Thomas Cahill explains in Sailing the Wine Dark-Sea that in classical times there was a tension between the Greeks and their Roman overlords with the Greeks embittered by their lower status when compared to the Romans who were of an inferior culture. On the other hand the Romans, though proud of their status as conquerors, tried to sooth the Greeks by adopting their culture wholesale. It was sort of like the dichotomy that exists between Americans and the French and other Europeans.
There will always be this tension of those that are vanquished and those that conquer and in turn those that conquer will be conquered themselves one day. That is the status quo. What we must do to alleviate this cycle of history is to change the status quo.
There is precedent for such change. The rise of the Greeks and Romans changed the status quo of their times. For instance suddenly, writing was being done for the enjoyment of the general population rather than as an accounting tool. After that Jesus changed the status quo. More recently the printing press did the same putting ideas out to the masses. Today technology drives change.
The problem today is rampant militarism that eats away at our economic muscle. Where our politicians force feed us through fear armies of soldiers the people wish only for armies of doctors.
But how do we change this status quo? Can America give up its war machine and Iran retain its in which case they will certainly over run us as the barbarians did to Rome all so long ago. No there must be a unified surrender of arms. The whole world must all at once cast away their swords.
In an earlier blog I had suggested that the nations of the world reduce their military might by just 10% and that this would create an economic boom unseen in the annals of history. Well if you are going to go that far why not go all the way and melt down all your weapons into ploughshares the whole world all at once.
Some would say it is in human nature to be belligerent and war like. But that is not so, humans, however so slowly, are evolving away from the violence of the ancients. We no longer have gladiators fighting to the death and the mass slaughter of animals for the enjoyment of spectators. Instead we have field games with a ball. We forgive those who brought on the holocaust though we do not forget it. We rebuild our enemies rather than leave them in the ruins of utter destruction.
These may seem like little steps even in light of events like 9-11 but we are still progressing or trending in a certain direction even with periodic ups and downs. Why we have come a long way in just a half century going from the atomic bombing of two Japanese cities to a stand down of the assured mutual destruction of the planet at the hands of the nuclear arsenals of the East and West during the Cold War.
So why not do it and take that leap of faith and end war forever. Let us all say together what Nez Perce Chief Joseph said in the late 1800s, “I will fight no more forever.”