Humans are, by nature, not peaceful. We glorify struggle, and put those who can prove superiority in the limelight. We spend millions fighting over who gets to host the Olympics and billions hosting them. World Cup Soccer games are watched worldwide, and the outcome of the competition can generate rioting whether the home team wins OR loses. And how much does a thirty second ad cost on Super Bowl Sunday? Around four million dollars in 2013. This is what we do in our free time, in times of peace. We dedicate infinitely more time and money to actual war. The US defense budget in 2011 was about $665 billion.
It has been said that if you want peace, work for justice. If we were to tithe our military money, use 10 % of it for other causes, we would have enough money for every single thing we need here: Enough for housing for the homeless, enough to give workers a living wage, enough to fund fully universal healthcare including care for the mentally ill, enough to give paid maternity leave.
I'm not foolish enough to assume that this will alter human nature. But imagine the joy in heaven if we all at least tried to treat each human being as if they have worth simply because each and every one of us is equally created in the image of our creator.
Wouldn't that be something to be grateful for?
DeeDee
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