ABSTRACT
The twentieth century began with an explosion and expansion of wars that have continued into the twenty-first century. Endless wars, big and small, on every continent. These wars bring immense darkness with them. Of course, there have always been conflicts and wars ever since humans began creating weapons, whether to survive or to exercise power for domination. But as civilization has “progressed,” the wars have become more brutal and barbarian and the effects of efficient weapons and tactics, greater. There is practically no way to prevent these wars, even though most people would prefer not to experience them. Resistance seems almost futile, and if there is recourse, it appears that our only hope is to record and contest war mongers through narratives of many different kinds. To spread tales of resistance. For instance, some time after World War II ended, the great Italian writer Gianni Rodari, who always wrote against the grain, produced a wonderful tale for children called “The War of the Bells”:
Once upon a time there was a war, a great and terrible war that caused many soldiers on both sides to die. We defended our territory, while our enemy fought for their land. We fired on them day and night, and they fired back. But the war was so long that at a certain point we ran out of steel for the missiles and metal for the bayonets and other weapons.
