Rockridge High School
Taylor Ridge, Illinois
Teacher: Barb Downey
War and Peace
By Stacey Jackson
As long as mankind has been on this earth, there has never been a time in history when the world, as a whole, has been completely at peace. As one war comes to a close, another springs up in some other part of the world. We have fought about religion, freedom, pride, and many other causes thought worthy at the time. But, as we think back, how many of these causes were worth losing millions of human lives? It seems that violence is ingrained in the human mind and is part of our psyche. There have been many people who have addressed these issues and given their thoughts on war and peace.
“I don’t know what kind of weapons will be used in the third world war, assuming there will be a third world war. But I can tell you what the fourth world war will be fought with — stone clubs.” This was said by Albert Einstein, a famous mathematician, who developed the Theory of Relativity. In this quote he is trying to tell us that whatever men will use in the third world war, will end up laying waste to everything that we have spent our whole existence establishing. With many of the techniques used in war today such as atom bombs, chemical warfare, and biological warfare, we could easily destroy everything in existence, without even really meaning to. Without a real understanding of what destruction these weapons could cause, how can we prevent complete annihilation? These tools of destruction have not been around long enough to tell what side effects might be caused by the use of them.
Another point that Einstein is trying to make in this statement is that men seem to be regressing back to the days of the Stone Age. Instead of growing as people and becoming wiser, we seem to be going back to the days when a conflict with a neighbor resulted in physical violence. It is like we are forgetting how to use diplomacy and the power of speech to accomplish a peaceful settlement. We instead use force, which is most of the time unnecessary.
Going along with that, an unknown author had this to say about war: “To preserve peace, we need weapons of smaller and men of larger caliber.” This person is telling us that there is no need for the huge weapons with the ability to destroy whole countries. If we have men in power who are of “larger caliber,” meaning they can use diplomacy to resolve conflicts, it will be easier to preserve peace throughout the world. There will still be conflicts, as there is no way to avoid such confrontations, but maybe the outcome of these conflicts will be a little less destructive.
It seems, that when we put someone in power who is too rash, and does not stop to think of the consequences of his actions, we end up with disaster. For example, Adolf Hitler decided that pure Germans were the perfect race of people and that those of Jewish origin were the cause of all troubles for the German people. He said, “The one means that wins the easiest victory over reason: terror and force.” Hitler then proceeded to attempt to eliminate all people who were of the Jewish religion. He acted very brashly and did not think about what repercussions these actions would bring about. The rest of the world would not sit by and watch while he did away with a whole race of people. Hitler thought that no one would be able to stop him from his goal.
No one could reason with him because he felt that his country was strong enough and could use terror to accomplish whatever he wished to. This is one of the main events that brought about our Second World War. This could have been avoided, if it had not been for the mentality of Adolf Hitler. He not only wanted to do away with the Jewish people, but he wanted to, more or less, rule the world. He was prepared to go to any lengths to accomplish this, not caring what or how great the costs would be. When people such as Adolf Hitler are the ones who rule over a country, we will surely end up with war and destruction.
Where we could be today, without this setback, we will never know. Ben Herbster once said: “The greatest waste in the world is the difference between what we are and what we could become.” If only we could take the time to look around and appreciate what we have, not taking for granted those gifts given to us, the world would surely be a more peaceful place. Instead we become greedy, always wanting what others have that we do not. Mankind could surely be so much better than what we are.
It seems that there are always people fighting over petty things, when it would be much easier to let some things go. Pride seems to be a main factor in many wars. Somewhere along the way, someone has to be the bigger person and decide that enough is enough. Instead, we have people who keep fighting until the other person is completely destroyed beyond repair. There are much easier ways to make a point. After all, when one country attacks another to prove a point and demolishes that country, who is left to learn the lesson they set out to teach?
There are much better ways to solve a conflict than to use force, such as putting men of greater caliber in power and using diplomacy instead of force to reach an agreement. I agree that there are times, however, when force may be needed to put a stop to something, as in the case of Adolf Hitler and his attempted genocide, but those times are few.
Bibliography
“Adolf Hitler.” On-Line. Internet. 3 Jan 2002. Available: http://remember.org/Facts.root.
Hitler.htm
“Einstein World.” On-Line. Internet. 3 Jan 2002. Available: http://www.Geocites.com/
ResearchTriangle/Campus/6971