War for Ever More?
The war in Iraq is supposedly winding down (though this is in part a matter of definition). The war in Afghanistan is heating up and has extended to Pakistan. AfriCom is a secretly booming endeavour; as is strategic military operations throughout Latin America. George W. Bush put us on a permanent war footing, and President Obama is continuing that policy.
How long has it been since you have heard a discussion of peace? It has become a rare commodity over the last decade - perhaps decades. The only political discussion of peace was during the last campaign was Dennis Kucinich being laughed out of candidacy with his “Department of Peace.” It has been so long since any serious discussion of “peace on Earth” that I would guess that for many peace isn’t even a thought. In the U.S. - and perhaps the rest of the world - we have become so inured to war that we seem to think it is an inevitable and natural state.
I am not going to make an argument that the world does not have a history of warfare. However, I do not believe that a history of warfare proves the argument of the natural inevitability of war. War is a choice. As a choice, it means that humans could make different choices.
We have a world at stake with the crises of energy, environmental destruction, and climate chaos. We need each other to meet these challenges if we are going to survive. We have the best bases in the world to come together peacefully than at any time in human history - our very survival. I firmly believe that our ability to successfully meet these challenges rests in peace - not war. We have a choice to make - peace or assured destruction (which will be profitable for a few).
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