Why the Fighting Must Stop
The recent skirmish between the IDF and Hezbollah has again taught the world a lesson that too few seem willing to learn -- that wars should be employed as a last resort, when all other efforts to reach a compromise have failed. The world has changed so significantly over the last 100-years, that countries still favouring the colonial route to solving problems will only find themselves perpetually guarding against terror. The armies of the world are no longer suited to wage wars against a smaller force intent on exacting the greatest damage and cause chaos. As the fighting between the IDF and Hezbollah demonstrated, the smaller force isn't motivated to confront a well armed and efficient army. Why would they? They would lose. The smaller force is out for the greatest impact, and they target civilians, that no army can protect -- as armies negotiate and compromise as a last resort.
As Mark Williams articulates in MIT's Technology Review, the small armed forces of the world -- the rebel force, terrorist group or small nation-state -- now have at their disposal the weapons technology of modern armies. Weapons can be purchased and deployed rapidly to a small, flexible force, that is not targeting our armed forces, but you and me. They don't want to kill our soldiers -- those that fight for and are there to protect us -- they want to kill us. In times of stress or conflict, our elected officials listen to us, their constituents as a last resort -- if they ever listen to us at all. We, the ones who are now on the frontlines of the global conflicts, are the last ones being asked our opinions. Instead, our pols run to the military establishment that is in cohorts with military industrial complex for guidance. The response is inevitably the same, from those that make their livelihood from waging war -- namely, war. Shoot first and the innocents are collateral -- can't make hummus without crushing some chick peas now, can you?
But are we, the civilian population, really innocent? We're either part of the solution or part of the problem. Those pols that make decisions to wage war, report to us. They work for you and me. We pay them to make decisions on our behalf, and if we don't like their decisions, we should be doing something about it. There are those among us, who, frankly, are just stupid. You can hear them. They've been shouting the loudest -- for war. That's only because we've let them however. We've let the stupid ones give justification to the war decisions our politicians make. We've allowed this to happen by our inaction. The world will go to hell because of our inaction -- because we believe that someone will do the right thing, that no matter how bad it gets, it just won't get any worse, because the crazy people driving the bus can't be that crazy. Well, they are that crazy.
How to prevent war? Dialogue first. The DMZ that separates us from them are cultural, religious, social, and/or political. The wars are between opposing societies. Rarely would you see two like societies waging war against each other -- they just have too much in common. If we believe that our society, our way of life is so much better, then why do we need to wage war to prove it? Isn't it counter intuitive? If the merits of our society is so great, then it should become very obvious to like-minded on the other side -- and thus revolutionary change is driven. It's slow. It's painful at times, but it does happen. You don't bring change to the dark ages with bulldozers. Doing so only alienates those you're trying to bring change to -- those you're seeking to save. It's not the fanatics on the other side we should be trying to reach -- we can't reach them -- but those that think like us on the other side, they can reach the fanatics.
If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem. That statement applies to the moderates on the other side who prefer dialogue over having their houses blown up. You're just like us. You just want the fanatics to go away. But they're not going to go away by wishful thinking. They're going to go away only if you do something about it. You need to take back the reins of discourse between societies from the ones who carry guns and kill in the name of your god. Killing is not dialogue. It is especially important if you've made a home for yourself in our society. This is our society, and it needs to become yours, but it doesn't become yours by a transformation to what you left behind. It amazes me that the Mohammed cartoon controversy earlier this year met with such viperous response worldwide, especially in free societies. Our values are important just as yours. Peaceful protests are encouraged. Death threats aren't. You're not in a home where you can utter death threats. That situation continues to astound me in light of the Holocaust cartoon exhibit now being hosted in Iran. Those that protested display of Mohammed cartoons should likewise be now voicing concerns -- after all, this is a purposeful slight being perpetuated -- the only motivation is spite.
Where are the weapons coming from? Follow the trail of the guns, bullets, bombs and other incendiaries of the civil world, and you'll come to just a few. It would be easy to think that weapons manufacture and proliferation is perpetrated by a few. It's not. Behind it all however, is money. Weapons don't move unless money greases the wheel -- and the ultimate currency it exacts from society is blood. Weapons move, money changes hands and blood flows. The proliferation of weapons must stop. It's not just Iran that is arming Hezbollah -- the trail leads to Russia and China. Before Iraq needed to be invaded, weapons came from the US for Iraq to use against Iran. Before Mujahideen became terrorists of Al Qaeda, they were the rebels that were armed by the US to fight Russia. Now the US is rewarding Pakistan's cooperation with weapons sales. When will those weapons be turned against us? Maybe sooner than you think -- we're collateral.
Why the fighting must stop? The extremes on the opposing sides want to take us to their extreme. They have guns and bombs, profess to kill for us, while valuing our lives as collateral. They will succeed if we let them, but will fail if they're exposed for what they are: weak, shortsighted, wrong and stupid. We, the moderates need to be vociferous in denouncing their tyranny. We need to express peace not as an alternative but the imperative. Weapons manufacture distracts the human species. We spend so much time devising more lethal and interesting ways of annihilate each other, that we hardly have enough resources left to safe ourselves from the host of other problems we've created.
