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"I would fear something that thinks it can destroy an army singlehandedly much more than another army."
- Marle -
"Chrono Trigger Dimensions Ch. 36" a fanfic by Jerm
Warriors, Warriors we call ourselves. we fight for splendid virtue , for high endeavor, for sublime wisdom, therefore we call ourselves "Warriors"
- Kelly Thomas -
"Our lives to ourself are almost meaningless. The ones around us, the ones we struggle to protect are all that matter to us. We know our lives, we'd sacrifice it to keep them safe and happy from the harm we struggle to fight."
- Dusty X -
"Warriors are a dying breed... not because they are in the wrong time or place, but because their efforts are so isolated. Our society dislikes disturbances, and warriors are certainly a disturbance; thus their efforts are suppressed. The result is that individual warriors never get the chance to join with groups of warriors, and so they surrender all hope to what seems an insurmountable task.
There are many changes that need to be made in the world, and many causes that need the energy and passion that warriors bring. All that remains is for those warriors with a common vision to find a way to unite in their struggle. That alone could revive them from the slow death that they are suffering."
- Dream Spiral -
"In order to protect the ones we love, surely that is why we came to be born. If we don't have love, if we aren't strong, we can't learn to be gentle."
- Kris Conner -
"you can become a mercenary ... and that's where you can really let your warrior instinct fly."
- Iniach -
"None the less, there are more ways to be a warrior than following the orders of a single country. The difference, IMHO, between a warrior and a soldier lies in the heart. A soldier follows orders, whether to protect or destroy, live or die, on the command, on the heart of another person. A warrior follows their own path and their own heart, and simply cannot afford to die."
- Lycorne -
To take the Webster's definition, we find:
soldier - (sôl'jer) [solde coin, pay]
1. A person serving in an army; member of an army
2. a) an enlisted person, as distinguished from one holding a warrant or commission b) any low-ranking member of a Mafia family
3. One who has military experience or military skill
4. A person who works zealously for a specified cause
warrior - (wôr'yer) [werr war¹]
A person taking part or experienced in conflict
esp. war; soldier
war¹ - (wôr) [werran to confuse]
1. Open armed conflict between countries or two factions within the same country
2. Any active hostility, contention, or struggle; conflict [the war against disease]
3. [Obs.] A battle
Taken from Webster's New World Dictionary: Third College Edition
Interesting... They see a soldier as a form of a warrior... But to look at the root words that became those terms... money or pay (soldier) versus war (warrior) which is rooted in confusion (war)...
For me, a warrior is someone willing to do anything to protect people. Including sacrifice their own lives. A warrior does not have any care for who the person is, where they're from, or what they believe... A warrior exists to protect lives, and ways of life... The right to exist... They protect the ideals held dear in their hearts. They fight to prevent destruction. Kill in order to save the innocent from death. Of course, that creates a dilemma of the heart, in that they must destroy in order to protect.
Because a warrior's life is dedicated to protecting and upholding the lives of others, they have trouble becoming close to others for fear of the warrior's way of existing causing harm to anyone they may care for. But they do care for people, it is impossivble for them not to. What is more common is a lack of care for one's self. A dryness of emotion in regard to their own life. Because they exist to protect at any cost, their own life holds little meaning. But they cannot kill themselves, because they cannot chose their death. They exist to protect, and cannot give up life, without giving up the drive to protect those around them.
In my eyes, a soldier is one who follow's another's ideals, another person's heart to battle. They take and carry out orders with expectation of compensation. They fight to protect yes, but they care only for the ideals and protection of their own country, their own people. They fight as a job, rarely as a way of life and heart.
In the end, I think that perhaps when it comes down to it, being a soldier is a choice, an action to be performed. Meanwhile, a warrior is a way of life, a piece of one's personality, something that is part of you from the day you are born until the day you die. While the two are not wholely incompatable, a warrior who works as a soldier must at some point in time face a point where their heart knows one path to follow, and their orders demand another. Being true to the warrior path will cause problems for the job, but following the soldier's path, could break the warrior's spirit. Ultimately, the conflict could cause more harm than good.
This is not as articulate as I would like it to have been, but I hope it makes some sense.