A typical FalklandIsland road scene
It is wonderful withwhat coolness and indifference the greater part of mankind see war commenced.Those that hear of it at a distance, or read of it in books, but have neverpresented its evils to their minds, consider it as little more than a splendidgame, a proclamation, an army, a battle, and a triumph. Some, indeed, mustperish in the most successful field, but they die upon the bed of honour,"resign their lives amidst the joys of conquest, and, filled withEngland's glory, smile in death."
Christ ChurchCathedral with whalebone arch
The life of a modernsoldier is ill represented by heroick fiction. War has means of destructionmore formidable than the cannon and the sword. Of the thousands and tenthousands, that perished in our late contests with France and Spain, a verysmall part ever felt the stroke of an enemy; the rest languished in tents andships, amidst damps and putrefaction; pale, torpid, spiritless, and helpless;gasping and groaning, unpitied among men, made obdurate by long continuance ofhopeless misery; and were, at last, whelmed in pits, or heaved into the ocean,without notice and without remembrance. By incommodious encampments andunwholesome stations, where courage is useless, and enterprise impracticable,fleets are silently dispeopled, and armies sluggishly melted away.
Penguins at Gypsy Cove
Thus is a people gradually exhausted, forthe most part, with little effect. The wars of civilized nations make very slowchanges in the system of empire. The publick perceives scarcely any alteration,but an increase of debt; and the few individuals who are benefited are notsupposed to have the clearest right to their advantages. If he that shared thedanger enjoyed the profit, and, after bleeding in the battle, grew rich by thevictory, he might show his gains without envy. But, at the conclusion of a tenyears' war, how are we recompensed for the death of multitudes, and the expenseof millions, but by contemplating the sudden glories of paymasters and agents,contractors and commissaries, whose equipages shine like meteors, and whosepalaces rise like exhalations!
Cruise ship andsquid trawler, Port William
These are the men who, without virtue,labour, or hazard, are growing rich, as their country is impoverished; theyrejoice, when obstinacy or ambition adds another year to slaughter anddevastation; and laugh, from their desks, at bravery and science, while theyare adding figure to figure, and cipher to cipher, hoping for a new contractfrom a new armament, and computing the profits of a siege or tempest.
NOTE:
Ifirst read DrJohnson’s remarkable words, published inpamphlet form in 1771, concerning the mooted warbetween England and Spain over the remote(from everywhere, really) Falkland Islands in Jonathan Dymond’s famous 1823 Quaker text, An Inquiry into The Accordancy of War With The PrinciplesOf Christianity. Dymond’s essay is reprinted in intergral formin Historical Writings of Quakers AgainstWar, Glenside, Quaker Heritage Press,2002. It is well worth seeking out.
My own (also remote) connection with the Falklands relates to myold friend Anna Fisher’s post-college sojourn teaching English there a long time ago. I remember my fascination hearing about the skies, sea and sheep. Obviously, amazingly, Dr Johnson’s words arestill relevant, both in terms of our current large-scale wars (e.g., Afghanistan, Iraq and the aborning Iran conflict), as well as today’s pre-"hostilities" skirmishing in the Falklands, resulting in the high-publicity deployment of Prince William to the scene.
Recent comments regarding the Falklands question, made by the very great Morrissey on tour in Argentina,the not-so-great (but he worked with two great guitarists) Roger Waters, on tour in Chile(remarks since withdrawn and recanted when he saw his figurative personal stock plummeting back home in Britain), and the ludicrous, hideous homunculus Sean Penn, all confirm that talk is cheap, but not as cheap as celebrities who will do anything to promote their flagging careers.
My personal experiences with war are remote(again) and limited. A million movies (including Major Barbara, which seems relevantwhile reading Dr Johnson's words), teenage Vietnam War (as viewed from the US) backdrop, discussions with veterans throughout my life, 9/11 in New York City, and beingkidnapped and held hostage at knife and gunpoint, blindfolded, with my wife overnight in Mexico City, which reminded me atthe time of what it must have felt like to be captured in battle and presumably readied for slaughter. Quakers, among others, talk about “breakingthe cycle of violence.” This seems like a good idea for all sorts ofreasons, including the fact that it seems that thepeople you can count on least are your political leaders, i.e., themen “without virtue, labour, or hazard.”
San Carlos Water
Falkland Islandcoat-of-arms
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