The optimist and the realist in me live in different time periods on this one. In the present, there seems to be no viable path to global peace. Human evolution just isn't at that stage and I can only see it happening with a few more millennia of progress. If we can possibly survive to that point.
There is the rub. Survival to the point that peace could be global. We are on several collision courses in the path to global peace, and the most alarming is the one capable of triggering all the other disasters we fear most, the one that can truly bring the Four Horsemen of the Apocolypse - Conquest (or Pestilence), War, Famine and Death - into our presence. That single source is not JUST iniquity, although the true believers of the literal will no doubt fault me on this, it is the inevitable collision with reality that an unsupportable population brings.
At our current acceleration of population, we are heading for a collapse of the bridge to the human future, for we will be unable to supply the resources necessary to sustain ourselves. This, under present reckoning, is an unavoidable fact. The result is the entrance of the Four Horsemen and the less literal interpretation is that these are the necessary forces that will come into play as the conflict of over populating hits the full tipping point.
We are already well on our way and can see the results all around us. We have global warming. We are polluting. People are starving. We have wars. Ultimately, many people will die on a mass scale.
But ... this is where the optimist in me walks in, my internal version of the True Believer. Given mankind's drive to survive, it will become apparent even to the ignorant that extinction is a very real possibility. Existence itself will become intolerable on a more massive scale and humankind will either need to mount a massive defense of its viability ... or die. When confronted with these options, it is amazing what people can do.
Is global peace possible? Yes, I think so. But it looks like a great deal of trauma may be necessary to truly awaken us to a better potential. Do you agree?
WoW, more answers with a question or two; makes one think of not just global peace but "peace" in your own neighbourhood.
ReplyDeleteYou probably don't read my blog but I have a mix of me/and news. We in NZ just reached 4.5million people recently and had me thinking about where they live here.
You were in NZ recently so you will know how much of our land is "not lived in" because of distance from centres or protected forest areas along with whatever the problem is.
So many people migrate to the cities where employment or better facilities are deemed to be. Auckland my region is quite narrow (landmass) and catering for growing pop just there is becoming more and more difficult. People have to live somewhere, travel elsewhere and the City is becoming even more clogged...
Planners have talked about have another centre relatively close by - but no one wants to spend a couple of hours getting to work on clogged roads...
it's a never-ending cycle of whether globally this is peace in a small land or not...
If I am remembering correct, you are Christian, so I think this comment will be okay. The Bible teaches that Jesus Christ will one day return to the Earth and reign over it. There will be a thousand years of peace. I think that is going to be the only way we can really have peace. It takes a selfless, loving leader to make it happen. It takes someone who isn't motivated by money or power, or selfish desires. And it takes a people who are united, and who love each other and care about each other.
ReplyDeleteThere is a fifth horse to be overcome in order to begin the journey to world peace: GREED!
ReplyDelete@cedar51
ReplyDeleteI can understand the cramping as you are describing it, for there is nothing like actually going to a place and seeing how it sets up. Part of the beauty of NZ is the smaller population and the grandeur of your countryside. But, in Auckland, what will they do? Build houses on Mt. Eden?
@Delirious
ReplyDeleteYes, Delores, I am pulling the Four Horsemen from Revelation, of course. I was trying to show in a practical way what could be represented in a more abstract manner there.
@Grannymar
ReplyDeleteIndeed there is and a mighty stallion it is! Ugly, but mighty.
Yes, I agree. First, we'd have to have some global awareness and then the peace would follow.
ReplyDeletePossible? Yes with next week's LBC topic. Probable, no.
ReplyDelete@Maria Perry Mohan
ReplyDeleteSomething has to bring it home to humanity and I agree that awareness along with compassion and a willingness to act are essential.
@Rummuser
ReplyDeleteNow you have me curious about next week's topic, because I haven't looked it up yet.