The History of the World and the History of Wars of the World have unequivocally shown us one thing: Wars may come and Wars may go, but Humanity goes on forever.

If we take the cumulative effect of the 14,000-odd distinct conflicts recorded in history, ranging from local skirmishes to religious hostilities to expansionist invasions to global wars, and looked at the mind-numbing estimates of death and destruction and human suffering , we would really be wondering how humanity has outlived those darkest phases of existence and come this far.

Come this far to watch on TV the AI-assisted anchors brightly and chirpily come alive unfolding killing and mayhem in a destructive war in West Asia, the latest episode of the never-ending series of what can well be described as The Wars of the Races.

Racial Wars that mar history and continue to poison human minds worldwide.

So, going by history, West Asia and the rest of the world will survive this war. Definitely. For the people lost there will be no replacement but for everything else there will be reparations, as also preparations for yet another round of hostilities in the near or farthest future.

That is the way things are.

World Peace is an ideal that can never be achieved as long as every country, democratic, authoritarian, or one with fundamentalist ideologies, is fully prepared for war, ready to go into it with earnestness any time of the day or night, its sparkling war machinery and weaponry kept in eternal readiness.

The whole world detests wars, but for more than half of the world these wars mean livelihood. Think of the vast armies of all countries of the world, well equipped and well trained. Or the countless industries all over the world making weaponry and accessories. Their livelihood, their family income, and national income, all depend on Wars, not Peace. If there is perfect World Peace and no country has armies and ordnance factories and other industries catering to war, there will surely be poverty and economic disruption affecting vast populations in the world.

So, the armies have to survive. The weaponry manufacturers and their millions of workers have to survive. And if they have to continue to survive there should be occasional wars to make use of the weaponry so that the manufacturing process may go on unhindered.

And we cannot decry War as long as War is in our minds, our psyche. What do we do in our homes? Give our children toy guns and tanks and other war machines, gradually, eerily, psychologically preparing them to kill when the time comes.

As our children play out their fantasy killings with the toy weapons we give them, grown-up leaders with stunted minds plunge into wars with evil intent, with sinister motives.

Normally, most countries call the departments in charge of the armies and armaments as Department of Defense. It is pertinent that an unsuccessful seeker of a covetable Peace Prize recently chose to rename his Defense Department as Department of War. Appropriate. Why go after an illusory Peace?

Image of Bronze panel from the Gates of Paradise by Lorenzo Ghiberti on the Florence Baptistery, depicting the biblical Battle of David and Goliath with dynamic figures, soldiers, and horses in action. (c) istock.com