In the last three thousand years we have experienced two thousand six hundred years of war. What is it about man that encourages him to make war with his fellow man? Well, if we take a close look at history, we see that what happens sometimes in a nation is that the national leader, full of ambition and exaggerated ego, wants to make a name for himself by conquering territory. Napoleon and Hitler are good examples of this. OK, well, that might be true, but how does such a man convince millions of his people to go along with his egoistic plans? This is a fascinating question. The answer lies in the kind of relationship people over the centuries have had with their leaders. We the people have given our leaders unquestioned loyalty. Today’s Germans continue to suffer psychologically for what they allowed Hitler to do “in the name of the German people.”
So, it takes two to tango the war dance. First, there is an egoistic leader and, secondly, a sheep-like people. Will this go on forever? Probably not. There are signs of an awakening among peoples of the world, alertness to what their leaders are doing. History will be a better judge than the judgment we make today, but already Americans are questioning the usefulness of the Vietnam war, the war in Iraq and now, a majority of Americans are questioning the usefulness of our war in Afghanistan. This is a very encouraging sign. Since the inception of the United Nations, soldiers of one nation have gone to another nation to help keep the peace. We call them peacekeepers, and we are proud of them. But we need a world whose nations take pride also in being peacemakers. That is the historical trend. The world has already gone from making war to attempts at peacekeeping. The next step forward, in the Christian tradition, is for nations to be more actively involved in being peacemakers. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall see the face of God. Amen
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