Thursday, March 18, 2010

War and Peace Pendulum

Originally posted to firesofcreation.gaia.com on Dec 5th, 2007


We live in a world where several bad apples can ruin the whole bushel. It is unfortunate that entire wars have been waged through the decision of a select few while a sleep walking population decides to just go along for the ride.
War and peace are two sides of a pendulum whose constant swinging has never been stopped in the history of humanity. Even if a number of people sustain peace for their entire lifetime, the curtain of war will eventually open again on their children or their children’s, children. We seem to be in the generation where the pendulum is swinging towards war once again. Now the question is, will we be able to stop it or hold it off for awhile longer? The current turn of events since 9/11 would indicate the answer is no, but the eternal optimist within me says yes. Our world stage is now dominated by leaders who are trying to take their populations towards slaughter but surely if we take a stand, we can stop them before it's too late.
The bad apple equation is one inviting blow back. Martin Luther King Jr. spoke of this process in the following way; “If I hit you and you hit me, and I hit you back again; this could go on Ad infinitum.” He also goes on to say that it’s the strong person who can cut off the chain of hate and the chain of evil in the world by not giving into the temptation of retaliation.
But it’s hard to get this idea across when politicians and religious leaders are dominated by a mindset that sees the world through a black and white lens. They are focussed on other bad apples over there and are not aware this focus neglects seeing the rot within. In turn, the good apples over there must be punished for allowing the bad apples within their midst. This mindset can then lead to a religious perspective that sees any act of disaster on the innocent as deserved punishment from God.
Now the problem arises when human beings decide to become extensions of this wrathful God. We see soldiers and entire governments falling into this mistake. The 19 hijackers decided the millions of good apples in the U.S. must pay for actions and policies of the bad ones. Conversely, the Bush administration decided on a course that punished innocent apples in Iraq and Afghanistan because of the bad ones within their midst. And so was the case for Israel when they launched an entire war on the peoples of Lebanon for the actions of the bad apples of Hezbollah within their midst. Many in the U.S. see a growing likelihood that al Qaeda will strike once more in the near future and make the American population pay again for not curbing the aggression of the bad apples who have been killing the innocent apples over there.
“If I hit you and you hit me, and I hit you back again; this could go on Ad infinitum.” Perhaps Martin Luther King Jr.’s statement should have been revised because in the face of modern war and weaponry, both sides will not have the luxury of fighting for eternity. We will destroy ourselves and much of the planet first. Maybe this is why the “end times” plays so prominently in the religious minds of the Judeo/Christian/Muslim religions. Knowing humanity’s inability to stop the pendulum from swinging, a supernatural force from the outside must come at the culmination of human history to save us from ourselves.

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