Peas of the world

We often read or hear of stories about supposed arch enemies cat and mouse, or dog and cat getting along with each other. Then we read almost daily news about new deaths in the Gaza strip or Iraq or Afghanistan or Sudan. That makes one wonder.

If animals of different species, who are naturally supposed to have each other for lunch, can get along... why then can't humans do the same, who are even of the same damn species?

Is there a simple cause behind it, like a genetic defect, or are there various factors for human aggression? Would you even want to know? Well, I certainly would want to.

I think the truth is that those animals are content, while humans are not. And why are humans not content? Because they are being brainwashed and conditioned daily in the tv, in school and in society to always want more and more. World peace is unprofitable. At least in a financially centered economy. Personal aggression is often a projection of and distraction from inner conflicts. Likewise, I think that war is a projection of and a distraction from domestic problems. Military conflict is and has been used to fight recession and to make a quick buck in the last 2 centuries.

But the people in charge, or the gods in the godrealm if you will, tell you that war is necessary because of terrorism, democracy, oil, yada yada. Bombing for democracy is like fucking for virginity! The goals of modern warfare are not always as pure as an idealized democracy. Wars are often unnaturally prolonged for years, to suck out the tax payer like the spider sucks out a fly. Retired General Smedley D. Butler, who is a two-time congressional Medal of Honor recipient, says in his book War Is a Racket: "WAR is a racket [fraud]. It always has been. It is possibly the oldest, easily the most profitable, surely the most vicious. It is the only one international in scope. It is the only one in which the profits are reckoned in dollars and the losses in lives."

So the source of trouble here is obviously the greedy economic system. Now, I say, world peace may be possible, if our economies change from financial centeredness to resource based economies. This change however can not come from a conventional revolution. Conventional revolutions are fighting fire with fire, replacing one cause of contempt with another. It can only come from within, with contentment through spiritual awakening. Can love & compassion alone lead us there? I don't think so, at least not in their current form. When love bears child, when compassion becomes passion, then we're back at square one.

I believe the best way to the end of world suffering is the end of personal suffering. And how can we end personal suffering? It's actually quite simple. When you have nothing you can lose, there is nothing to fight for. When there is nothing to fight for, no one goes to war. Then there will be no war. No self-view, no problem! It's simple, but it certainly isn't easy. It's a long way home. Do we have another chance?

Start dreaming big of world peace, and you'll end up in disappointment or sober sadness. Start pea-small however, overcoming inner conflict and helping others to do so, and you may have world peace. May all beings be free from greed, hate and delusion.