Forever wars betray the failure of our religious and political hierarchies. War happens because we have failed collectively as human beings. We are all guilty of fostering and encouraging a culture of war. We are guilty of believing that peace can come from war. It never does, it never has, it never will. The west is looking at its end of days. Cultures that justify forever wars have their days numbered.
In 1938 US President Franklin D Roosevelt said “History proves that dictatorships do not grow out of strong and successful governments, but out of weak and helpless ones. If by democratic methods people get a government strong enough to protect them from fear and grant them sufficiency, their democracy succeeds; but if they do not, they grow impatient. Therefore, the only sure bulwark of continuing liberty is a government strong enough to protect the interests of the people, and a people strong enough and well enough informed to maintain its sovereign control over its government.”
We can only know that our governments are really protecting our interests if we are well informed. Giving our informed consent or acquiescence is our responsibility. One needs to listen to opposing points of view and one should be willing to renounce unreasonable and biased opinions, not validated by reality. It is necessary to be logical and to cultivate discernment. Situations in the world have complex origins and are never black or white. We require a nuanced insight. Unless we pay attention we quickly become useful idiots open to manipulation by the unelected supra-national elites and their local political minions.
Sovereignty belongs to the people that make up nations and communities and who share common values. Elected leaders are there to serve and we should allow them the least power and resources possible, as, once given, they will never be willingly surrendered. When we stop paying attention to what our governments are doing, if we ignore the historical and cultural context, when we do not take into account the legitimate concerns of other nations, we diminish our ability to empathise and we will find ourselves wading in a swamp of fear and narcissism.
Most importantly, and dangerously so, the attention vacuum that is created by our indifference is occupied by corporate, political and religious elites and used to their advantage. Sovereignty is one of our most treasured possessions. It is ours to defend or to surrender. The currency used to buy sovereignty in our times is dependency, distractions and convenience. These induce a false sense of liberty and an addiction to obedience.
Circa two thousand four hundred years ago the Greek philosopher Plato noted that “Dictatorship naturally arises out of democracy, and the most aggravated form of tyranny and slavery out of the most extreme liberty.”
People have settled in different geographical landscapes and established countries. In a very real way nations are prisoners of the geography that makes them and surrounds them. These vulnerabilities and strengths should be considered when determining whether a country is being reasonable and justifiably concerned or domineering and expansionist.
The global armaments industry necessarily thrives on a pipeline of conflicts. This is no secret. Peace is bad for business. Sending our young people, on both sides, to die in forever wars, destroying lives and livelihoods is business as usual for this industry. Such is the nature of evil.
In Luke 6:27-38, Christ exhorts us to love our enemies as ourselves. Although loving people we perceive to be our enemy may seem like a tall order, to at least show some empathy would go a long way.
We should view our leaders with suspicion when they spurn us to hate others, as it is a sign that they need external enemies to exert internal control over their own citizens.
Western countries are experiencing an inversion of their historic values. An ideology that encourages local culture and traditions based on the family unit of a man, a woman and children, that upholds the sovereignty of a nation with borders and reflecting the will of its people, that believes in free speech and peace, is nowadays considered to be anti-democratic. Living by Christian values appears to be a rebellious act.
True prosperity and wellbeing come through peace. Military budgets should be halved or quartered, not multiplied. Contrary to popular narratives, sovereign nations are peaceful nations. Sovereign nations are open about their intentions and motivations. These are to protect and promote the best interests of their people. Such positions are the recipe for win-win outcomes in trade or dispute negotiations.
The first victim in war is truth. All wars are contrived. There is no honour in killing. Invariably, wars are provoked for control, power or resources, ultimately for financial gain. Young people are turned into murderers and sent to their death in their tens, or even hundreds, of thousands, as gun fodder. Countries are ravaged, evil glorified.
The forever wars must end. We the people must make it clear to our political and religious leaders that we have had enough of all this hate and bloodshed. We want peace, now. Deliver it or go.
If you believe in a just and sustainable society, these other articles may interest you.
Also published on Substack.com
David Marinelli Instagram