Will There Ever Be World Peace?
“Peace cannot be kept by
force; it can only be achieved by understanding.”- Albert Einstein
The world has been misled time and time again to believe the arms race is over. We should not for a moment think that the absence of war means peace. The absence of war oftentimes means that governments are sourcing weaponry to fight another day. The reality is we live in a world where the threat of war is always lurking. In Biblical times we read about nations fighting nations; the Assyrians, the Babylonians, the Amalekites, the Hittites, the Moabites, the Jebusites and the Egyptians are some of the nations which readily come to mind. In this age of modernity with all the trappings of civilization, our inability to settle disputes has been found wanting. Sadly, many nations prefer to go to war rather than to seek a peaceful settlement to long standing issues. Those who supply arms to belligerent nations are making a killing off the sales of such weaponry. These multibillion corporations are not concerned about whose blood will be shed, their only concern is their bottom line and that is profit making. The global arms race is on in earnest as countries try to outspend each other in order to acquire the most advance weaponry. There is a misconception that the more a country stockpiles arms, the more the security of that country is guaranteed. The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) estimates that in 2017 the total value of global arms trade was $95 billion dollars. The much respected SIPRI which is an independent source on global security states the total global military expenditure rose to $1.9 trillion dollars in 2019. It is mind-blogging that in an era of global food shortage, famine and food insecurity so much money is being spent to create harm and mayhem against humanity. What are our priorities in a world beset by so many challenges? The total expenditure for 2019 represents an increase of 3.6 per cent from 2018 and the largest annual growth in spending since 2010.
The United Nations and the nuclear age were born almost concurrently. The nuclear blasts at Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan during the Second World War; facilitated the global urgency to address the nuclear issue. By its first resolution, the General assembly established the UN Atomic Energy Commission to deal with the problems raised by the discovery of atomic energy. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) offers its Member States a broad range of services. This includes a technical cooperation programme for some 125 countries to assist them in the peaceful use of nuclear technology; a research project support programme; and an array of review missions for countries with a nuclear power programme. There are nine countries known to have nuclear weapons. These countries are Russia, China, North Korea, the United States of America, Pakistan, the United Kingdom, Israel, France and India. North Korea perhaps is the latest to have joined this exclusive club. In some quarters it is widely believed that Iran is on the verge of becoming a nuclear power. This notion is strengthened by Iran’s refusal to give the International Atomic Energy Agency unconditional access to their known nuclear sites. The Middle East would become more unstable if Iran acquires ‘nukes’. Saudi Arabia has openly addressed this plausible scenario, especially since the United States of America withdrew from the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action commonly called the Iran Nuclear Deal. Saudi Arabia has repeatedly said they will seek nuclear weapons if Iran becomes a nuclear power. It’s disturbing and a crime against humanity that North Korea is able to sustain a nuclear programme which requires hundreds of millions of dollars yet this dictatorship is unable to feed their population. The Korean War between North Korea and South Korea was from 1950-53. North Korea was backed by China and the United States of America sent troops to South Korea to defend the peninsula. India and Pakistan have fought four times since both countries gained their independence from the United Kingdom. The first Indo-Pakistani war was 1947-1948. Both countries went to war again in 1965; then in 1971and fourth war between both neigbours was in 1999. In 1962 there was the Sino-India War of 1962. In most recent times the world experienced The Gulf War (1990-1991) after Iraq invaded Kuwait; the result was the United States led forces, mandated by The United Nations liberated the nation of Kuwait. It bares thought will there ever be world peace?
Lessons
Life is so fragile. We should not be surprised at the actions of these nations as the heart of humanity can be wicked. Jeremiah 17:9, “the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked: who can know it.” Life is precious yet governments spend millions to try and wipe out or exterminate life in the most destructive ways. Unfortunately, much of the world’s resources, energy and time is spent on likely scenarios for wars. Imagine a world where half of the $1.9 trillion dollars spent in 2019 to purchase arms is used to improve our health care and education. Imagine, a world where a portion of that $1.9 trillion is used bolster agriculture and small farmers. We should imagine for a moment how we could change the world by spending less on guns and ammunition and channel those funds to address the United Nations17 Sustainable Development Goals; goals such as climate change, poverty and gender inequality. The world has already fought two World Wars; World War 1(1914-1918) and World War 2 (1939-1945). There are some who argue that the world is inching towards a Third World War. Imagine a world where there is no need for war, where governments would settle their disagreements at the negotiation table.
