The Cost of War

Economies of scale similar to the expenditures for prolonged modern warfare equal the gross national product totals of many nations. Current conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq are costing hundreds of billions of dollars. It must be considered that rarely do we count the cost in honest evaluations of the investments made in war machinery and its related upkeep; much less do we begin to consider the immeasurable factors of grief,death, suffering, loss, pain, disease, hunger, animosity, anger, fear and unending tragedy associated with the ongoing progression of such conflicts. In the midst of such conflicts,the only numbers that seem to matter are “our” casualties. How many bodies have we sent home to be buried? How many more have we sent home mutilated and maimed in countless waves by bullets and bombs and shrapnel of all sorts? How many have we sent home with all their body parts, but with their minds in agony, confusion, and disarray? How many can’t sleep? How many can’t work? How many can’t relate to their children for fear of an ingrained response to every sight and sound around them? How many come home and find that things are not the way they were when they left? How many lose their spouses, lose their jobs, lose their dreams? How many suffer from the delayed consequences of exposure to unhealthy environments, physical conditions that bring debilitation and pain? How many beyond our “own” suffer because the collateral damages are just a part of war? Who counts the children caught in the crossfire? Who counts the children laden with explosives and sent into populated places? Who counts the wounds of the natives, the innocents, the local poor who cannot escape the conflict zone because they have no means? Who counts the enemy dead beyond those on the“most wanted” card deck hit list? Who counts the dead in the refugee camps who die from disease and starvation? Who counts the dead who die trying to get to safety or trying to rebuild their country? Who counts the cost and does not see the need for somebody to make an effort to make peace?

Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.”Matthew 5:9 NRSV.