Love and War

 

War

It ain't nothing but a heart-breaker
(War) It's got one friend that's The Undertaker
Oh, war, has shattered many a young man's dreams
Made him disabled, bitter and mean
Life is much too short and precious
To spend fighting wars each day
War can't give life
It can only take it away, oh

Is it true that “All’s fair in love and war”?

War seems like a simple matter of two parties: the American Colonists v. the British Empire, the North v. the South, the Allies v. the Axis, etc. But it is not just two parties if there are rules and a party to enforce the rules. A third party has stated the rules, e.g. the Geneva Convention, and a third party also ensures that war crimes have not been committed by either of the two combatants, e.g. the International Criminal Court in the Hague.

The same is true of the opposite of War: “Make Love, not War.”  This saying shows that while War and Love are not the same, they are the same in that they are both contests with three players. Again, one of the players is not often recognized but it is always there …society. If love is “You and Me against the World” then there are admittedly three parties.  If society will either bless or condemn your love, then there is always a third party.

Rather than the popular wisdom, there is no diffence between love, war, and any other contest.  It should be “Even in love and war, you should always play fair.”