Luck, Wisconsin
There is one word that any living human being dreads to hear. The
thought of this word could send a chill up any personıs back. Itıs a
word that people never physically want to experience. That one formidable
word is war. When I hear the word war, I begin to think of
planes flying overhead dropping bombs, innocent people running from big
explosions both in the air and on the ground, and many suffering for the
decisions of a few.
A well-educated man once pointed out that, "Peacetime is rare. Actually,
less than 8% of the time has there been peace throughout the world since the
beginning of recorded time. In a total of 3,530 years, 286 have been
warless. Eight thousand treaties have been broken in this time."
This quote makes complete sense, since in history class I never read about
a time period when there was not a single war going on somewhere in the world.
It seems that the planet revolves more around war than it does the sun.
At the other end of the spectrum there is something that everyone in the world
wants. If he or she was to experience this, than they would be happier
than a mouse in a cheese factory. Itıs what I wish I could feel at all
times no matter where I am. That something is peace. Though quite
elusive, this something-called peace can put a smile on a personıs face as big
as the Grand Canyon. When I think of peace, I think of young children,
standing at a piñata waiting for candy to be dropped on them. When I
think of peace, I think of millions of fortunate families and friends enjoying a
summer night, watching booming fireworks that declares our nationıs freedoms.
Everyone has felt these two occurrences at some point and to a
certain extent. It might have been when two siblings were fighting over the
television, while waiting to enjoy a peaceful meal with the beloved family.
When fighting about what to watch, how was the conflict resolved? Was
the remote thrown at the other person or did it take someone to give in? And did
he or she go to the dinner table thankful for their wonderful family?
Due to the nuclear threat of our day, there is a great need to work
together to try and reach a goal of 100% peace in the world and 0% war. A great
person was once quoted as saying, "To preserve peace, we need weapons of
smaller and men of larger caliber." When I read this, I get the
impression that the author is trying to say that we need to use weapons less,
and that man, (man as in society), needs to step up and take responsibility.
If this is what the author is saying, then I agree completely. When
people are talking about something and someone is wrong, then he or she needs to
admit it. If they make a mistake or do a bad deed, than they need to be
accountable for their own actions. We need more people in this world who
are able to "take a hit" to their ego and realize that it wonıt kill
them to say they made a mistake. If a time ever comes when we can avoid
conflict, then it is at that time that peace can be preserved.
After the terrorist attacks on the World Trade buildings, many people were
left wondering, what if that was me in one of those buildings? Where would
I go if I were to die? Many religions saw a large influx in their
attendance as a result of the attacks. You could see the change in Mosques
of Muslims to the churches of Christians. Many looked to high profile
leaders to get advice. Some Christians sought help from a man named Billy
Graham.
Billy Graham said, "We must have military power to keep madmen from taking
over the world." As a Christian, Billy Graham should say, "We
must have Godıs power." Billy Grahamıs faith should be strong
enough to believe that God has the power to change a madman into a good man.
After all, wasnıt Saul of Tarsus a murderer before his conversion? Saul
of Tarsus was persecuting the church by having Christians killed. After
witnessing the stoning of a man, Saul was traveling down a road and knocked off
his horse by a bright like, which he clamed to be Jesus Christ. Saul of
Tarsus was a believer from that point on. Saul of Tarsus is now known as
the Apostle Paul who wrote many books of the Bible.
I do agree that we need some form of superior power to keep everyone
in line. Human beings see it in the animal kingdom all the time. Turkeys
have a peaking order to eat. Lions get to eat the food before the
lionesses, and the bigger bucks let the littler ones know where they belong.
Billy Graham may be right that we need a military, but we know that in
times of trouble we need a bigger power to control the radical few. Not everyone
looks to God or His authority over the affairs of men in the same way.
Billy Graham is a man who has spoken Godıs Word around the world. He has
been to six different continents and has known every president since Eisenhower.
Many people attend his large crusades and listen to him talk. He is
credited with converting thousands of men and women to Christianity, so his
opinion is held in high regard by many.
When I look at the world today, I know that there will never be complete peace
in the world. We can always try to rid the world of the bad apples who
make the rest of the world go sour, but that is next to impossible. As
long as people are allowed to think for themselves, we will always have
conflict. I would think that peace would be the easier of the two to
reach, but as nature would have it, man always resorts to primitive ways. He
believes that in order to get what he wants, he must use force. Unfortunately,
man sometimes has trouble resolving problems in a mannerly fashion. Hopefully,
someday on Earth, peace will overflow the hearts of everyone, and no one will
feel the need to fight.
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