What Is the Cost of Peace?

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to give up. These women played a key role in ensuring that their country was safe and peaceful during the war. They sacrificed their own happiness and health for their country to obtain peace. This was the cost that they had to pay for the peace of their country, the peace that shaped the United States of America into the country that it is today. They sacrificed their health, happiness and dignity to serve their country, this sacrifice was the price that they paid to ensure stability within their country.

Lastly, the dead will never be able to fulfill their hopes and dreams, their deaths are also emotionally damaging to the family/ close members of the dead and has a huge impact of the economy. ‘The purpose of all wars is peace’ quoted from Saint Augustine. The most prominent damage of war is the lives lost through this process. WW2 alone had 40,000,000–85,000,000 deaths. Reports have shown that war increases public debt, increased levels of taxation and inflation. These negative impacts on the economy will tamper with the peace of the country as there would be a higher rate of poverty, which is equivalent to a higher rate of unhappiness. Secondly, many people have given their lives up for the sake of their country. Among all these deaths, there are soldiers who fought bravely and gave their lives up willingly for the sake of their country, harmless children, elderlies and innocent people. Some of them could have even been tortured to death by the infinite grotesque methods of torturing people that was not uncommon during war. To us, they might just be a figure, one out of the millions and millions of people who died, but they each have their own story. They were once just like us, they each had a life of their own that was snatched out of their hands by the violent nature of war. Their unfulfilled lives are the cost that they had to pay for the peace of future generations.

The cost of peace is a heavy price to pay. Our ancestors have gone through so much pain and suffering to help us achieve the peace and stability that we have today. Now, it is up to us to carry the burden of maintaining the peace and learning from their past mistakes. “Peace is a fragile thing. It takes courage to secure it. It takes wisdom to maintain it.” (quoted by Jenny Shipley) as the next generation, it is our responsibility and duty to upkeep peace for our future generations just like how our ancestors have sacrificed so bravely and so fearlessly for us.