Throughout the course of the world, there have been many wars and conflicts, and
for every one, there have been numerous people who have opposed them. Of
those who oppose war, many have thought often about their theories and have
expressed them eloquently.
Because of the events of September 11 the world has, once again, been
unwillingly thrust into war. Justine Toms, co-founder of New Dimensions
Radio, as well as Executive Director, is able to see a different side to the
story than most because of her work with many leading edge thinkers, social
innovators, and visionaries of the twenty-first century.
"This is one of those pivotal moments in history when we can change the
world for the better as we bring wisdom actively to the fore and apply it with
diligence and clarity. Letıs not go to reaction, dishing out what we have
received, but act in a new level of global compassion. This is the time,
we are the people. Our ancestors are rooting for us. May we be the
ones who step off the wheel of the never ending action and reaction."
n Justine Toms, September 12, 2001
In this quote, Justine Toms is reminding Americans that we need to stand
together and rise above. I believe that she is saying we, as Americans,
need to be bigger people than the terrorists and act as such. We shouldnıt
react to what they have done to us, but we should repair the damage done to us,
and we should also do our best to prevent problems such as this from arising
again anywhere in the world, not just the U.S.
I agree on her opinions on rising above, because if we canıt, America and the
world will always be involved in tit for tat battles. If someone doesnıt
stop the chain, then it will go on forever. As Emerson once said, "But the
real and lasting victories are those of peace, not of war." America
has been given the opportunity to be victorious and is striving to do so, with
the help of many nations and their citizens who want the chain broken as much as
we do. The first step on the road to change is to make terrorists realize that
all their efforts are for naught, that they arenıt helping themselves at all.
"The thing that makes life so cruel is that everyone has such good
intentions."
This unknown author is saying that although men have reasons behind their
actions, they often manage to hurt others. To me, this quote means that
while people have thought about their actions, often they are looking through
rose-colored glasses, and fail to see how their actions affect others.
I agree with the author in that people, even terrorists, have good intentions,
at least in their own minds. Itıs human nature. For example, during
World War II, President Truman had an extremely difficult decision to make
regarding the use of the atomic bomb. He chose to use it to bring a quick
end to the war, and it worked. Many American lives were spared, but at
what cost? Thousands of Japanese civilians were killed, maimed, or
suffered serious complications from radiation. Was the end worth the
means? I donıt think that is a question that can ever be answered, simply
because it will never be known what would have happened if the U.S. had never
used the atomic bomb. Butler was right when he said, "Thereıs a
twinkling of a star between men of peace and of war," and his words have
been proven time and time again.
Albert Einstein trod a fine line between war and peace. He was working at
Princeton when the Nazis took over Germany and stripped him of his citizenship.
As World War II threatened, Einstein wrote President Roosevelt to explain
the possibility of producing the atomic bomb and Germanyıs possible efforts
toward producing one. His urgings for governmental assistance in nuclear
energy research led to the creation of the atomic bomb, but I think that the
devastation saddened him-- "I donıt know what kind of
weapons will be used in the third world war, but I can tell you what the fourth
world war would be fought with stone clubs."
I believe Einstein was saying that because of the devastation in Japan, the
third world warıs technology would reduce humans back into the stone ages.
To me, it has two meanings: that after all the new weaponry has been used,
there wonıt be anything left to fight with, and that after being affected by
the nuclear fallout and biochemical warfare, the people who are left will be too
impaired to wield anything but stone clubs.
I agree with Einsteinıs assessment of the situation because he was an
intelligent man who foresaw the atomic bomb, and understood future
possibilities. As I look back at the destruction created by the bombings
of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, I am awed by the power of the atomic bomb, and
scientific breakthroughs in the military field are advancing almost daily, such
as the h-bomb. It is arguable that these breakthroughs are advantageous,
but Ciceroıs words are meaningful. He said, "Most people believe the
achievements of war are more important of peace, but this is a mistake."
Fortunately, the hydrogen bomb has only been used in testing, and
hopefully, there will never be a need for it.
"To preserve peace, we need weapons of smaller and men of larger
caliber."
In this unknown authorıs opinion, there are more large weapons for war than
there are men willing to stand up for themselves. I believe that he is
saying that men are hiding behind their weapons instead of showing their real
character.
I agree with the author because the world has seen evidence of this multiple
times over the years. The Cold War sparked the rage of atomic weapons and
now almost every country has them, even third world countries. Countries
with major food shortages yet have the money for billion dollar military
programs. The world today is focusing so much on the impressive weaponry
that can be assembled, that they are forgetting about the lives of people.
There is a fine line between preventing death and cowardice, and today men
are right on the edge.
To have men of larger caliber in society today, we must have men of integrity --
men who will say they will not participate because there are moral ramifications
they do not agree with, men who will take a stand for what they believe, even if
they are in the minority. In the world today, we do need men of larger
caliber. The only question is, who? Who will assume the
responsibility of sound intentions, who will be the bigger person and rise
above, and who is willing to do whatever it takes to preserve peace? As
the world looks for answers to todayıs questions and yesterdayıs problems, we
can only hope for the men of larger caliber to rise to the fore and lead us to
peace.