War

The varnish cracks and peels away, and little eruptions from below the surface suppurates before us the underlying truth: An animal awaits...nine meals from anarchy. Deadlier than any other living thing, prepared to kill anyone, even its own kind. No other creature sets a lower bar. Surely the wonder of Nature never foresaw this. Linguistic casualties: integrity; heroism; courage; sacrifice and love, for such things sit uneasily with weaponry. The words of a leader reverberate in our minds: "God is on our side: the enemy is the lowest form of life, its armaments and behaviour horrendous in the extreme." Yet he desires more from his own productions lines and urges his people to a glorious victory. Dignity, goodness, sensitivity, and empathy, the basic decency of many human beings, nine meals from anarchy, and 'Mental Cases'. Easy prey. So does even the shame, the regret, that searing, the scarred memories; the tears, the guilt, and the fear, fall upon the consciences of the good? To suffer the rest of your life, an innocent. Euphemisms, and stirring myths, and lies, encircle the globe, like mental fall-out, nine meals from anarchy. The protective layers of pretence and language, unfold and peeled back, until, naked, everyone is enemy?