Finding an Alternative to War

We are facing the prospect of yet another war in the Middle East, now, in addition to the conflict in Iraq and Afghanistan. In a sense, it really doesn't matter who is right and who is wrong in the current spat between the Arabs and the Israelis. There are very few causes that legitimately justify the waste, the death, the destruction and the suffering that this or any other armed conflict brings to both sides of the fighting.

Unfortunately, very few events in the realm of human affairs can focus the passions and energies of men and women quite so well as war. In time of war, we come together in a common cause to defeat the enemy of the moment, even if we are not entirely comfortable with what is happening. So long as we can buy into the common cause, we are willing to commit ourselves to the current military campaign, despite the horrendous costs associated with it.

Logic certainly suggests that there are better and more effective ways to resolve disagreements between groups or nations. Certainly makes sense. And yet, if one looks back in the history of mankind, there has not been a single moment in that history when the entire world was at peace everywhere. That is a truly sad commentary on the human condition.

Greater minds than I have grappled with this question of why. William James tried to frame an alternative to war which was essentially a Moral Offensive on the ills that plague our world. John Kennedy formed the Peace Corps in the 1960's and FDR created a national work program to fight the widespread unemployment that resulted from the Crash of 1929. In short term situations, a moral equivalent of war has proven to work.

Goodness knows that our world faces an overwhelming set of problems that desparately need to be addressed. Wouldn't it make more sense to somehow stir the passions of our fellow humans to support a Peace Campaign worldwide, in which men, women and children of all races, nationalities and religions unite in an effort to fight hunger, disease, and unnecessary suffering. A Peace Campaign would enable mankind to better utilize the great resources of this planet to fight a more noble cause than another war in some part of the world.

What seems most right or most sensible usually fires the imagination of only a few people, who have enough vision to be able to see what can be realized, if people would choose to work to build a better world. This ideal, sadly, does not even come close to the realities we face every day.

What is to be done? I don't know. But time is running short for us as a species. We can only abuse this fragile planet and abuse our fellow humans only so long. The time is fast approaching when we will pay a fearful price if we fail to initiate a Peace Initiative and work in a common cause to properly address the enviromental and the human problems we face. We needed to do this yesterday. Starting even today may be too late to stave off the dark future that we are most likely bequeathing to our children.

Can this be done successfully? I don't know if it can. But we will never know if we don't even try.