I visited Spain on the summer of 2008. One of the cities I went to was Toledo, capital of swordsmanship, Don Quixote, and warfare. During my short stay at this city, I went to a Torture Museum. Honestly, I have to say that not only was it excruciatingly gruesome, but also creative. For instance, one of the inventions forced the person into a cage, where they would be curled into a ball for days. They would starve to death after their limbs live immense pain due to the cramps of the unchanging position. The amount of imagination required for the construction of these contraptions is astounding.
There is one repercussion that war is known to have on its participants: To dehumanize them making them amoral. For instance, the Roland Weary character described in chapter two of Slaughter House-Five by Kurt Vonnegut depicts a mind ravaged by social alienation due to his uncommon set of principles. He would strike any one who befriended him, given the time. The violent Weary feels that the only means through which he can connect to people is physically, brutally. The savage Weary shows his degree of morals when he glorified the idea of “…sticking a dentist’s drill into a guy’s ear” (Vonnegut Pg. 36). The “neat tortures” (Vonnegut Pg. 36) he describes are in fact truly macabre. His stripped moralities tear at the very essence of the peaceful spirit, making a true barbarous warrior.
When going to war, nations must have in mind the effects of the battle difficulties and their toll on the soldiers, and how those traumatized people will end up returning to their Patria. What is the cost of victory? I believe that no war leaves any contending side triumphant, however happy the returning fighters might seem to be.
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