Despite the tremendous costs of war, in lives, psychological damage, and economically we continue to embrace warfare as an acceptable way to resolve conflicts. Throughout history Kings, Dictators, and governments have been able to convince the general public, often through the use of massive propaganda initiatives, that their resources should be used to build weapons to defend themselves and aggress against others while sacrificing lives for whatever cause is constructed as patriotic. Sometimes they have even invoked the Divine/God distorting religions to support manifest destiny. This has been done for millennia. It is a norm, a habit that we must change if we are to thrive as a species. I define warfare as a collective form of mental illness; where we have decided that peace will be won by depriving people of their lives and often their sanity. We must stop enabling governments to conduct warfare when other avenues to resolving conflict are available. It is time to tell our leaders that they must resolve their conflicts through nonviolent means. Here are just a few of the groups that are working for a more peaceful world through nonviolent action:
Veterans for Peace: https://www.veteransforpeace.org/
Combatants for Peace: https://cfpeace.org/
Christian Peacemaker Teams: https://www.cpt.org/
Friends Committee on National Legislation https://www.fcnl.org/
Women Against War – http://www.womenagainstwar.org/wordpress/
A local group in the Capital Region: Food Not Bombs http://foodnotbombs.net/new_site/ They have an Albany, NY group