War

One of the major, unspoken impetuses for war is that women love warriors. God forbid we mention the sexual motivations for war.

"In politics we think we do things for reasons. We don’t, except in the details. We do as we do because of what we are. We have wars because having wars is what men do. Reasons are only aftermarket appendages."

In other words, rulers, not just ours, send young men to war because they can. Chimpanzees do the same. It's an instinct that must be overcome, but rarely is.

"Today the United States is the planet’s major predator, in historical company with Halter, Mao, Stalin, the British empire, Napoleon the French Hitler, the Hapsburgs, Ottomans, the Plantagenets, various Persians, thousands of men leading thousands of armies, all butchering and burning and raping and looting. It is what men do.
We are still at it. We think we have reasons: We are combating terror, or protecting our allies from evil, or disseminating democracy. No, actually. We are doing what is built into our nature. Empires expand like bubbles, collapse like bubbles, fight the rising new empires. The losses in lives and unhappiness and treasure far exceed anything gained, which is irrelevant. We fight because it is a biological imperative. We cannot not fight."

Who you calling we, Kemosabi? You took a good premise and blew it on the rocks of collectivism. Our rulers call young people to war in order to enrich themselves. They play patriotic games on the young people. Groups don't go to war. Countries don't go to war. Collectives don't go to war. Individuals go to war, and to get back to the focus of the article, rulers succumb to their own instincts and prey on the instincts of others to wage war. I do like the shots at Steelers fans. I don't want to discount the animal instinct to join the crowd, but I won't accept that as an excuse for aggression, violence and murder.