Do You Believe In War?

• Alyssa Webb, Grade 8, Oatlands District High School
• Short Story
• 2015

Excellence Award in the 'Read Write Repeat 2015' competition

War is not peace. They say it’s a resolution for peace, but tell me: don’t you think that we should just talk instead of creating more argument? Before it was just a two party disagreement, but now it’s killing innocent people.
For example, The Vietnam War. They were forced to fight, they were forced into hiding, and they were going to die– they knew they were going down. The Vietnam War was the prolonged struggle between nationalist forces attempting to unify the country of Vietnam under a communist government and the United States attempting to prevent the spread of communism.
Almost all countries have their minds made up on war. What do you see in war? All I see is blood, hatred and misery. People, families are left without loved ones. Everybody is sad and lonely.
Why do people think war is so important? It makes us look like no-one gets along. If aliens came I don’t think they would stay… We’d look like savages. Murdering our own species– torching our own brothers. Walking across paths made of skulls and swimming in rivers of blood… climbing mountains of bones.
Tell me what are we accomplishing? To me all that we are doing is killing people; not just physically but mentally as well. People shouldn't fight to keep their families safe. But tell me, when or if they die, who really suffers? Families, The wife; the children and gran– parents? Human beings great mistake is not fighting for their countries, it’s trying too hard– believing the manual that says enemies are monsters. Tell me, are the enemies really enemies or are they people like you, like me?
People fighting for their countries, for their families. Don’t you ever think ‘that’ manual lies? The people you are killing are people too. Told the same about you…
We’re not savages, they're savages! We’re innocent.
Please stop war it’s our races destruction– we keep going- we all die.
Why don’t we get to vote on war? What does the Prime Minister believe he’s achieving… Death? People deserve a decent life– people should say no– fight with me!
I would be a good Prime Minister. No fighting. No pain. No war. I would say no to people who hurt others.
Why do you believe in war?