Eternal peace? Not likely

THE EDITOR: Every morning before we start work one of my workers would engage me in discussions on social issues, politics, religion and science. A brilliant young man. One day he said to me, “The boss, if we post to the universe we come in peace, we would be lying. We are not a peaceful people.”

I thought at length about how profound and accurate his statement was. I thought about the ancient civilisations where towns and villages were protected by walls, not to keep out ferocious animals, but to keep out man.

I thought about the many holy books that praised warriors and soldiers supposedly aided by the supreme in the destruction of men.

I pondered on religions that had special courts to persecute those who dare to believe differently. The many burnt at the stake, the tortured, the many killed in religious wars, the bombers that kill many with the hope that such acts please God.

Man has been the sole being responsible for killing millions of his fellow men for almost every possible reason there is. Religion, differing ideas, property, women, power and greed. We have created swords, guns, bombs, knives and now weapons of mass destruction with one aim – the killing of another human being.

We pursue every possible reason to justify our desire to kill and destroy. Race, religion, tribe, location, culture, gender, politics. These and much more are put forward as reasons or justification for killing fellow human occupants of this planet.

If we were to ever enter the wider universe our message of “we come in peace” or “we are a peaceful people” would be baseless.

Imagine for a moment there were some angelic beings in a place called Heaven. Since they may be much more intelligent than we are, it’s fair to imagine that they would have had the ability to observe us through our short existence on Earth.

They would have seen religion used as an excuse to kill people and take their lands under the guise of a gift from God. They would have seen millions killed simply because they were different culturally and ethnically from another. They would have witnessed our preoccupation with inventing more dangerous and deadly weapons. They would have witnessed centuries of savage slavery reducing fellow humans to a status less than dogs.

One can only imagine the disgust and disappointment any superior being would have, after looking at mankind. Blessed with an abundance of food, clothing and shelter, man’s greed has prevented him from ensuring that his brothers and sisters enjoy a better quality of life. Man’s desires have led to the partial destruction of the very planet on which he exists.

As we continue along this path of war, hate, greed and self-righteousness we hope that somehow, somewhere, some supreme being will reward us with eternal life in a place of peace. Until we learn to love and live peacefully on Earth with each other it is unlikely that many of us would be ascending anywhere peaceful.

STEVE ALVAREZ

via e-mail