You can't say civilization don't advance... in every war they

"You can't say civilization don't advance... in every war they kill you in a new way." These words, spoken by the ever-insightful Will Rogers, reflect the bitter irony that, despite all the progress of human civilization, the brutality of war remains an ever-present reality, evolving only in its methods of destruction. With a sharp wit and a deeper understanding of human folly, Rogers exposes the absurdity of our supposed advancement, pointing out that the more we develop, the more we perfect the ways in which we can destroy each other. The tools of war become more sophisticated, more lethal, yet the loss of life, the suffering, and the destruction remain unchanged.

Consider the ancient world, where warriors would clash with simple weapons—swords, shields, and spears—and the bloodshed was immediate, raw, and brutal. Yet even then, the impact of war was devastating. In the times of Homer, we see the Trojan War, where men fought for honor, for glory, but ultimately, it was the people who suffered. The great city of Troy fell, not by the valor of one hero, but by the cruel hand of fate and the collective suffering of a city at war. While the tools of war were simple, the cost was the same: the destruction of human lives, the ravaging of families, the collapse of what could have been a flourishing civilization. In the end, what difference does it make whether the weapons are bronze or bombs? The blood is still spilled.

Fast forward to the World Wars, and the scale of human conflict reaches unimaginable proportions. The First World War, with its trenches and poison gas, introduced horrors previously unknown to humanity. The machine gun—a marvel of industrial ingenuity—could mow down entire battalions in mere moments. The tanks and planes of the Second World War further advanced the art of death, making war more devastating, more impersonal, and yet still as tragic as ever. Will Rogers’ words ring true: in every conflict, we find a new, more efficient way to destroy, a more refined method to turn the bonds of humanity into scattered remains.

Nuclear weapons are perhaps the most glaring example of this evolution. The invention of the atomic bomb during World War II marked a new chapter in the history of destruction. The power to wipe out entire cities in the blink of an eye became a reality, and the shadow of nuclear warfare hung over the world like an unspoken threat. But despite the technological advance of warfare, the impact on human life remains the same. Cities were leveled, people perished in agony, and the future of mankind was forever changed. The methods may evolve, but the core reality of death and destruction remains unchanged.

In the modern age, we continue to see these advancements in military technology. Drones, cyber warfare, and biological weapons represent the latest phases in the seemingly endless arms race. Yet despite these technological marvels, the end result is always the same: suffering and loss. The evolution of warfare only increases the speed and scale at which we destroy ourselves and our civilizations. It is as though, for all our advancements, we have forgotten the essential truth that no weapon can stop the pain of a mother losing her child, or a city being razed to the ground. No matter how advanced our weapons become, the human cost is always the same.

Will Rogers' biting humor holds a mirror to our so-called civilization. We have created technologies that should bring us closer together, that should advance our cultures, our societies, our ideas—but instead, we use them to wage war in increasingly efficient ways. And the more efficient we become, the more dehumanized the process of killing becomes. The lesson here is clear: we must question our progress, our so-called advancement, if it only serves to increase the speed at which we destroy one another. The cost of war is not measured in the number of bombs dropped, or the speed at which a nation can mobilize, but in the lives lost, the families shattered, and the civilizations that crumble beneath the weight of human destruction.

The lesson we must learn from Rogers’ words is this: advancement does not always equate to progress. We must be vigilant in ensuring that our technological innovations, our great strides in science and industry, are not used to deepen the abyss of war but to elevate the human spirit. Instead of investing in new ways to destroy, let us invest in ways to build—build peace, build understanding, build unity. Sweat should not go into the development of weapons, but into the cultivation of compassion, wisdom, and cooperation. As we advance in our capabilities, let us remember that true progress lies in how we use our gifts to save lives, not in how efficiently we can take them.