/jp/sensou.htm
Spanish   https://www.tnewfields.info/es/sombras.htm