Imagine a world in Total War... Isn't that Ultimate Bliss?

Does anyone agree with my opinion that people let out who they really are in a chaotic situation?

A country at war lets out what people show what they TRULY think of their country. A country at war lets people learn basic survival and appreciate more their lives.

In a world with so many differences and decayment, wouldn't a world at war in an endless conflict open our views, effectively, total bliss?

You can't be happy when you're dead.

No it wouldn't. I'd still be busy doing the same thing I do now, herding people around and keeping them from doing some overtly stupid thing. In other words, keeping humanity from pointing a gun at its own head for reasons like a lack of self control or a lot of selfishness.

edited 12th Mar '11 11:30:44 AM by Usht

Heh, it reminds me of that line from 9. rota. I won't quote here, for I would be quoting from my faulty memory, so I'll just say how it went.

A character, asked why he volunteered for Afghanistan, answered by quoting, IIRC, Michelangelo: that he creates sculptures by taking a block of stone, and removing anything unnecessary. A war machine, he went on, like a tank, is purely utilitarian, not a thing unnecessary in its design. A war does remove everything that is unnecessary. Only the purest life and death are left.

Needless to say, the guy who asked him that question was kinda squicked.

no.

Also, that "total bliss" would be marred by the fact that you're likely to die at any time. Knowing that, people would do as much as they can in as little time as possible, most of which will be related only to making him or herself happy. Namely sex (you better bet that'll include rape), theft, murder, and general aggressiveness.

In short, we'll become savages.

Now sonny, I might not have seen the entire world, but I sure do feel that a life like that would be gosh darn shitty.

Three words: Are you crazy?

Thanks to the a-bomb, that sort of thing is no longer possible in the real world (all the “wars” we have now are nothing but cute little shams to perpetuate the MIC and keep the third world from ascending,) but would I like eternal and absolute battle, unrestrained by any aim or meaning aside from fleeting victory? Judging from the amount and variety of computer games and fiction I indulge in, then yeah, Valhalla could very well be my kind of place. It's hard to say whether I'd get bored with it compared to a more peaceful and social utopia.

1/10 terrible troll

Go away Shadow Mirror!

One would imagine that you, like I, had never been to a battlefield as a soldier.

Being a Nightmare Fetishist, you probably have a different perception of violence and suffering than most people, Polarity. You'll find like-minded people in this thread, or Troper Tales.

edited 12th Mar '11 1:41:22 PM by Grain

(*SMACK*)

NO. And assuming that that OP isn't a trollpost, someone really needs to look back at what happened in past instances of Total War.

I think that this thread should help us appreciate the amazing diversity that Tv Tropes has, and our tolerance for each other.

Doesn't it seem pretty weird to posit a «true self» that's only observable in normally rare situations?

No. You're looking at the idea of war through rose colored glasses because you've never been in one. War is all fine and good for folks to imagine when it's just armies against armies, but that isn't war anymore. When you're a civilian and war affects you, it's one of the most horrible things you can imagine, trust me.

People show their best and worst in these situations, but not just war, natural disasters and such too. Some people bringing out their best is just one small optimistic note in a song filled with sadness, a silver lining to a cloud filled with acid rain, if you will.

Wow, didn't know Shishio Makoto edited this wiki. I feel kind of honored.

All right.

The Polarity persona may be a Nightmare Fetishist, but this persona was created a long time ago. Just because I say something over the internet, doesn't mean I believe in it (Hello double meaning sentences).

So just because I posted my opinion on some matter,and it differs from yours, I am a Troll? Interesting. Tv Tropes has some of THE most diverse public I have ever seen, and I have had to contain myself from judging people, just because of their viewpoints. I have been tolerant, but people have not been that tolerant with my public persona. Now now tropers, is this mature at all? I do not think so. I assure you, I am not trolling, nor am I crazy.

Perhaps Bliss wasn't the best term for the title. Yes, people die in wars. Yes, it is hell. Maybe I have not participated in any wars yet, but living in one of the most dangerous countries (AND living in the world's most dangerous city, to boot) certainly has given me some... Perspective. Why are people asking about my mental state? What is so frightening about Dying? It is the prolongued decayment of society that scares me. People die in wars, dangerous cities and Natural disasters all the time. Total Bliss takes into account on how society could IMPROVE from a situation like this.

@tzetze: I find the "True" part to be coated in lies. Lies that makes people believe we ARE the lies. Only something like War can dig out the truth.

It's my understanding that this Area is filled with some veterans. My apologies if this thread offends you. I do not intend to offend or troll, only to discuss.

You're Somalian?

Also, war is a monumental drain on resources, and the economic effects of total, worldwide war in this day and age are... unimaginable. Wouldn't it just accelerate that social decay you're so worried about?

edited 12th Mar '11 6:45:45 PM by Iaculus

Well, besides people dying, you'd also get the grief of people left behind, families who can't feed themselves because their breadwinners died or are off working in a factory, rape, people living with constant stress, horrible injuries, pain, people maimed and with horrible quality of life but still alive.

It might be all very well to fantasise about 'dying a noble death', but the story still goes on without you.

And the odds on your death actually being noble rather than messy, painful, and undignified are very low indeed.

Venezuelan, actually.

Ok, when did, in my post say that I wanted a "Noble death"? I am not talking about some television war. I just said that death wasn't what scared me the most.

I meant social decay in a moral way. You are missing the point of the whole thread if you think I am a person whose main interest lies in the economics part.

I know the horrible things that could come with a war too. But it is mostly a change of perspective.

Meh, bliss is good in moderate amounts, total bliss is detrimental. Basically, moderation of everything is good, including a moderate amount of moderation.

Are you claiming that the positives of being a nation at war would outweigh the negatives? I doubt it would.

Actually, some nations have proven to make quite a bit of profit from war. However, they only made profit when they won. As soon as they lost, they hit a depression.