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The whole of the human species is a notoriously violent one. Aside from a few occasional outliers, violence seems baked into our evolutionary psychology. Humans divide ourselves into purely imaginary groups and then glorify those who most successfully assail the others, proving they are the most violent among us. We call them heroes and give them medals, statues, and monuments.
We exault the very tools of death, the weapons of war, even as we keep and collect the most efficient of these in our domiciles, with cries of "From our cold, dead hands"! But shouldn't we? Mustn't we? After all, look at how violent the others are!
We build and support multi-billion dollar industries that manufacture weapons of death and mass destruction and sell them all over the globe. After all, don't those others need to feel safe from their others, as well?
What about peace talks? It's fine to talk about wanting peace, yes. But for Pete's sake, don't work towards it. Anyone who dares to actually work towards peace is labeled a coward, a peacenik, an appeaser. G-d forbid that the others should get anything they want or actually need by using mere words.
Is there enough water for all to drink? Yes, but it's ours, and we'll destroy anyone else who tries to draw from it! Is there enough food for all to eat? Yes, but it's theirs, and they'll kill anyone else if we try to harvest any of it! Is there enough land for all to live on? Yes, but it's divinely ours, and we'll annihilate anyone else tries to thrive on it!
As I mentioned, violence seems baked in our evolutionary psychology. But there is hope. Because evolution, you see, is not linear. It bends to the dictates of our survival needs. Evolution bows to the demands of the continuation of life. So the moment the human species realizes that peace is more conducive to our existence than war, we will see a sea change in our psychology, our thinking, and our behavior towards violence. That moment cannot come soon enough.
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