What Causes War?

I don't think it is the accumulation of bombs or the war machine. It's not the military-industrial complex nor poverty. Still less likely is it racial differences, national differences or even religious differences. If in this thought exercise you were to throw out those things just mentioned you would still have the main ingredient:

Human Beings.

In particular it is not something external to ourselves. It is just human beings violating the basic premises of the Golden Rule. No war would be possible if everyone involved were living by the Golden Rule. Generally, the Golden Rule is too confusing (or simple) to digest all in one swallow. The 10 Commandments does a nice job of breaking it down further, but then there are those pesky ones that mention God that some may find objectionable; others won't know which one they are talking about.

I considered for some length of time what traits of humans form together a critical mass to ignite a war. IMHO the following seem to do the job:

Anger
Jealousy
Covetousness, Lust, Greed & Envy
Pride (false)
Cruelty
Gluttony for power & an other's stuff
Enslavement
The Right-Wrong Game

Some of these are what have been called the 7 Deadly Sins. All of them disappear for one who lives by the Golden Rule internally & externally.

BTW, it is a lot easier & accessible to work on ourselves & transform these things into a life that lives by the Golden Rule than it is to rid the World of nuclear bombs or change the things mentioned in the first paragraph. Indeed, some of those in the first paragraph like poverty will begin to disappear almost immediately the larger the number of people on the Earth join in the practice.

I wonder if that rainbow in paradise is still possible in our lifetimes.

Comments

Seth says

M above
BTW, it is a lot easier & accessible to work on ourselves & transform these things into a life that lives by the Golden Rule than it is to rid the World of nuclear bombs or change the things mentioned in the first paragraph. Indeed, some of those in the first paragraph like poverty will begin to disappear almost immediately the larger the number of people on the Earth join in the practice.

This is a nice sentiment, however it is fundamentally flawed. Even if we could solve cultural problems, like war, just by "transforming our inner selves", what about our children? How do we perpetuate that transformation down through time? The only way to do that is to transform the culture we live in ... transforming our insides will do nothing. If there are no nuclear bombs in our arsenals and if we have perpetuated a system to keep them out of our arsenals, then we will never use them to wage war. People transforming their inner selves, however much they prefect those inner selves, will never produce any change in the world around us and the world in which our children must grow up with.

Mark de LA says

Your children will have a tendency to follow the Golden Rule if YOU do! As a matter of some note most of the child molesters are created by their parents molesting them. Conversely if you teach your own children to follow the Golden Rule that will go a long way with them. Those who have lost contact with the origins and nature of the Golden Rule are now building that society within which your children grow up! It may take extra effort on your part to turn the trend around. Those in the domains of power, who negotiate at the UN & the corridors of the ruling classes have no other alternative than play the Right-Wrong Game; that being their job. Lets bring them all to an early retirement by making their jobs unnecessary. For those of us who don't have that job there is nothing much more to do except lead an exemplary life according to the Golden Rule & have fun doing it!

Mark de LA says

2250 has some pointers to the threefold social organism which may be of benefit in restructuring the external domain. As I said there it would be wonderful to get a discussion on that stuff - the google is here.

Mark de LA says

Warren Waterman in his book Will the Real God Please Stand Up apparently thinks all wars are religious wars. I don't think I will buy the book to find out, but some of his arguments in the promo for his book here are intriguing. I like this picture of his thoughts on his website:

Mark de LA says

& then there is Russia -

Putin confident of Russia becoming world's top arms exporter according to Xinhua (the Chicoms)

What Causes War?

Tags

Comments

See Also