Resources for Dialog

Living Beyond War

These are times of extraordinary peril—and of extraordinary opportunity. Around the world a new spirit is emerging, an understanding of the deep interconnection of all humans with each other and with their life-support system. We see this not only in the mass protests for democracy in many countries in the Middle East, but in the literally millions of non-governmental organizations springing up around the world, which share values such as non-violence, gender equality and sustainability.

The causes of this new awareness of our challenges and of this collective search for new solutions are various, but all are related to the reality both of planetary limits and new planetary possibilities.

In such crises as the Cuban Missile Crisis, the planet faced the limits of the world-destroying capability of nuclear weapons. Global thermonuclear war would not result in a meaningful victory for any nation, but only in the death of all of us, either by direct annihilation or by the effects of “nuclear winter,” the potential for a change in climate that would disrupt agriculture worldwide even if only a small number of weapons were detonated.

Wars still exact a terrible toll, but their destructive power is diminishing as nations turn to more effective ways of resolving their inevitable differences.

 At the same time, nine nations possess nuclear weapons, and, in spite of the questionable role of such weapons in increasing security for anyone, more nations—and possibly non-national entities—seek to acquire them. Because the principles of fission are available to anyone, it is impossible to put the nuclear genie back in the bottle.

Instead, it has been said that we are in a race between education (the realization that these weapons—no matter who possesses them—are part of the problem and not the solution) and catastrophe (terrorist use of a nuclear weapon; accidents; misinterpretations; escalation from conventional wars to nuclear wars).

We are seeing the effects of the limits of planetary carrying capacity.While new strains of grain and rice have made possible increases in agricultural production, the population of the earth is straining all the systems necessary to sustain it, especially as nations like India and China demand the same amenities that have been enjoyed for decades by the U.S. and Western Europe. Such systems include the atmospheric system, where there are increasing indications of human-caused instability, flood, and drought; the ocean system, where pollution is causing dead zones and diseased coral reefs, and industrial fishing is diminishing to near extinction many species; the soil system, where erosion and fertilizer are diminishing the viability of cultivated land; the fresh water system, where the supply from glaciers, lakes, rivers and vast underground aquifers is diminishing; the geophysical system, where whole mountaintops are leveled to find new sources of coal, or aquifers are threatened in the exploration for deep-earth sources of natural gas.

The interrelated, global nature of these challenges is evoking deep questions about our fundamental values, and the questions themselves suggest new possibilities. The connections between challenges are being acknowledged and understood. For example, if the United States became less dependent upon oil from the Middle East, the need for a strong military presence there would diminish, reducing not only our energy footprint but also the resentment felt by occupied nations and the motivation for terrorism, which in turn would allow us to redirect more resources to finding sustainable sources of energy.

More and more of us think of ourselves as global citizens and accept the reality that our biggest challenges are trans-national. While tribal tensions still divide much of the world, tribalism is gradually being dissolved by planetary systems of communication that allow us to see that we are one human species sharing a common fate—and a common origin.  Science has provided us with a new understanding of our place within the emergent stages of the development of the universe, the solar system, and the earth, a story which is the ultimate foundation of all our religious texts and systems of belief.

The many interfaith initiatives undertaken in our times have provided us with new ways to celebrate, rather than feel threatened by, our cultural and religious diversity. While we live in a time of material limits, barriers are falling that allow us to establish relationships which are potentially limitless in their value to the whole: non-violent ways of resolving conflict; the establishment of international laws which apply to all and strengthen the security of all; movements of cooperation to eradicate disease globally; and more efficient use of resources to help those in dire need on account of disasters like flood, famine or earthquakes.

War, that ancient scourge, has become obsolete as a way toward genuine resolution of conflict. In the “race between education and catastrophe,” education may just be winning. But exactly what is the educational challenge?

It is to help everyone build agreement on some fundamental principles and practices. A different world, a world that works for everyone, requires new knowledge and action that includes maintaining good will in the midst of the conflicts that come at us not only internationally but every day at home and at work. We need to learn how to be everyday peacebuilders. Through that knowledge we can push past the all the limits that constrain us at this extraordinary moment in time.

It is challenging to educate ourselves to these new limits and possibilities. The most effective way to meet the challenge is to gather a dozen people in one space and probe the questions implied by the fundamental truth of our planetary interdependence. Is it possible to resolve all conflict without violence? What happens to blame when I give up posing enemies? What is the creative opposite of blame?