Future generations must fight for peace and resist war
Unfettered
Larry Burge
Issue date: 8/29/08 Section: Opinion
I see two avenues of correcting this course and righting humanity's wrongs. Educating the masses in core human values is one way, and the other, when possible, is to elect leaders that put on the coat of communication and compromise before ordering troops to embark on what history has shown to always result in a loss for everyone, especially the innocent victims.
I admit there were times in world history where government leaders could justify stopping a tyrant from the invasion of innocent neighbors, most recently in World War I, World War II, Afghanistan and possibly the Korean Conflict.
However, invasions in Vietnam and the latest in Iraq were not justified by what information we now know, even though leaders might try to rationalize their decisions, which is only making excuses for doing the right thing for the wrong reasons. This shows a disregard for people, their possessions and others positions.
The future of war lies within the minds and hearts of this present generation of educated adults, young and old and in every country, to not try to change those hard heads in charge but to educate children and promote peace by serving those less fortunate.
An alternative to save the world from materialism and greed might also surface if those educated would put great thought and energy toward making people more important than things, even among the free economic society in the U.S.
The future responsibility of sunrises and sunsets, whether they might look more like those seen through Beijing or Los Angeles air pollution, in contrast to those experienced by people standing on the edge of the Grand Canyon, has been laid in the laps of those educated and wise enough to see and know why the difference exists.
The future will tell the story whether the efforts were successful. The physical Earth will also tell a story.
Larry Burge is a columnist for The Arkansas Traveler. His column appears every other Friday.
I admit there were times in world history where government leaders could justify stopping a tyrant from the invasion of innocent neighbors, most recently in World War I, World War II, Afghanistan and possibly the Korean Conflict.
However, invasions in Vietnam and the latest in Iraq were not justified by what information we now know, even though leaders might try to rationalize their decisions, which is only making excuses for doing the right thing for the wrong reasons. This shows a disregard for people, their possessions and others positions.
The future of war lies within the minds and hearts of this present generation of educated adults, young and old and in every country, to not try to change those hard heads in charge but to educate children and promote peace by serving those less fortunate.
An alternative to save the world from materialism and greed might also surface if those educated would put great thought and energy toward making people more important than things, even among the free economic society in the U.S.
The future responsibility of sunrises and sunsets, whether they might look more like those seen through Beijing or Los Angeles air pollution, in contrast to those experienced by people standing on the edge of the Grand Canyon, has been laid in the laps of those educated and wise enough to see and know why the difference exists.
The future will tell the story whether the efforts were successful. The physical Earth will also tell a story.
Larry Burge is a columnist for The Arkansas Traveler. His column appears every other Friday.
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