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earth, goodwill toward mcn," rhar we
face these mosr urgenr c¡ucsrions, and
find che
ANSWERS.
I t's rime we find
our
wh_y
rhere is so much rurmoil and
confusion in roday's world, why so
little peace at every leve! of human
endeavor.
International Lunacy
Let's srarc by examining our grear–
est failure in rhe search for peace
war.
War is rhe mosr carasrrophic of
mankind's follies. Ir is an incredible
wasre which accomplishes lircle, if
anyrhing, that is posirive. lts price is
enormous in rerms of wasred money,
resources, land, propcrry, and, in
rerms of losr human lives. And yet,
despite che fanrasri c wasre, nations
find rhemselves eirher ar war or con–
rinuous ly preparing for ir. On an in–
rernario nal scale, ir amounts ro
norhing less rhan mass lunacy.
You'd rhink that wirh so much
conflict, men wou ld ar leasr serde for
sorne periods of meaningful peace,
jusr as a change of pace. Yet, che in–
saniry of war has plagued man ever
since Cain slew Abel.
In facr,
che
overall global simarion
has, in che " enlighrened" rwemierh
cencury. dereriorared. World War l
was supposedly che "war ro end all
wars." That is, unriJ World War
U,
which - with che advenr of nuclear
weapons -
had
ro be che "war ro end
all wars." Furrher confli cr culminar–
ing in nuclear World War JII will
mean not only "ending all wars," but
everyrhing else, including rhe human
race! Peace has now become a musr
for humaniry. The alcernarive is ulti–
mare carasrrophe.
Despire chis urgenr siruarion, che
narions, since 1945, have foughr sorne
" 100 wars and orher major confl icts"
(Unesco Com'ier,
Nov. 1970). Ar lcasr
30 milirary conflagrarions and civil
disruptions rage somewhere in che
world ar rhis very momenr.
And so coday che killing and che
destrucrion continue unabated. Ar·
mies conrinue ro march off ro war
only ro rerurn and bury rheir dead.
10
And families grieve. And narions pick
up rhe pieces in prepararion for rhe
nexr conflicr. And on and on would
go
che
end less bloodshed, ex–
cepr .. . roday, rhere's che Bomb -
and plenty of chem. In facr, rhere are
enough bombs ro wipe out every
man, woman, and child on carrh up
ro 150 times over.* ( ls ir racional ro
even consider blowing apare civ–
ilizarion more rhan once?) And so,
we have finally come ro che tragic
place where, for rhe firsr rime in his–
rory. as che lace John F. Kennedy
warned. "Mankind muse put an end
to
war, or war will put an end to
mankind."
Meanwhile, as che narions' Arma–
geddon draws nearer with each pass–
ing day, men sic around che peace
rabies, groping for solurions, plain–
rively aski ng, "Why can't nations
live rogerher in peace?"
Why Turbulent Sociecies?
Afrer internarional nuclear
Jn·
san icy, maincaining domesric peace
and rranc¡uiliry wirhin individual na–
tions is almosr as grave a problem.
In che generation or so since 1945,
che nacions of che world have been
rorn by sorne 160 social revolurions,
75 rebellions for indepcndence, and
over
40
polirical assassinarions - all
within separare, individual socieries!
Currently, sorne rwo dozen nacions
are confronring chronic in ternacional
scrife, ranging from di sorders ro all–
our civil war.
No matter where you may look in
roday's world - no mattcr which so·
ciety you care ro observe - you see
precious li rtle interna] peace.
Take a c¡uick glance ar che societies
of che world as 1972 draws
to
a close.
Thc Uniced Srates: an uneasy domes–
tic peace amid a growing under–
currenr of disillusionmenr wich the
"establishment." Britain: periodic
srrikes and conrinuous economic
srrife. Norrhern Ireland: concinuing
bloodshed sremming from social, po-
• Estimare bv American Nobel Prizc·wi nning scien·
cisc Dr. l..inu< Pauhng, as quoced in
TrdmiJmll,
Dcc.
1968.
licical, and religious civil war. Viet–
nam: one of che mose cos rl y and
devasraring conOicrs in hisrory - all
resulcing from what began as a civil
war berween norrh and south.
Then there are che interna! dis–
orders and riots in Japan, Red China,
India, Pakisran, Indonesia, Central
and Sourh America, and in virrually
all che new nations of Africa.
On and o n goes che endless list of
turmo iJ
- whires against whices,
whires againsr blacks, blacks againsr
whires, blacks againsr blacks, Prores–
ranrs against Catholics, Arabs againsr
Israelis, workers agai nst managemenr,
ch ildren againsr parents, dissidenrs
againsr rhe esrablishmenc, ere., ere.
And so, as men continue ro hace,
fighr, and kili one anorher, you can'r
help bur wonder, "Why can' t men
within
narions live rogecher in peace?"
" H ace Thy Neighbor"
"Do ir unto rhy neighbor first be–
fore he pulls it on you." "Turn che
orher check - away from rhy neigh–
bor, rhar is." "Hace rhy neighbor."
These preceprs, codes of conduce,
or wharever, seem ro sum up che way
people rend ro feel roward each orher
in sociecy today.
Genuine fricndliness, hospira li ry,
even a smile, once considered normal,
seem srrange and odd roday, espe·
cially in public. Even che appcarance
of friendliness is greered wirh suspi ·
cion as if ir wcre a sign of inherent
weakness or abnormaliry. Wich prac–
rically everybody else reacri ng wirb
rruculence and hosriliry, mosr people
seldom think of bei ng warm and con–
siderare.
Nowhere does chis creeping cancer
of nonemocionalism
seem
ro be more
prevalen e than in che crowded,
decaying urban cenrers of che world.
Here, in che dehumanized srecl and
concrete jungles, rhe diseasc fesrers
and grows. Courcesy and kindness be–
come increasingly punishcd while
apathy and haughriness are rcwarded
by acceptance. As one psychologist
described
ic,
ciry-dwellers seem more
and more ro •·inrerprer rudeness and
PlAIN TRUTH
December 1972