War discourse in the popular mind revolves around terms such as violence, masculinity and heroism. I wish to draw attention to a neglected dimension, namely the mutilation and destruction of the male body. I compare the Aztec conception of war with the Western idea. The fundamental difference between the two is that the Aztecs explicitly linked battle to the sacrificial death of the warrior. Such august homage was never before offered as this, the homage of millions of lives given gladly for love of country.
Sacrificial violence represents a testimony to one's love and devotion to the nation-state.
During World War I, nine millions soldiers died and approximately thirty-five million were wounded or reported missing in action. In Western warfare, we say that the soldier has been killed by the enemy. When French soldiers got out of trenches during the First World War and ran toward enemy lines where they met machine gun fire, we say they were killed by the Germans. Other speakers include Reuven Kimelman, Sandor Goodhart, Robert J. Daly, Qamar-ul Huda, Francis X. Clooney, Christopher Ives, James Alison, and James G. William.