"We have grasped the mystery of the atom and rejected the Sermon on the Mount. Ours is a world of nuclear giants and ethical infants. We know more about war than we know about peace, more about killing than we know about living."
General Omar Bradley
Interesting, isn't it? We imagine that we, as a society, value peace. We tell ourselves that we value all of the good stuff. We imagine that we have moved on from some of the ugly behaviours and practices of times past. In our imaginations we are the most elevated of all generations, the most developed of societies.
We all occasionally admit that we aren't as we would like but those who regularly express doubts about our ethics, those who make an effort to do things differently, those brave enough to challenge others are mostly viewed as the lunatic fringe.
Imagine a world where life, peace, ethics and love truly dominated.
Where we spent more on wells than on warheads.
Where fear and greed journalism fell on deaf ears.
Where shopping was, once again, an activity of necessity rather than leisure.
What if, instead of developing road rage we gave other drivers space to make a mistake.
Imagine a world where nobel prize winners were as famous as sporting greats.
Imagine if scholarships were awarded for kindness.
Imagine with me.....................
I can easily imagine the unimaginable. It is having Faith in it ever coming to fruition I have my doubts.
ReplyDeleteSome wonderful aspirations there. I love the idea of scholarships for kindess! There's something lacking in the human brain when people can resort to violence so easily and so habitually without realising the destructive consequences of what they are doing. And without realising they've probably been tempted into violence by irrational fears and anxieties.
ReplyDeleteOr even a world where every man had all the drugs, women, and rock-and-roll, he wanted. Oh, well, I don't guess either of us is going to get our dream.
ReplyDeleteI suppose Bradley felt that he had to do all that killing in order to bring peace, and I can't say that he didn't because I really don't know. The Nazis and the Japanese imperialists were seriously bad people.
mark
ReplyDeletei doubt it can happen! but even if we could all change one or two things.
nick
i didnt quite manage to achieve what i hoped with this post but i'm glad you liked the attempt!
look, snow,
truth be told, i spend more time imagining a world where people do their chores without grumbling....
after that i imagine unlimited cheesecake and coffee.
as for the hypocrisy inherent in the statement, well, thats his business, not mine but i gotta say:
YOU GOT ME!
Hmm vivid imagination there. I dispair of the human condition sometimes yet always live in hope
ReplyDeletehmmm... i think the unimaginable might have to happen before we can imagine all of that.... fun post!
ReplyDeleteGeneral Bradley is right.
ReplyDeleteChernobyl and that was not even war.
Hiroshima, Pol Pot, Hutsis and the Footsies in Africa, George W. Bush mouthing off the UN, Stalin. Take a read of the Old Testament and note the Blood spilt all that time ago.
What more is to say?
One does not rise to General in a major power for nothing and not notice the reasons for war or peace.
are you an extremist?????????????????faith for most is old fashioned><><<><<><<><><<>><<><<><>yea drugs women and rock and roll, and your dad seems to have it all together
ReplyDeleteImagining...
ReplyDeleteThe one big reason why people are willing to wage war is that they seldom see the dreadful consequences of their actions. If they were living in some little village that was decimated by a foreign bomb, they might think twice about whether wars are necessary.
ReplyDeletebains!
ReplyDeletei'm with ya. they say i have rose coloured glasses for the way i live in hope
zack!
*takes a bow*
great having you here, amigo
dad,
bradley is correct but there is some inherent irony in the statement :)
putz,
am i an extremist? sometimes maybe but not usually....
hi jen!
nick,
absolutely!