There seems to be a common misunderstanding that we have not found the answer to world-wide peace. The truth is that it was discovered a very long time ago. In fact there are many people today who know exactly what it is and if you listen carefully you will find it in the lyrics of certain songs. The problem is not that we don't know the solution, rather the problem is that the solution has not been effectively applied.
Its not that the solution isn't perfect, because it is. There is no flaw in it at all, and if it was just implemented then there would be perfect harmony on earth. Everyone would be happy and pain and war would cease forever. The thing is, that there is a deeper issue that remains that will always sabotage any attempts at Nirvana on this earth and until that issue is addressed everything else is in vain.
There are many songs on the radio that irk me. Some of them are overtly rude, immorally suggestive, or just plain obnoxious. By far however, the songs that irritate me the most are the ones that many other people seem to get warm fuzzies over. They are the sort of songs like John Lennons "Imagine", or Billy Joels "We didn't start the fire". The first song grates against my being for its foolish concept that if we remove God and religion from society then there will be peace (yeah right, look at the last 100 years where God has slowly been fazed out and replaced with the greatest loss of human life and war atrocities since the beginning of recorded time). The second is distasteful to me because it is a cop out, and a passing of the buck. It states that we had nothing to do with the world being such a stuffed up place, but we are just trying our best to sort it out. It implies that we are perfect creatures born into an imperfect world and cannot be held liable for anything. The philosophical ramifications of that idea, even from a naturalistic, athiests point of view quickly show it to be complete nonsense, unless you attribute our problems to elusive and malicious aliens that are continually deceiving us.
The latest song that has made it on my short list of "songs written by intelligent idiots" violated my offended ears today. I am yet to find the Artist or title of the song so I will paraphrase the intent. Basically the thesis is that if we just stopped lying, cheating each other, and otherwise using people, and replaced it with love, concern and selflessness, then the world would be such a better place. I felt so enlightened by this knowledge that I was temporarily motivated to want to go into all the world and tell people that the answer to world peace had finally been discovered and if everyone just listened to this song then we could all live in harmonious bliss. (In case you didn't catch my tone it was one of "biting sarcasm")
Now in truth, this idea has been floating around for a very long time, and despite my scathing treatment, I do believe it to be true. However it always leaves out one minor detail: how we actually go about making it happen in reality. The problem is, and has always been, how to make people behave in this way. Throughout history some have tried it by being merciful and kind themselves, while others have tried to impose some sort of state rule that either passively or actively influenced people to behave well. Some have allowed people to find their own way there within less stringent guidelines while others have through despotism demanded it or taken lives.
Real life forces us to the conclusion that although we know the answer to worldwide peace, we somehow continue to fail in its implementation and cannot seem to find the way to make it stick. The arrogance and ignorance associated with a song that just re-states what people should do without a way for them to actually make it happen is like telling a village of poor, starving, under-nourished natives that the solution to their woes is to just eat more food. Or can you imagine walking up to single mother of five young children who struggles just to make the rent, and can't afford clothes or food for her children, and telling her that you have the answer to her woes, and that the answer is that she needs more money? Thank you captain obvious!
No, its not that we don't know ultimately the answer, its just that we are really just restating it in the opposite fashion to how we would state the problem. For instance, one problem is that more than two thirds of the world lives in abject poverty while the rest live in relative luxury. The captain obvious solution is to say that we just need to redistribute the wealth so that no one has to suffer such poverty. This sort of solution is not really a solution because it leaves out the "how". In the same way, proclaiming that the way to have a happier, more loving world is for people to behave in a happier, more loving manner, is merely restating the question as an opposite statement. It is no solution at all without further explaining how this could actually come about in reality, with real people in the real world. How do you successfully and permanently get people to be happier and more loving? That’s the question that I want to hear answered properly, and answered in every corner of the globe.
When we are ready to actually face the real question of "how" to make the world a better, happier and more peaceful place, we instantly run into a monumental obstacle that I believe is the reason why we have made very little progress in turning our world around. This monumental obstacle is human nature. You may call it the sinful nature, or sin, but the issue is that we all have an inbuilt mechanism that sabotages our valiant and altruistic efforts for a better world.
There is no doubt in my mind that unless we tackle this problem head on, all efforts to create an earthly Nirvana will ultimately fail. Unless we first work on personal reform we will always fail with corporate or national reform. Just look at how many people have been brought down from high positions because of their immoral personal lives.
Yes the answer to peace in the world is currently known by most of the people on earth. How to make it stick however is only known by a relative few. And those few only know because of the superior knowledge and love from the Creator of all things. The guy who brought it all into existence is the only one who has real answers. The created things cannot usurp the position of, nor be greater than the creator. Unfortunately the arrogant and proud component of the majority refuse to submit to the wisdom and rule of God, and therefore reject His messengers and consequently continue to fail in creating heaven without God.
No comments:
Post a Comment