The War Continues - Is War Genetic? Also a Small Victory and Celebration

I'm celebrating a small victory today. I had to go to Target on a quick errand yesterday, and on a whim gathered up the multitude of gift cards I had accumulated. I wanted to find a pair of pants that actually fit me, and maybe a Spring or Summer top. So, I went shopping. I've been as high as a size 16 in my life, and usually level out at a size 12 which is a perfectly acceptable size, but I knew that the jeans I'd been wearing were 10's and 12's and they were WAY too lose. So I grabbed a 10 and an 8 and headed to try them on. To my surprise, even the size 8 was way too big. So I handed the jeans to the clerk and went to get some size 6 pants to try on. I found two that I liked and went back to the changing station. They both fit beautifully! Total shock! I also found a couple of really cute tops, so I paid for them with my gift cards, augmenting the remainder with my Discover card. I'm beyond thrilled! Size 6! I would never have imagined I'd ever be that size, and I'm comfortable and happy. The new pants are in my laundry bucket and I can start wearing them on Monday. Whoot! 

I'm totally doing the happy dance. I'm amazed and so very 
pleased at where I am now, compared to a year ago. 

The war goes on forever, or so it seems. It appears that the human condition is war and aggression rather than peace and cultivation. I don't know why this is the case - certainly we celebrate peace in our conversations, poetry, music, books and artwork. But, when you look at the history of humankind, it's a history of battle and war, aggression and conquest, and simple coveting of what the neighbor owns that you don't. Obviously this must be hard-wired into our general genetic makeup. I doubt it would be something that could arise independently, over the millennia, the millions of times battle was chosen as the correct pathway. 

Ancient cave paintings already celebrate conflict 
between different groups of people. It's obvious 
that sharing and peaceful negotiation wasn't on 
the table, even back then. 

So if conflict is in our DNA, maybe it's a good thing that we rarely live past a century of life. The thought of that much conflict and that much blood loss is depressing enough, without pushing it out to centuries. In my lifetime alone, the following conflicts have occurred: 

        The Malayan Emergency and Kenya Emergency were ongoing when I was born.
        The Cyprus Emergency began in my first year of life.
        Vietnam, that horrible war, began in 1955, continuing for 20 years.
        The Suez Crisis was in 1956,
        the Brunei Revolt in 1962-1963,
        the Indonesian Confrontation in 1963-1966. Continuing on,
        the Aiden Emergency was 1963-1967,
        "The Troubles" from 1968-1998,
        the Falklands War in 1982, and
        the Gulf War from 1990-1991. 
        The Civil War in Sierra Leon stretched from 1991-2002,
        the Bosnian War from 1992-1995,
        and the Kosovo War ended the century from 1998-1999.
        The 21st Century kicked off with the War in Afghanistan from 2001-2014,
        and the Iraq War from 2003-2011.
        Wars that are still ongoing are the Libya Conflict (began in 2011),
        the Syria Conflict (2011-present),
        the Yemen Conflict (2014-present)
        and the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS which began in 2014 and is still ongoing. 

The basic estimate is 187+ million people who have lost their lives in war and conflict since 1900. That's a lot of people! And even with all of those losses, we're still overpopulated and straining the abilities of our planet. Maybe that's one more reason why we're in eternal conflict - Mother Nature knows we will destroy the planet with our numbers even without that aggressive tendency to thin down the horde. It's a rather depressing thought, isn't it? While we're working so hard to save the people of Ukraine? I'm sure it doesn't come as a huge surprise to many of you, though. If you're interested in the full timeline starting in 1900, or information about a conflict I listed that you hadn't known about, I got my information on this from 

https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/timeline-of-20th-and-21st-century-wars

It almost seems safer to deal with driver rage and individual crazy people with weapons. Almost ... but not quite. Because if aggression is genetic, we will be involved in conflict from birth to death, no matter what. I think that's a very depressing thought. So I'll continue to concentrate on art, sunshine, bird calls, the promise of Spring, and reading fiction. I hope you have an excellent day today, and I'll return on Monday. Peace!