An oxymoron is a rhetorical figure in which incongruous or contradictory terms are combined.
In my mind “win a war” is the most egregious example of an oxymoron. Wars are not won, they are only lost. Granted, one faction usually loses less, often a lot less, but the prevailing group loses life, property, and other intangibles that are not easily, or in some cases not possible, to renew.
The two current major conflicts are more about the dictators keeping their ill-gotten leadership roles that totally ignore the conditions of the people living in Ukraine, Russia and Israel.
Two recent Pat Bagley cartoons illustrate this concept: “Make a Future” and “The Innocents.”
Wayne Wilson, West Jordan
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