In 6th grade I formed a solid opinion of war and destruction because of a single short story called The Soldier and The Farmer. At least I know it as that and if I look in the book I have with it in it its named that.
During World War 2, German soldiers overtook surrounding countries. As the growth of German power spread, as did the covering area that German soldiers had to be placed. One day a German soldier was passing through a town that had been shelled by accident in thought of American infiltration. As he was leaving the town he spotted an elderly man trying to free his trapped donkey from the rubble. He approached him.
"Whats wrong?" He asked
"My donkey is trapped under here and I cannot free him. I don't know if I should kill him if he has broken legs." he said cautiously. "I have no money for a car and he is my only way of getting around and producing crop..."
The soldiers officer passed by and the soldier pulled out his standard note pad. "What side are you on?" he asked.
"I have no politics, war is to destroy and clear, not to create foundation. I work to feed many, not kill them and claim everything as mine. I just want to free my donkey and go from there."
The soldier paused and looked around. Normal procedure is to process the person to his CO, but in this case he wasn't resistant. He thought of how he was raised and what he thought was right. He got a friend and they freed the donkey. The donkey was fine, the old man thanked the soldier and gave him half of the food he had, enough for lunch, and went back to his field.
Days later the soldier was in a tank. Deep in battle he didn't know where they were, he only did as he was commanded. When the battle ended and they went back to their command center, he and his friend decided to check on the man and see if he was alright. Walking back to the farm, they saw that one of the buildings they had flattened during their battle was part of the mans house. He was sat out front with his donkey.
The soldier approached.
"Are you alright? Can we do anything for you?"
The man was silent.
"Is there anywhere else you can stay?" The soldier looked around and saw that the other side of the man's house had been destroyed and wasn't otherwise visible from the road.
"I'm living in my barn now. War only clears, it doesn't build..." He looked to the soldier, pointed to the field, his prized possession, and returned to working with his donkey. The soldier sat and watched, and as the German foothold in the area relaxed, he ditched the army.
From the point I read this to now, I could care less about war. I think the story is right, war benefits war, it clears and kills. What is good about war? Nothing, in my opinion. Sure the army develops things that are handy, but they would inevitably be created at one point or another (such as the internet. Someone would have built it at one point or another). For a story to be so strong to me to permanently be burned to my memory and form a strong opinion... It is by far my favorite short story. Behind it are The Sniper and The Most Dangerous Game.
Because of course they are.