It’s beyond obvious that – as a nation – we’re no stranger to war, what with the American Revolution and subsequent War of Independence, the War of 1812, the Mexican-American War, the Civil War, Spanish-American War, World Wars I and II, the Korean and Vietnam Wars and – most recently – the wars in Iraq (not to mention Desert Storm) and Afghanistan.

Those, however, are what I like to call our “common-definition wars.” You know, the ones you read about, studied and analyzed in high school and college as a student. And really, they’re only the tip of the iceberg when you consider the number of wars we’ve waged (and continue to wage) that have nothing (at least sometimes) to do with guns, uniforms, tanks, missiles and the like.

Not sure what I’m rambling about? How about our continued failure as the wars on drugs, illegal immigrants, poverty, terror, gang violence, hunger, homelessness and so many more I could name wage on and on, with no definitive end in sight. And I’ve got a secret for you, this trend of failure won’t end any time soon. Why? Because these wars, like far too many, cannot be won.

Violence begets violence, as they say, and each and every one of these wars either stems from, leads to or are sustained by, you guessed it, violence. Unfortunately, it’s simply human nature. We’re a violent race, made up of violent societies, it’s just how it is.