Why do people fight over land?

I wonder why people fight over land... I mean... all over the world, there are conflicts... armed conflicts for land... in Kashmir, in the Middle East, etc., etc...

Of course, it is easy for me to comment - I am not, and I have never been directly involved in any such conflicts, and I do not wish to be... I am deeply grateful that I have been fortunate to have a peaceful life... and I wish the same for everyone...

BUT... you see, the thing that makes me wonder... mankind - and that includes all humans, all around the world, regardless of ethnicity, nationality, political/religious beliefs, etc... all humans, all of us, you (the reader reading this), me (the guy who has written this), everyone, EACH and EVERY ONE of us, we all have some common problems to face - the issues of e.g. worsening economic situation of the world, climate change, food shortages, etc. Humanity can only deal with these problems if WE ALL WORK TOGETHER. If we don't, we will not have anything to fight over.

Why is land so important? I mean... do we own the air we breathe? Would it make sense for me to insist that I will only breathe the air inside my house? Would it make sense for me to refuse to breathe any other air?

Yes, of course, if someone came to my house and kicked me out, and told me that the house was no longer mine, yes of course I wouldn't be pleased about it, and I would want to fight back, I want to get my house back. But would I spend my whole life just fighting for that? No! There are other things, more important things in life... like education, etc... Life is too valuable to waste it fighting over something we can never really own...

If two lions fight over territory, eventually the stronger one will chase the weaker one away, and take the territory... might is right... that's just the way it has always been. Doesn't make the stronger lion a hero, doesn't make it an "oppressor", etc. And doesn't mean that the weaker lion is a "coward" or an "innocent victim", etc.

Personally, I think that there is so much that mankind can achieve if we all work together... we all get only one chance... we've only got one earth... we've got to share it... despite all the mistakes that were made in the past, we have to try and forgive and forget, let's try and look to a shared future... where we can create a better world for each other... ESPECIALLY THE YOUNGER GENERATIONS... THE FUTURE IS IN YOUR HANDS... as a person grows older, his future becomes smaller (he has less time to stay on this planet... a person in his fifties has less time than a person in his twenties) So younger people should believe that they can do more... to change the world... despite all the mistakes, they should believe that the world CAN change, NO MATTER HOW DIFFICULT IT IS... don't let the older generations fool you into thinking that they know everything... they did what they could, and they may have their beliefs, which are very important to them - when someone has believed something for forty or fifty years of their life, they will find it extremely difficult to let go of their beliefs and accept something new - they will feel uncomfortable with new ideas - similar to how we find it uncomfortable to walk outside after being in an air-conditioned room for an hour... but the younger generations should be open-minded - don't be influenced by cheap sectarian/separatist politics...

I sincerely hope that people all over the world will discard all those things that cause differences between us - blind dogmatic beliefs, whether religious beliefs or political beliefs - we can all be united in our endeavours to build a better future, a bright future for all of us. We should fight against intolerance, no matter what justifications people may try to use ("they started it," etc.).

Perhaps you may succeed better in propagating your high-sounding ideas without unnecessary, unwarranted innuendoes against 'old people'! :wink:

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Originally Posted by Bipolar

I wonder why people fight over land... I mean... all over the world, there are conflicts... armed conflicts for land... in Kashmir, in the Middle East, etc., etc...

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:roll:

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Perhaps you may succeed better in propagating your high-sounding ideas without unnecessary, unwarranted innuendoes against 'old people'!

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PP ma'am!!! Thanks for your reply!!! No offence meant to older people!!! I have a lot of respect for you ma'am!!! I didn't know until recently - you are far senior to me!!! (I saw you posted in another thread that you are 59) I didn't mean any offence to the seniors here. :)

But let me explain... I am a university student in the UK. Our campus is very diverse... We have students of all religions, ethnicities, nationalities, etc. I have friends from many different backgrounds, I have learned a lot from my them. I am Indian, and many of my closest friends are Pakistanis. When I can be friends with them, I feel sad to think that India and Pakistan seem to have so many political problems. And even among my classmates, I've seen many who are prejudiced. That makes me sad too.

I just think, most children are not born with prejudices. Most children by nature, they are innocent, and kind. But as they grow older, they learn to become more competitive (being competitive is part of human nature), and the ugly side of this is hatefulness. I find, quite often, it's adults who poison minds of young children by teaching them about historical issues and keeping alive the memory of past troubles, because they don't want to let go of the past. I know many narrow-minded people like that. I wish I could change everyone, but it's just impossible to change the older generation (sadly). So I have to try and encourage (at least) the younger generation to be more open-minded. In today's world, we all need to let go of past issues, and look to a brighter future.

You may think that these are just high-sounding ideas. But for me, it's my future, and for me it's important to try and make everyone see the issues that we face.

And Crazy... yes, there's the Sri Lanka issue, which I think is important to you. But I thought I should avoid mentioning that, as there are probably a few people here who have been directly affected by it, so I thought it would be a sensitive matter, better not to go there for now.

Bipolar
I wasnt actually thinking of Srilanka when quoting ur post ...I was just thinking how someone can ask a question like that :?

we cant just preach peace ...and wait for dove to fall on ur lap (as someone used to say :confused2:) sometimes ( or manytimes) war is the only solution :cry:

there is/ may be some good peaceful solutions ....but one of the partner has to give up a little :?

no one is willing to give up(which is not easy)...no one is willing to go for negotiation....and hence war and more war :(

Bipolar, I have cooled down now! You are at the idealistic young age to understand many deep-rooted problems which are painful & difficult to solve. It is a complicated impasse involving a lot of heartburn for all concerned. All we can do is remember 'charity begins at home' Let us be correct & humane & wait/hope for more to follow.

Good post buddy. A big applause for ur noble heart.

It takes a heart to think this way. Unfortunately, all around you would not have this heart. You may be sober enough show ur second cheek to be slapped. He would ask for third. How long to bend? How much to bend? It reminds me of road rules, I might follow them sincerely, I may for all probabilities still land up in an accident, if the other person is careless. We can talk only for ourselves, you cant talk for others. World comprises of infinite ppl with infinite mental disorders.

peace!

Cool, Bipolar!

It took me a while to understand that everything, including violence and peace, begins and ends in the human mind.

Weeding out our inner violent parts is the only solution, and from what I see, most of us are still figuring what those are and some are not even seeking to figure them out. Ignorance, you know, and Ignorance of Ignorance.. hmm.. I have my experiences of that myself.

Anyway, everyday I hope to co-create that world you have dreamed of here, along with everyone else around me, and every night when I go to sleep it is my dream to wake up in such a world.

I remember,

' Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things. And no good thing ever dies ' - Andrew Dufresne, The Shawshank Redemption :).

Love and Light.