Why does the world continue to give ear to war mongers over wise men like him?
Because humans, at their most 'basic' level, are animals.
And are prone to give in to their more 'baser' desires and instincts.
Kill or be killed. Eat or be eaten. Reproduce like existence ends tomorrow. At a base level, it feels good to kill. To assert dominance and power over the life of another being or creature. Because it means you live another day, and they do not. They can no longer threaten you. They can no longer compete for resources like food, water, land, and mates.
Wise men tell people things they often do not wish to hear. A prophet is often despised in his homeland, no?
It feels good to win. Even beating another at a chess match raises a male's testosterone level, and provides a rush of dopamine. War is culturally ingrained in most worldviews. That's where heroes are made. "All's fair in love and war" and "the object is not to die your country, but to make the other guy die for HIS country". We've made war into games, from ancient chess to Call of Duty, laser tag, and paintball. We even prep for it, and fetishize weaponry (which is admittedly cool) and consider females that know how to properly wield said weaponry more fit and desirable than those who shun the tools of violence.
It feels bad to lose. To be told we need to change, or that the way we look at things is wrong. Wise men's words tend to fall on ears that prefer to hear how wonderful we're doing and how great things are. But that's often not the reality.
That is why, whether due to one's belief in a higher power or simply out of one's noble and altruistic desire to differentiate themselves from the beast, we should strive to rise above the animal realm. To be better. Because we can BE better. Because we can (and should) listen to those wise men. It doesn't matter if they're religious or not, old or young, rich or poor, etc. Wisdom is wisdom.
Are we the animals? No. At least we try not to be. We prepare, train, collect weaponry, and we stay awake, alert and aware because we know that the dividing line between beast and man is very, very thin. We know it takes little provocation to turn men into monsters. And we know many men already ARE monsters - always have been, and most likely they always will be.
These monsters, these beasts, are subhuman. These are the terrorists who revel in the taking of life. These are the warmongers who gladly send our sons to die for their political machinations. These are the members of the military-industrial complex who happily produce the gears of war, and profit in blood.
They have failed to rise above the animal realm. And when it's time to deal with them, they will be put down like the beasts they are. And we'll think no more of it than we do of putting down a rabid wild dog, as it is merely what must be done. But we'll take no pleasure or joy in it. We'll know what it is like to step over a thousand corpses and remain good men.
But until that time, we will strive for peace while preparing for the seemingly inevitability of war.
Because humans, at their most 'basic' level, are animals.
And are prone to give in to their more 'baser' desires and instincts.
Kill or be killed. Eat or be eaten. Reproduce like existence ends tomorrow. At a base level, it feels good to kill. To assert dominance and power over the life of another being or creature. Because it means you live another day, and they do not. They can no longer threaten you. They can no longer compete for resources like food, water, land, and mates.
Wise men tell people things they often do not wish to hear. A prophet is often despised in his homeland, no?
It feels good to win. Even beating another at a chess match raises a male's testosterone level, and provides a rush of dopamine. War is culturally ingrained in most worldviews. That's where heroes are made. "All's fair in love and war" and "the object is not to die your country, but to make the other guy die for HIS country". We've made war into games, from ancient chess to Call of Duty, laser tag, and paintball. We even prep for it, and fetishize weaponry (which is admittedly cool) and consider females that know how to properly wield said weaponry more fit and desirable than those who shun the tools of violence.
It feels bad to lose. To be told we need to change, or that the way we look at things is wrong. Wise men's words tend to fall on ears that prefer to hear how wonderful we're doing and how great things are. But that's often not the reality.
That is why, whether due to one's belief in a higher power or simply out of one's noble and altruistic desire to differentiate themselves from the beast, we should strive to rise above the animal realm. To be better. Because we can BE better. Because we can (and should) listen to those wise men. It doesn't matter if they're religious or not, old or young, rich or poor, etc. Wisdom is wisdom.
Are we the animals? No. At least we try not to be. We prepare, train, collect weaponry, and we stay awake, alert and aware because we know that the dividing line between beast and man is very, very thin. We know it takes little provocation to turn men into monsters. And we know many men already ARE monsters - always have been, and most likely they always will be.
These monsters, these beasts, are subhuman. These are the terrorists who revel in the taking of life. These are the warmongers who gladly send our sons to die for their political machinations. These are the members of the military-industrial complex who happily produce the gears of war, and profit in blood.
They have failed to rise above the animal realm. And when it's time to deal with them, they will be put down like the beasts they are. And we'll think no more of it than we do of putting down a rabid wild dog, as it is merely what must be done. But we'll take no pleasure or joy in it. We'll know what it is like to step over a thousand corpses and remain good men.
But until that time, we will strive for peace while preparing for the seemingly inevitability of war.