War Is Dehumanizing

War is Dehumanizing

This photo was taken from a POW camp in Japan during World War 2

This photo was taken after two soldiers posed next to a man they had killed in Iraq.

Artist Statement:

War is a place where barbaric actions are seen as normal. Soldiers are seen as a group of pawns in a larger battle and receive very little respect as human beings. All of the photos above depict different ways in which soldiers are dehumanized. The photo on the top left depicts a group of POWs of Japan from World War 2. These men were subjects to extreme labor, sickness, and even starvation. In the end the POW officer was convicted of a war crime, but ,at the time, the Japanese saw the idea of driving men to slow painful deaths as a necessary tactic. As seen in the photo on the top right, soldiers pay no respect to their enemies. During the Iraq war two soldiers felt it necessary to take a picture smiling next to a man who was brutally killed. Although this man may have been their enemy, he still was a human being. They treated him as if he was a game they had hunted. The soldiers look at this man as if he is a prize. Just because this soldier has different views than us does not give us the right to disrespect him. He is just as human as we are. Overall, During war soldiers are treated as if they are pawns. The men in congress that decide whether or not we declare war do not have to experience wars. By them making this decision it gravely impacts the lives of soldiers and their families. Even if we win the wars we participate in, the overall loss comes at the soldiers expense. We often forget that there is more to war than winning or losing. The soldiers involved are real people with real families, and we often forget that.


Bibliography

Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 22 Mar. 2016.

Siegel, Harry. "How War Can Make Dehumanizing and Horrific Events Seem Normal." The Daily Beast. Newsweek/Daily Beast, 18 Apr. 2012. Web. 22 Mar. 2016.