Who Gave Them Power

Is it not our fault that wars persist?

We watch as nations destroy each other, as lives are reduced to numbers on a screen. We act shocked. Outraged. But we do nothing. And deep down, we have to ask ourselves: Do we get off on it? Is there not some dark thrill in watching the chaos from a safe distance?

There’s a word for that, one I can’t quite grasp right now. Maybe it’s schadenfreude, maybe it’s something worse. But what’s clear is this: we have allowed this to become normal.

We call them "leaders," but many of them are just polished psychopaths in suits. They send drones, soldiers, and bombs to erase entire families, cities, and cultures—and we let them. They speak of "collateral damage" and "strategic strikes" while the rest of us scroll past burning villages and bloodied children. We call it politics. They call it necessary. But it is destruction. It is murder.

Shouldn’t we revolt? Shouldn’t we remove them, lock them up like we do the home invader? Isn’t state-sanctioned violence still violence?

We don’t act. Instead, we say we’re helpless. They have all the power. But who gave it to them?

It was us.

We outnumber them a million to one. Yet we bow. We follow orders. We obey. We call it patriotism. We call it tradition. But really, it’s indoctrination. A slow, careful conditioning that teaches us war is necessary, leadership is absolute, and obedience is noble.

We’ve created rules that punish individual violence and reward mass destruction. Kill one person, you're a criminal. Kill thousands, you're a general. You're a president. You're a "defender of freedom."

We have enough language to justify anything—except the truth.

And the truth is this: we’ve been trained not to think, not to question, not to resist. We are sheep. Some of us armored. Some of us asleep. All of us caught in the cycle.

But cycles can be broken. And silence is a choice.

So I ask again: Is it not our fault that wars persist?

Because if it is, then maybe it can also be our choice to end them.

DD