Have we learnt any lessons from all these wars? If so, what are the lessons for humanity? The international community is currently in a war with an invisible enemy in the name of covid19. Interestingly, the world with all the arms and armies have come up short in defeating this enemy which has the ability to cross geographical boundaries and strike at will. Perhaps, there are lessons to be learned from the coronavirus. Maybe one such lesson is for the world to return to a place of sharing and caring for each other. Perhaps we are being taught a painful lesson; that of collaboration and the ability to work together in an atmosphere of trust. We are clearly witnessing the need for a global alliance as countries work together to develop a vaccine and other treatments for this pandemic. The world has seen repeatedly that war does not lead to permanent peace; yet the negotiation table is usually not the place of choice to settle disputes. Perhaps, the world is now at that place where cooperation among nations is inevitable.
In the words of St. Francis of Assisi, Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love.
@WayneCamo
©
The world has been misled time and time again to believe the arms race is over. We should not for a moment think that the absence of war means peace. The absence of war oftentimes means that governments are sourcing weaponry to fight another day. The reality is we live in a world where the threat of war is always lurking. In Biblical times we read about nations fighting nations; the Assyrians, the Babylonians, the Amalekites, the Hittites, the Moabites, the Jebusites and the Egyptians are some of the nations which readily come to mind. In this age of modernity with all the trappings of civilization, our inability to settle disputes has been found wanting. Sadly, many nations prefer to go to war rather than to seek a peaceful settlement to long standing issues. Those who supply arms to belligerent nations are making a killing off the sales of such weaponry. These multibillion corporations are not concerned about whose blood will be shed, their only concern is their bottom line and that is profit making. The global arms race is on in earnest as countries try to outspend each other in order to acquire the most advance weaponry. There is a misconception that the more a country stockpiles arms, the more the security of that country is guaranteed. The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) estimates that in 2017 the total value of global arms trade was $95 billion dollars. The much respected SIPRI which is an independent source on global security states the total global military expenditure rose to $1.9 trillion dollars in 2019. It is mind-blogging that in an era of global food shortage, famine and food insecurity so much money is being spent to create harm and mayhem against humanity. What are our priorities in a world beset by so many challenges? The total expenditure for 2019 represents an increase of 3.6 per cent from 2018 and the largest annual growth in spending since 2010.
Global Expenditure on Weapons
The Stockholm International
Research Peace Institute lists the five largest arms spenders in 2019, as the
United States, China, India, Russia and Saudi Arabia and they accounted for 62
per cent of global expenditure. Military spending by the United States grew by 5.3 per
cent to a total of $732 billion in 2019 and accounted for 38 per cent of global
military spending. The increase in US spending in 2019 alone was equivalent to
the entirety of Germany’s military expenditure for that year. In 2019 China and India
were, respectively, the second- and third-largest military spenders in the
world. China’s military expenditure reached $261 billion in 2019, a 5.1 per
cent increase compared with 2018, while India’s grew by 6.8 per cent to $71.1
billion. ‘India’s tensions and rivalry with both Pakistan and China are among
the major drivers for its increased military spending. Germany’s
military spending rose by 10 per cent in 2019, to $49.3 billion. This was the
largest increase in spending among the top 15 military spenders in 2019. ‘The
growth in German military spending can partly be explained by the perception of
an increased threat from Russia, shared by many North Atlantic Treaty
Organization (NATO) member states", says Diego Lopes da Silva, Researcher at
SIPRI. The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute states that in 2019, Jamaica spent US$252 million to purchase weapons, Guyana US$67.8 and Trinidad and Tobago spent US$166 million on arms purchases. It is unthinkable that so many countries spend so much of their Gross
Domestic Product GDP to purchases guns, tanks, ammunition, fighter jets, bombs,
etc. yet they complain about funding for public health and the cost of
healthcare to protect their citizenry from the novel coronavirus. What is unconscionable is the fact that many
of these countries which are stockpiling arms do not have universal healthcare
for their population. Upon examining what is being spent to purchases arms, it
is evident that these countries could easily afford universal healthcare for
their population.
