dont let robots kill innocents

give peace a chance, don’t let robots kill innocents
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Oil on panel

I do not believe in war. I do not believe in preemptive violence against other people. One tactic that we have been using for years now is drone warfare in our “War Against Terror”. Even if we leave the cliché Sci-fi universal idea that armed robots flying in the sky is a bad idea, anyone should realize how this new type of war is both scary and horrifying. We are flying remote controlled planes with names like Reaper and firing missiles down onto “militants” in the name of protecting our country. It is hard to find numbers on casualties, besides the reported numbers of militants and terrorist leaders killed. Even Wikipedia only lists the approximate numbers of militants killed. Many places have reported, including the Pakistani government, that the drone attacks kill many more civilians than militants.

If this war is to stop terrorism, then why are we so dead set on killing innocents and making excuses for it? If we believe in this, does this allow for Pakistan to build drones and attack Washington for ordering attacks that have caused thousands of deaths in their country? Could they not list the same excuses we do? That we have no respect for the lives of their peaceful citizens, that they have to protect their borders and way of living? If they do not have the right to do that to us, why do we have the right to preemptively attack country after country?

In my life, I have never found that the best way to handle something is through violence. Can’t we give peace a chance?