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Joined: 2008-07-01
Posts: 272 | |
Posted at: 2010-03-05 14:52 hrs IST
by Rtn PP PHF Mohanraaj K.M. ( Tirupur North )
Past President
Post Subject: Futre peacemakers will face new challenges in an era marked
In the 20th century, about 150 million people died as a result of war and genocide, victims of violence carried out systematically by other human beings. That staggering statistic, though only an estimate, tells a sobering story. But it doesn't even begin to account for the countless deaths and injuries that came about because of individuals inflicting violence on each other for reasons selfish and trivial or, perhaps even worse, for no reason at all.
It was the bloodiest century in human history, one that combined the brutality associated with the lowest level of human behavior and the technological innovation associated with the highest level of human intelligence. And in this, the early part of the 21st century, some might say the pattern is continuing, with the war in Iraq, ongoing hostilities in the Middle East, fighting in Africa, disputes involving Afghanistan, India, and Pakistan, and acts of terrorism throughout the world. With the 11 September 2001 attacks on New York city and Washington, D.C., and subsequent assaults on Madrid, London, and Mumbai, it became clear that a small group of people with murderous intent could inflict severe harm not just on the weak and vulnerable but also on those who appeared to be strong and secure.
Is it sheer folly to embrace the vision of a world without war? Is it hopelessly naive to believe that conflicts can be resolved in a reasonable, thoughtful manner? what are the root causes of conflict, and how do we address them before they escalate? In the aftermath of world war II, after the full discovery of the horrors of the Nazi concentration camps and the realization of the destruction that could be inflicted by a single weapon in Japan, such questions did not discourage would be peacemakers, including Rotarians, from working for the creation of the United Nation. And they do not deter the efforts of organizations and individuals dedicated to building peace today. | |