The
Nuclear AgeThe United Nations and the nuclear age were born almost concurrently. The nuclear blasts at Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan during the Second World War; facilitated the global urgency to address the nuclear issue. By its first resolution, the General assembly established the UN Atomic Energy Commission to deal with the problems raised by the discovery of atomic energy. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) offers its Member States a broad range of services. This includes a technical cooperation programme for some 125 countries to assist them in the peaceful use of nuclear technology; a research project support programme; and an array of review missions for countries with a nuclear power programme. There are nine countries known to have nuclear weapons. These countries are Russia, China, North Korea, the United States of America, Pakistan, the United Kingdom, Israel, France and India. North Korea perhaps is the latest to have joined this exclusive club. In some quarters it is widely believed that Iran is on the verge of becoming a nuclear power. This notion is strengthened by Iran’s refusal to give the International Atomic Energy Agency unconditional access to their known nuclear sites. The Middle East would become more unstable if Iran acquires ‘nukes’. Saudi Arabia has openly addressed this plausible scenario, especially since the United States of America withdrew from the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action commonly called the Iran Nuclear Deal. Saudi Arabia has repeatedly said they will seek nuclear weapons if Iran becomes a nuclear power. It’s disturbing and a crime against humanity that North Korea is able to sustain a nuclear programme which requires hundreds of millions of dollars yet this dictatorship is unable to feed their population. The Korean War between North Korea and South Korea was from 1950-53. North Korea was backed by China and the United States of America sent troops to South Korea to defend the peninsula. India and Pakistan have fought four times since both countries gained their independence from the United Kingdom. The first Indo-Pakistani war was 1947-1948. Both countries went to war again in 1965; then in 1971and fourth war between both neigbours was in 1999. In 1962 there was the Sino-India War of 1962. In most recent times the world experienced The Gulf War (1990-1991) after Iraq invaded Kuwait; the result was the United States led forces, mandated by The United Nations liberated the nation of Kuwait. It bares thought will there ever be world peace?
Lessons
Life is so fragile. We should not be surprised at the actions of these nations as the heart of humanity can be wicked. Jeremiah 17:9, “the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked: who can know it.” Life is precious yet governments spend millions to try and wipe out or exterminate life in the most destructive ways. Unfortunately, much of the world’s resources, energy and time is spent on likely scenarios for wars. Imagine a world where half of the $1.9 trillion dollars spent in 2019 to purchase arms is used to improve our health care and education. Imagine, a world where a portion of that $1.9 trillion is used bolster agriculture and small farmers. We should imagine for a moment how we could change the world by spending less on guns and ammunition and channel those funds to address the United Nations17 Sustainable Development Goals; goals such as climate change, poverty and gender inequality. The world has already fought two World Wars; World War 1(1914-1918) and World War 2 (1939-1945). There are some who argue that the world is inching towards a Third World War. Imagine a world where there is no need for war, where governments would settle their disagreements at the negotiation table.
Have we learnt any lessons from all these wars? If so, what are the lessons for humanity? The international community is currently in a war with an invisible enemy in the name of covid19. Interestingly, the world with all the arms and armies have come up short in defeating this enemy which has the ability to cross geographical boundaries and strike at will. Perhaps, there are lessons to be learned from the coronavirus. Maybe one such lesson is for the world to return to a place of sharing and caring for each other. Perhaps we are being taught a painful lesson; that of collaboration and the ability to work together in an atmosphere of trust. We are clearly witnessing the need for a global alliance as countries work together to develop a vaccine and other treatments for this pandemic. The world has seen repeatedly that war does not lead to permanent peace; yet the negotiation table is usually not the place of choice to settle disputes. Perhaps, the world is now at that place where cooperation among nations is inevitable.
In the words of St. Francis of Assisi, Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love.
Wayne
Campbell is an educator and social commentator with an interest in development
policies as they affect culture and or gender issues.
waykam@yahoo.com@WayneCamo
©
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