"Some People Start Wars, Some People Fight Wars"

It's the start of a new week, the perfect time to introduce a new story packed with discussion topics. Luckily for me, the Iliad is a monster of troubling questions. One question in particular struck an interest in me and is the inspiration for this blog post. Today, I would like to delve deeper into the idea of "Some people start wars, some people fight wars."

This phrase was pitched to us by our teacher in an effort to spark debate, but I feel that the discussion did not go deep enough. Obviously, this phrase is hostile towards those in power. It is one that would fit subordinate soldiers who are angry at the difference in sacrifice between themselves and their non-participating leaders. What I see here is the glorification of the subordinate, an ascription to the idea that "we're better than you because we sacrifice more." I fairly agree with this statement, but the interesting thing to take from it is the disregard of any sacrifices that the people in power may have made.

I will argue that the people who "start wars" do sacrifice quite a bit. Especially during the time period of the Greeks, starting a war had inherent risks. First of all, the people in power could end up on the losing side of the war, ending in their inevitable execution or enslavement by the opposition. War could also result in the ruin of public reputation, possibly due to repeated failures in leadership, which would ultimately lead to them being replaced or much, much worse. Due to the disregard of these sacrifices, I feel that this phrase lacks sympathy.

In conclusion, I hope those who read this blog post will take a step back and refrain from vilifying the people in power too soon. They have much to lose as well.

The First

Coming into the vein of college-level honors classes, I expected a heavy workload from the start. I must admit I was a little surprised when I realized it did not look too bad. Ditto for the teacher; he seems alright. The few tasks that we were given seemed genuinely interesting. The creation story assignment was an opportunity for creativity, so I excitedly pounced on the chance to create something unique and somewhat personal. I have not gotten to reading the epic of Gilgamesh; however, I did read the piece on existentialism which gave me a rough idea of where the story was going to go. For over five thousand years old, the story apparently has incredible insights into the understanding of human nature. I am optimistic to read the full story in the future. Of course, my optimistic view of this class will inevitably be put to the test throughout the semester. I sincerely hope that it will prevail.