Rockridge High School
Taylor Ridge,
Illinois
Teacher: Barb Downey
War and Peace
By Dana Deem
The act of war has been a recurring incident since the beginning of time. Men before Christ shed blood in crusades to defend their beliefs, and men today are still fighting to defend their country. What quality does war possess that has allowed it to survive over such an extended period of time? Possibly it is the only solution the human race is capable of producing. Because of our individuality it is impossible for everyone to have compatible views, and because we are unwilling to change compromise is rare.
In our world today, technology has provided us with weapons so powerful they threaten human life. Alfred Nobel once said, “My dynamite will sooner lead to peace than a thousand world conventions. As soon as men find that in one instant entire armies can utterly be destroyed, they will abide by golden peace.”
Alfred led a life of experiment. He experimented with nitroglycerine in Sweden until an explosion claimed fatalities and the government intervened. Nobel was not discouraged. In 1864 he moved his experimentation and was able to start mass production of nitroglycerine. Soon after, Alfred developed dynamite. This drastically reduced the price of blasting rock, drilling tunnels, building canals, and many other forms of constructive labor.
Alfred Nobel believed that his dynamite was powerful and prevailed over all, including compromise. A good point is presented by Mr. Nobel; power and fear rule over all. We conform to whomever or whatever is most powerful out of fear for our own lives. Conventions and compromises may eventually lead to peace over time, but immediate peace can only be met by means of force and instilling fear in the opponent. Men in dispute are put in a situation where they must choose between their pride and their continuance in life. For example, not every person under rule of that Taliban is following willingly. Most are hiding their oppositions out of fear because the Taliban has such great power. It is so sad that power can confine a man's pride, overthrow moral righteousness, and delegate a way of life.
In contrast to the idea of power over compromise, someone once said, “ To preserve peace we need weapons of smaller and men of larger caliber.” The reason for unpeaceful times isn’t necessarily because we need men of larger caliber, but more so because we need men of broader understanding. A man can be of the highest caliber but still lack the skills needed to understand our fellow man and respect him enough that compromise is desired over violence. Unfortunately, in a world of wide diversity including opinion, religion, and morals, it is very difficult to arrange every being on the same level of thought. However, in a society such as ours, caliber is something that everyone can improve on. Possibly caliber instilled in the men of today will develop a better, more understanding man tomorrow.
In the efforts to accomplish world peace, we must start with improving ourselves before we improve the world. Ben Herbster quoted, “The greatest waste in the world is the difference between what we are and what we could become.” Herbster was the founding president of The United Church of Christ. He pushed for renovation, expansion, and capitol campaigns for United Church homes. He committed endless hour of volunteer work to the elderly and provided professional leadership and charitable support. Ben was truly an overachiever who used his ambitions to help others.
It takes a special person to reach a level of full potential and true greatness in a lifetime. Most men lack the motivation and dedication to proceed what is moderate and move on to what is great. Oftentimes an unexpected turn on the road of life causes normal men to stray from their dreams. A great man may be thrown off for some time, but always returns to his intended path and accomplishes his goals.
People do what is easiest in life. The beaten path is preferred over a new frontier. We people settle for less because less is simple to obtain and requires little work to preserve. In order to climb the highest mountain, we must never settle for less and continuously reach for the top.
Is war a justification for murder? Does our fear of change and rejection make our prejudices righteous? An unknown source once said that, “ The thing that makes life so sad is that everyone has such good reasons.” It is so disgusting that people believe that there are appropriate situations or reasons to hurt or even kill another living being. Human life is so precious, but we treat it so carelessly at times. In war times, killing is justified out of defense. The value of human life plummets, and death tolls are scores in the game of war. War has been an excuse for killing throughout history. For example, Hitler persecuted the Jewish people simply because they were different. Their religion was not in compliance with Hitler’s beliefs. What commenced as the slaughter of one religion of people turned into a blood bath of many nations.
The world has lapsed through war times and prospered during peaceful times. Although men strive for enduring world peace, we ignore what is required to achieve it. We must begin with improving ourselves and then move on to the world. May war disappear forever into the night, so that we may wake to an enduring dawn of peace.
Bibliography
“ Alfred Nobel-His Life at work.” On-line. Internet. 6Jan. 2002. Available
WWW:http://www.sunsite.bilkent.edu.tr/oldnobel/alfred/biography.html
“ David’s Church of Christ Dialogue.” On-line. Internet. 6Jan. 2002. Available
WWW:http://www.david’sunitedchurch.org/octoberdialogue.pdf