On this, the 96th anniversary of the end of World War I, Nov. 11, 1918, which in the U.S. we know as Veterans Day; remember that that war cost nine million lives directly, and an additional 20 to 50 million who died due to Spanish influenza, a virus. That contagion was exacerbated by troop transportation and trench closeness.

A British soldier at the close of that conflict: W.W. Francis of the 7th King’s Shropshire Light Infantry said, “For God’s sake and common humanity do not write about honor and glory, there was none. War, especially ours, was a stinking ugly horrible business.”

Then on the eve of World War II, no one was heard asking, “When will they ever learn?” World War II cost over 60 million lives worldwide.

In the mid-‘60s Bob Dylan was heard asking: Yet still wars and more wars.

As we today listen to words such as “U.S. interests,” “terrorism,” “security,” same words as back then and now again, coupled with death dealing viruses (Ebola and enterovirus), an eerie sense seems at hand. Will the world continue to look away, not wanting to see what has been foretold?

“Dear God, when” will we learn?