Faith in the Warrior and Kris Kershaw’s The One-Eyed God

Please read the previous part in the series: The Sons of Heracles

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This warrior religion project in part has been inspired by the Dune movie aesthetic. The movie itself I thought, like most adaptations, didn’t compare to the book, but the aesthetic of their warrior religions were top notch. You have the Sardaukar home world scene where warriors are having blood marked on their heads from sacrifices hung upside down crucifixion style and drained. You had the Atreides forces with their interesting war dance before they get ambushed by Harkonnen and Sardaukar.  The Sardaukar enjoy creating terror, attacking in ways you wouldn’t expect. And then you have the Fremen, who we don’t see much in the movie, but you realize they are very capable warriors who thrive in the ability to remain unseen.

Atreides, Fremen, Harkonnen, Sardaukar, were all distinct warrior peoples from different planets possessing their own distinct ways of war. The world building of Dune established a return to the old ways. Personal shields made guns useless, man was forced to take back up the blade. This new way of fighting made them take up the warrior virtues of old. You replace the planets of these warrior peoples with the countries we have now and you realize this little sci-fi world of Frank Herbert holds merit. Americans don’t fight the way the Russians fight who don’t fight in the same way Chinese fight.

What this warrior religion project proposed is many things, but first and foremost, putting faith back into the warrior. There really hasn’t been a war won by Americans since World War II and what characterized the American armies since then? The reliance of technology. Vietnam was about showing superior firepower, dropping missiles of all sorts just to blow up some Vietcong in the rice patties. The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq was about how superior American weaponry disabled resistance before American boots were even on the ground. The men in the Middle East and Vietnam refused to believe they were defeated. Overtime, America was forced to withdraw, not because our soldiers didn’t have the will to fight, but our culture couldn’t stomach what it took to fight a real war.

Yes, technology dominates warfare now, but you are a fool to think it will replace the warrior. The nation that puts its faith in the fighting man will always keep its sovereignty and likely, conquer whatever they want to conquer. A warrior religion must, by its name, put its faith in the warrior. The greatest crime of this world is democratic armies where the Commander and Chief is a civilian. I agree when BAP says the only just government is a military one. To let a man who either isn’t a warrior or hasn’t fought for his country run it is part of the reason we’re in the problem we are now.