At a time when we are plagued with real problems like Over- Population and Global Warming that creates so much snow due to warmer seas, we are troubled with an amazing growth of “Terror” organizations that now number 166 of which the UN acknowledges 35, and the US 49.
In this Life has any living thing escaped terror? Twice, when my younger brother and I played in nearby vacant city lots, older and larger boys, simply to feel superior, intruded to beat us up, sending us home crying. This, plus seeing boys tear the wings off flies and killing defenceless wild animals made me a pacifist but, then, I became a terrorist myself and have the documentation to prove it. My book contains extracts from German publications that knew us as Luftgangsters in their Terrorflugzeuge. It seems that one person’s terrorist is another’s Freedom Fighter. Later, I was given medals and some even tried to convince me I was a member of the Greatest Generation.
Where did we humans go astray? There is much evidence that Neanderthals and Humans made love rather than war. So many of us have Neanderthal genes how can we not believe that Neanderthals went extinct through the pleasures of sex rather than the horrors of war?
Artifacts and folklore tell us that, even during those more peaceful 20,000 years when female gods ruled us, there were abuses. In a few female-ruled societies we men were appreciated only for our expertise as studs to be discarded when no longer needed, so you girls were not all innocent, delightful beings. Coherent writings that included wars started about 5,600 years ago. Later, the Bible became a good source, describing the days when, some 3,500 years ago, Abraham from Ur, Iraq, and his gang infiltrated a wandering Semitic tribe, gradually replacing their female gods with Yahweh whom they claimed was an intolerant, vengeful god but one who had selected the Jews as his own, offering them the ‘Promised Land’ but only if they first exterminated every living thing there that included all those Hittites, Amorites, and Canaanites. Allegiance was to Yahweh alone. Somehow, priests, rabbis, and politicians arose to interpret Yahweh’s wishes to the masses, growing wealthy by so doing. Now, other groups still imitate this Jewish genocidal pursuit but, since 1948, Jews have returned to such acts in Palestine, not learning from genocidal acts against them in the interim. Greed, too often, outweighed Kinship. Jesus and his family and friends toiled as extremely poor carpenters building palatial homes for Jews who served Rome. Are the rest of us any better?
From at least 12,000 years ago that crossroads of traffic among Africa, Asia, and Europe, known as the Middle East, has endured enormous sufferings with widespread genocide. Why do groups of humans consider themselves “The People” and all the rest inferior beings to be slaughtered with arms supplied by Merchants of Death who are just as guilty of murder as are the actual killers? Billions of survivors have been left, with homes, livestock, and crops destroyed, to die lingering and painful deaths. Yet, in the midst of all this turmoil, impressive buildings, cities, and empires have been built, only to also suffer decay and death.
The Middle East is only one of many culprits. Consider all those Mongol horsemen who, not content with slaughtering their neighbours, swept into Europe and Africa to slaughter and rape. Not to be outdone, Christians did the same in the name of God, as did the Muslims in the name of Allah. Is anyone innocent? What about the Inuit who have no word for war but over a dozen for different types of snow and ice?
We should be grateful that, in our part of the world, we are allowed to breed and grow so many dissidents and whistle blowers that are peaceful, well-educated, and eloquent in reminding us of our flaws that our media glosses over to concentrate on finding, or making, enemies that enrich the Merchants of Death. What a farce that we are content at maintaining our nuclear-arms club of US, Russia, China, France, UK, Israel, India, Pakistan while terrified of allowing Iran to join. Instead of the essential need of eliminating all, we our now “modernizing” our arsenals. Yet whom among these can we trust as guardians of world harmony?
But, when we know wars beget wars, we say: “Our priority today is to find the boots on the ground to eliminate IS.” It defies understanding why so many thousands, many from modern, enlightened countries have flocked to IS with many still en route. What fuels their intense hatred of those not of their ilk? They do include intelligent, and capable people. Understanding and correcting root causes is an essential but highly difficult task. Tackling suspected, but innocent, individuals, hurling them face down into the cement, mud, or snow, handcuffing them, and brutalizing them is a shameful method that only stains our trust in an otherwise humane state.
Too many of us slumber on in islands of peace and prosperity. Wake up! There is much each of us must do.
Part II follows:
Ye Olde Scribe, 21 February 2015
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