War is hell, not entertainment
- Dan Connors
- Aug 8
- 4 min read
"I hate war as only a soldier who has lived in it can, only as one who has seen its brutality, its stupidity." Dwight D Eisenhower
"The strength of a country is measured not by its ability to fight wars, but by its ability to prevent them." Gene Roddenberry
Wars have been around almost as long as civilization itself—often accepted as a reasonable, if terrible, way to settle human disputes. Today’s conflicts, however, feel fundamentally different from those in history books. They are more localized and less intrusive to daily life, yet every bit as deadly. Those of us fortunate enough to have avoided war cannot truly grasp its reality. Violent movies and video games offer a sanitized substitute, but understanding the true gravity of warfare requires looking far deeper.
I was reminded of this recently while watching a World War II documentary on the History Channel narrated by Tom Hanks. More has been written and debated about that conflict than almost any other in history. It was a staggering confrontation that enveloped entire continents and reshaped the global order. Over twenty episodes, the series traces the war from start to finish. The three Axis powers—Germany, Italy, and Japan—murdered millions of civilians, conquered sovereign nations, and ultimately brought about their own destruction. World War II is often remembered as the last conflict where good and evil were clearly defined, and where the good guys won decisively.
Since 1945, dozens of wars have been fought, though almost none were officially declared. Korea and Vietnam were categorized as "military conflicts" viewed through the ideological prism of the Cold War. More recently, the Middle East—with its vast oil reserves—became ground zero for American military involvement, a dynamic that shows little sign of changing.
In the eight decades since V-J Day, the nature of war has fundamentally shifted. For a time, the world seemed more stable, but several disturbing trends have quietly taken root:
Semantic Euphemisms: Wars are rarely called wars anymore. A formal declaration requires public buy-in and political sacrifice. Instead, we engage in "armed conflicts," "incursions," "police actions," or "special military operations." People still die, but the public pays less attention.
The End of Shared Sacrifice: Americans are no longer drafted. The Vietnam-era draft sparked fierce opposition, especially among young people, and was rightly criticized because wealthier citizens could secure deferments. Today’s wars are fought by an all-volunteer force, supplemented by autonomous drones and precision munitions.
Deficit-Financed Conflict: Wars are no longer paid for through shared taxation. America's first income tax was created to fund the Civil War, and taxes rose significantly during World War II alongside war bond drives. Since Vietnam, however, the U.S. has favored tax cuts, financing its Middle Eastern interventions almost entirely through national debt.
Unchecked Defense Spending: The U.S. military budget has exploded in real dollars since Vietnam—growing from under $100 billion in 1975 to proposed budgets topping $1.5 trillion fifty years later. Whether that money is spent wisely remains unknown, as the Pentagon has repeatedly failed audits. Waste and fraud are widely suspected, yet defense spending remains largely untouchable.
Neglect of Returning Veterans: Soldiers return home carrying invisible injuries—post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injuries, toxin-induced cancers, and severe mental illness. The Department of Veterans Affairs has long struggled to meet its obligations, a problem exacerbated by recent administrative cuts under the DOGE initiative. While society pays lip service to veterans, over 6,000 still die by suicide every year.
What has evolved over the past few decades is a model of warfare designed to inflict maximum damage abroad with minimal disruption at home. During World War II, every citizen was asked to contribute and sacrifice. During the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the public watched the violence almost as background entertainment. While soldiers and civilians were dying overseas, the rest of the nation barely noticed. There was no draft, taxes were cut, and the stock market rallied. When the dust settled after nearly two decades of combat, neither Iraq nor Afghanistan was left significantly better off.
This disconnect is personal for me. My father fought in World War II. After flying across France and being shot down, he spent over a year in German POW camps. Caught near the Spanish border, he suffered severe malnutrition and narrowly escaped death multiple times. He rarely spoke of it, choosing—like so many of his generation—to shield his family from the horrors he witnessed. I can hardly fathom what he and his fellow soldiers endured.
War should be inconvenient for those who champion it. It carries immense human and moral costs, and it demands genuine sacrifice. Today, when America engages in conflict, the only immediate inconvenience for most citizens is a mild fluctuation in gas prices. There is no draft, no war tax, and often no meaningful effort to justify the campaign to the public.
Too often, the loudest calls for war come from those who have never seen a battlefield—the "chicken hawks" attempting to project strength from behind a desk. But anyone who has witnessed the reality of combat understands the tragic folly of waging it. There are no true winners in war, only survivors and casualties. From Gaza and Ukraine to Sudan, Iran, and Myanmar, modern battlefields remain monuments to human misery. The world must demand better—and the United States must lead the way if it wishes to remain a true beacon of freedom and democracy.
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