Human beings die and kill as a form of verification: to prove the existence or reality of a sacred idea or ideal. The nature of the entity or idea or ideal for which human beings die and kill is fungible. Among significant entities or ideas and ideals for which human beings have died and killed:
- France
- Germany
- The British Empire
- The (Japanese) Emperor
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- Allah
- Freedom and democracy
- A Tamil homeland
- A more perfect union
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The mechanism is the same, regardless of the nature of the idea or ideal or entity: death and memorials erected in the name of those who have died testify to the reality of the idea or ideal or entity. Death and memorialization perform a validation function.
The bizarre history of the human race might be written by seeking to answer the following question: at any given moment in time, what was the nature of that "thing"--in the name of which human beings were willing to die and kill?
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