Imagine there is a war and nobody goes?

Carl Sandberg

This was not a choice the people of Ukraine had, the war came to them. You only have the choice between fleeing, enduring, or fighting, and no matter what anyone chooses, it will be associated with a lot of suffering.

But the dictator who started this war has not gone, but the war has not come to him either, no, he sits comfortably supplied in a luxurious environment and brings a lot of suffering also to his “own” people, who, with a few exceptions, certainly do not want this war.

Ten years have now passed since the invasion of Crimea, and the ‘special military operation’ on Ukrainian territory has been going on for over three years. Here in Europe, we are still importing gas and other goods on a large scale, thereby contributing significantly to financing the war against ourselves. Loss of prosperity! The spectre of our times and the guiding principle of politics. Peace, human rights and climate protection are all well and good, but LOSS OF PROSPERITY?

So we only impose very small packages of sanctions, because otherwise we might have to suffer a little ourselves. Yet we know from history that timidity is a bad advisor when someone wants to change or even destroy something by force. This also applies to the state on the other side of the Atlantic. It’s not just about questions of civil society and the rule of law there, it’s also about our publicly displayed vulnerability to blackmail. And the puppets appointed to office are parading the sacred cow through the village: ECONOMIC GROWTH!

Since the beginning of October 2023, there has been another ‘hot’ war in Palestine, and the UN Security Council is blocking itself with its veto power. Not always in the headlines and on the evening news, but cruelly present for the people in the respective locations, are the ‘civil wars’ in Syria, Yemen, other parts of Africa and many other places around the world.

The United States now has a peace-loving president who wants to end wars all over the world and conclude major arms deals for the domestic arms industry. At the same time? Yes, of course! Let’s do the same in Europe! We are against war, we urge everyone to make peace, and our arms industry is flourishing. And we always manage to deliver weapons to crisis areas somehow. We are just good businesspeople and sooo peaceful.

Are we evil people who enjoy violence, including sexual violence, and war, or is it ‘just’ part of evolution to ensure our survival?

Book recommendation (German):  The Evolution of Violence, dtv Verlagsgesellschaft, also available as an e-book and audiobook.
Book review (German):  https://www.deutschlandfunkkultur.de/rezension-harald-meller-evolution-gewalt-100.html

Vienna, January 2026
Hans-Peter Lauenroth

?
I believe that self-irony and being able to laugh at oneself, but also questioning one's habits of thinking, are more important than always looking for quick answers. Under the heading “?”, I would like to raise questions on a topic, current or fundamental, as they come up, in a casual manner. Perhaps I can give some food for thought, even to myself. First, it will happen as a one-way street, later possibly with a reply button.