Summed up, the case for peace is a compelling one. Unfortunately, it requires action on your part. It's not an easy choice, but it's a lot less painful.
As Mark Williams articulates in MIT's Technology Review, the small armed forces of the world -- the rebel force, terrorist group or small nation-state -- now have at their disposal the weapons technology of modern armies. Weapons can be purchased and deployed rapidly to a small, flexible force, that is not targeting our armed forces, but you and me. They don't want to kill our soldiers -- those that fight for and are there to protect us -- they want to kill us. In times of stress or conflict, our elected officials listen to us, their constituents as a last resort -- if they ever listen to us at all. We, the ones who are now on the frontlines of the global conflicts, are the last ones being asked our opinions. Instead, our pols run to the military establishment that is in cohorts with military industrial complex for guidance. The response is inevitably the same, from those that make their livelihood from waging war -- namely, war. Shoot first and the innocents are collateral -- can't make hummus without crushing some chick peas now, can you?
But are we, the civilian population, really innocent? We're either part of the solution or part of the problem. Those pols that make decisions to wage war, report to us. They work for you and me. We pay them to make decisions on our behalf, and if we don't like their decisions, we should be doing something about it. There are those among us, who, frankly, are just stupid. You can hear them. They've been shouting the loudest -- for war. That's only because we've let them however. We've let the stupid ones give justification to the war decisions our politicians make. We've allowed this to happen by our inaction. The world will go to hell because of our inaction -- because we believe that someone will do the right thing, that no matter how bad it gets, it just won't get any worse, because the crazy people driving the bus can't be that crazy. Well, they are that crazy.
How to prevent war? Dialogue first. The DMZ that separates us from them are cultural, religious, social, and/or political. The wars are between opposing societies. Rarely would you see two like societies waging war against each other -- they just have too much in common. If we believe that our society, our way of life is so much better, then why do we need to wage war to prove it? Isn't it counter intuitive? If the merits of our society is so great, then it should become very obvious to like-minded on the other side -- and thus revolutionary change is driven. It's slow. It's painful at times, but it does happen. You don't bring change to the dark ages with bulldozers. Doing so only alienates those you're trying to bring change to -- those you're seeking to save. It's not the fanatics on the other side we should be trying to reach -- we can't reach them -- but those that think like us on the other side, they can reach the fanatics.
If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem. That statement applies to the moderates on the other side who prefer dialogue over having their houses blown up. You're just like us. You just want the fanatics to go away. But they're not going to go away by wishful thinking. They're going to go away only if you do something about it. You need to take back the reins of discourse between societies from the ones who carry guns and kill in the name of your god. Killing is not dialogue. It is especially important if you've made a home for yourself in our society. This is our society, and it needs to become yours, but it doesn't become yours by a transformation to what you left behind. It amazes me that the Mohammed cartoon controversy earlier this year met with such viperous response worldwide, especially in free societies. Our values are important just as yours. Peaceful protests are encouraged. Death threats aren't. You're not in a home where you can utter death threats. That situation continues to astound me in light of the Holocaust cartoon exhibit now being hosted in Iran. Those that protested display of Mohammed cartoons should likewise be now voicing concerns -- after all, this is a purposeful slight being perpetuated -- the only motivation is spite.
Where are the weapons coming from? Follow the trail of the guns, bullets, bombs and other incendiaries of the civil world, and you'll come to just a few. It would be easy to think that weapons manufacture and proliferation is perpetrated by a few. It's not. Behind it all however, is money. Weapons don't move unless money greases the wheel -- and the ultimate currency it exacts from society is blood. Weapons move, money changes hands and blood flows. The proliferation of weapons must stop. It's not just Iran that is arming Hezbollah -- the trail leads to Russia and China. Before Iraq needed to be invaded, weapons came from the US for Iraq to use against Iran. Before Mujahideen became terrorists of Al Qaeda, they were the rebels that were armed by the US to fight Russia. Now the US is rewarding Pakistan's cooperation with weapons sales. When will those weapons be turned against us? Maybe sooner than you think -- we're collateral.
Why the fighting must stop? The extremes on the opposing sides want to take us to their extreme. They have guns and bombs, profess to kill for us, while valuing our lives as collateral. They will succeed if we let them, but will fail if they're exposed for what they are: weak, shortsighted, wrong and stupid. We, the moderates need to be vociferous in denouncing their tyranny. We need to express peace not as an alternative but the imperative. Weapons manufacture distracts the human species. We spend so much time devising more lethal and interesting ways of annihilate each other, that we hardly have enough resources left to safe ourselves from the host of other problems we've created.
Summed up, the case for peace is a compelling one. Unfortunately, it requires action on your part. It's not an easy choice, but it's a lot less painful.
You know what? The Holocaust happened. Period.
ReplyDeleteThe cartoon exhibit mocking this horrendous event in history is just like the reaction of a schoolkid who feels himself to have been verbally slighted. The reaction usually starts with "Oh yeah?" and is followed up with a yell that must be louder than that used by the other kid involved and must include words perceived as more powerfully hurtful. If not stopped by a teacher,such scenes generally escalate to physicality.
Are the people staging this exhibit really incapable of moving past the juvenile stage and into that of adult reasoning?