singapore warrior: an advocate of peace

war makes a good part of history. if you'd just think about it for a moment, history's war is all derived from the original sin of greed and self-centeredness. a hunger for expansion and conquest, coercing upon others ones ideals and political agendas. this conquest brings about more land, resources and riches, of which serves as a larger platform for more war and conquest.

i was reading up on the vietnam war, and browsing through war photos. war is terrible. in this day and age, most people are born embraced in peace, some see war on their televisions and papers, but most have never experienced it, its no wonder we have no regard for this defiled thing. it is not complacency, but merely self-indulgence and ignorance. we think peace is our birthright, and naturally so because we have no experience whatsoever but the words and tales of the generations before us. but is it really a birthright?

fortunately for us war-deprived people, diplomacy has become the predominant solution to conflict. however, the truth is that the foundation for effective diplomatic efforts rests on a nation's possession of viable and substantial war assets. if you want to talk, you better have big guns backing you. it fits in with every conflict. so in truth, war assets have not decreased since world war 2. should world war break out now, it'll be the biggest one yet. The primitive atomic bomb was enough to level a city. its already been more than half a century since the first nuclear bomb. with the development and advancements in guided weapon systems technology, planes don't have to be flown above their targets, ballistic rockets can travel between continents, and human lives effectively become mere statistics.

singapore has been on the receiving end of such grotesque conflicts not so long ago. it has been the highlight of social studies textbooks and other materials of propaganda. it must have been tough living in the day and age when singapore fell to the japanese. thinking about it makes me grateful because i am much more fortunate, and because our forefathers have since established a nation that can effectively protect itself, thus building the foundation for individualistic pursuits of its people.

this brings me to my final question, the one that i resolved before i signed on to the RSAF. why did i associate myself with the armed forces?

i don't ever want to be involved in war, but should it ever happen i want to play a part in seeing an end to it. singapore is a small country, and in the history of mankind, what are the odds of a small country surviving competition and conflicts with its larger neighbours? virtually none. so why this anomaly from the trend? you tell me.