I dream utopian dreams

I don't understand war. I was born at the end of the Vietnam war, lived through several wars now with powers that be in the middle east and yet still I don't understand war.

I'm sure the first war involved a caveman clubbing his neighbor over the head and stealing his food, and retribution soon followed. Wars since have often resembled to me fights over who has the right to play in a sandbox, in other words territory and who feels entitled , right or wrong.Were I to have one wish though, it would be for my utopian dream of conflict to be realized.

Imagine this if you will:

All weapons in the world are gone, and even rocks and knives can only be used for peaceful purposes. All weapons would consist of nerf plastics or utilizing water. Just imagine, squirt guns, water cannons, water balloons, and in major conflicts...tennis balls as weapons.

Picture carpet bombing with water balloons, retribution would consist of guerilla attacks, sneaking in with a super soaker when your opponent least expects it. We'd wage war for fun! The only possible injuries would be bruised bodies and bruised egos...truely, it would be poetic and silly at the same time.

The U.N would contact other nations by asking the ambassadors" Can Iraq come out and play?" . We'd look FORWARD to declarations of war! Our kids would learn to fight fair, or take a time out. If it works on the playground, I think it can work globally.

Instead, we follow in the footsteps of the first war...taking what we want from our neighbors and clubbing them over the head. Simplistic? Yes. Correct? Perhaps not, but wouldn't it be wonderful to send our kids off to war, knowing they'd come home smiling...instead of battle worn, or worse...not come home again.

I don't pretend to understand politics, policies or global issues, but I try. I often want to just thump people over the head and tell them to play nicely or take a time out. But in my quest to understand, I have purchased several books in an attempt to understand the insanity of war and conflict. Join me, maybe someday we can raise our grandkids to wage war utilizing proper super soaker techniques, and carpet bombing with water balloons.