Drawn to Carnage

What is it about human nature and violence?

You often hear people talk about war being inevitable or how humans are inherently violent. People that clamor or peace on some level seem ridiculous because they are advocating a position that would make them defenseless against anyone that disagrees.

People definitely like violent movies. The more gore, the better the box office appeal. Sitting safely in an air conditioned theater, it's fun to watch a bang-'em-up beat-'em-up flick while munching popcorn. When it's over, you go home or go get something to eat and pretty much forget about it. Real violence that inflicts real injuries is very different, and there's no "let's go get a burger" moment afterwards. Physical injuries take a long time to heal, and often include some kind of loss of ability or at least integrity of your body. Mental injuries are even more insidious because they are not obvious or readily apparent. The recent wars have a high percentage of post traumatic stress victims, which we are finding out is just a normal response to experiencing combat. It is possible to survive this affliction without treatment, as most combat veterans throughout history have, but you wonder how many walking wounded have woven their way through the aftermath of war with complete turmoil in their heads as they attempt to behave normally in serene social situations.

From a Darwinian perspective, we are violent because that's what helped us survive. But why are we so casually violent? Why are we fascinated and fixated by it? I would almost say that some people are in love with violence for violence's sake.

I know from my own experience that there is no denying that violence appeals to us, it calls to us somehow. I have been re-listening to the book The Civil War, A Narrative, by Shelby Foote, and there is something compelling about the battles and the scale of the carnage. I find myself very drawn to it. You hear about days where tens of thousands of people die, most in horrible ways, and in the back of your mind you're thinking, "I wonder what that was like to be there?". It's fine to be fascinated about this as long as it's in the abstract, if you actually had to experience it, it wouldn't be as good. However, each war or conflict has a strange romanticism about it, with no shortage or eager young men signing up and shipping out. The new soldier, the combat virgin is often full of zeal, ready for action, eager to experience "the elephant" as Shelby Foote calls it. Once experienced, they are not so eager. There is a scene in Band of Brothers where a replacement soldier shares guard duty with a grizzled veteran and is chewed out for his overzealousness. The man that has seen violence has had enough, the one that hasn't is itching for it.

Many cultures glorify violence, hold those that are good at it in high esteem, foster it in their young, and leap eagerly into the first situation that promises the chance to fight. Some of these cultures remain backward and stunted in their developement, but others produce violent young men from a cradle of privilege and comparative luxury. So there is no correlation between the degree of civilization and the willingness for violence. The violence is just inherent in the system.