war, what is it good for

WAR,WHAT IS IT GOOD FOR
Today is going to be a bit short, I only have half my usual time since I have to go to the bank to cash my check to continue to eat to continue to work to continue to support the many and varied parasitic pukes that attach themselves to my butt like a huge gelatinous leech from space, extracting just enough blood from me every day that although I feel a bit woozy and light headed I still have enough energy left over to somehow make it through to another day. And they aren't even beneficial parasites like kids who shower you with unconditional love ( okay, it's conditional on you feeding and sheltering them but as far as they know it is unconditional ) or a spouse who has a hundred and one conditions attached to her love but at least once in awhile will let her guard down and let you know you are kind of all right and worthy of her and even if that never happens at least you get some once in awhile. No, these are the totally unworthy parasites that give you nothing in return but demands for more of your life but don't get me started on that right now since I told you we are short on time.
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The guy that took three snorts of coke and a hit of blotter acid and sung out with cigarette stripped vocal cords that sung War ( I think that as the title, but you know what I'm talking about ), could really belt out a tune, but the question does play straight to emotion and totally ignores the reality. War is good for a few things. First and foremost it allows man to survive through resource depletion. When two groups are faced with a crop failure, they can both die from malnutrition and disease or one can go to war with the other, take all their food and half survive. This kind of sucks for the losers, but nature isn't exactly a benign force. Nature is a unfeeling uncaring bitch, kind of like wife #2. The suffering of one individual is not important and long as the group survives. And even when imminent death is not present, when both groups are surviving just fine, war plays another positive role.
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During our Oil Age, age old practices have been ignored and thus consequences to certain actions are unknown. Regardless of how many modern wars we've fought or how vicious they were, population levels have continued to rise. But historically, war has had a positive dampening effect on population. Not because of battlefield deaths but because the long term trend is to decrease the number of females there is. You can't reduce population by killing off all the males since one is enough to impregnate scores of women. The only way in the long run to reduce population and to keep it in line with available resources is to reduce the number of females. There are many ways of doing this culturally but the best seems to be perpetual warfare ( not as in every year but as in on a regular basis ). The long term trend of needing warriors to protect yourself means that male babies are preferred. Female infanticide increases. Here you are, a young couple. Out pops a kid. You can rejoice that it is a male and will both protect you and provide for you if you make it to old age or you can take steps to eliminate a negative equation ( free labor until child bearing years, then nothing with the potential complication of a dowry- a big deal if you are poor ). I doubt it was as cold blooded and ruthless as this, but economic pressures always have a say in matters- if you doubt that, tell your wife you are quitting your job and see how long she stays with you.
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