Addams

Jane Addams offers a pacifist perspective on war, and begins her writing by saying that war is not socially and economically beneficial at all, despite popular belief. She goes on to explain that violence is not innate in us, and that instead we must be offered some sort of force or reason to go into war, and that we are naturally inclined to cooperate.
I agree with Addams for the most part, especially on the subject that war does not benefit the country as much as it seems to. Although it may temporarily boost the economy, it really does more harm than good because of the national debt that arises from the expenses of war, as well as the worsened relations with the country or countries which are being opposed. Historically, the United States has been a very imperialist and militant country, and because of this we have suffered the consequences of being looked down upon by a large number of foreign countries. Not only have recent wars cost us money, they have also cost us the respect of many nations.
I do not entirely agree with Addams on the subject of our innate desire to cooperate. I do not believe that we do have this; because we are inclined to oppose those who are different from us or those who challenge our beliefs. Although we may be inclined to bond with those from the same nation, there is still a remarkable amount of internal discrimination in every country. We are not inclined to cooperate, therefore, even on a national level, not to mention on an international level.
This being said, however, I think that is important to recognize that we do not naturally have an innate desire to commit physical violence against others in the form of war. It doesn't make much sense that a person would want to put himself in danger in order to fight for his country, it goes against our natural instinct of self-defense since there is a high possibility of injury or death. Also, it is extremely traumatizing for a psychologically secure human being to injure or kill another unless it is in self defense and even so, it can still be very psychologically damaging. We do not want to hurt each other for no reason because we feel guilt and the majority of us have a conscience.
Overall I think Addams makes a good point and in her call for civil action she is correct - we must act non-violently in order to have an impact and to fight militarism.