What Is It Good For?-Maya Creamer

       In my opinion, war is never the best answer, and should certainly never be the first response to a conflict. However, I do believe that there are certain (very few) situations in which a nation must go to war to defend itself.
       There is constant conflict between nations around the world. Sometimes, diplomacy just doesn't solve the problem; the countries can't come to an agreement, or one country is refusing to cooperate and/or committing violence against the other that is threatening that country's safety. The latter case is the only one in which I think war is justified. If the people of one nation are being harassed or threatened by the other, the only option may be to go to war to resolve the conflict. Don't get me wrong, I'm not promoting the "if someone hits you, hit them back" mentality-sometimes, a nation has exhausted all the other alternatives, and not going to war could hurt it even more than war would.
        War should be the very last action that a country takes in any conflict. There are many alternatives to war, all of which involve clear communication between the conflicting nations-I think many wars are started because of poor communication. Countries can try to negotiate a compromise or treaty, and if all else fails, and the conflict can be worked around, "agree to disagree" (although this is rarely, if ever, effective). War should only become an option after the countries have communicated and tried everything possible to reach a resolution. Even then, a nation must think extremely carefully before declaring war.
         I hate war, because hundreds, thousands, even millions of innocent people lose their lives, often because the government, which is supposed to act in their best interest, can't resolve its conflicts. War tears countries apart; sometimes, they are damaged beyond repair, and often it takes years or even decades for a country to rebuild. However, sometimes war just can't be avoided, and may be the lesser of two evils, both of which cause irreparable damage to a country.