Warorpeace

　　Firstofall,I’dliketomakeitclearthatIamherespeakingnotasaChinese,notasanAsian,notasarepresentativeofanyorganization,butasahumanbeing,amemberofthespecies:Mankind,whosecontinuedexistenceisindoubt.Thedangerofwarishiddenbehindwhatwecall“peace”.Theworldisfullofconflicts:JewsandArabs;IndiansandPakistanis;thewhiteandtheblackinAfrica…

　　IwonderifyouhaveeverseenanypicturesofchildrenintheMiddleEast.IoncesawaphotoshowingsomePalestinianchildrenplayingwithgunsandbombs,andearlierthismonth,itwasreportedthatthreePalestinianteenagerswereshotdeadwhentryingtoactas“body-bombs”.IbetyouwerejustasshockedasIwas.Thisisnotagamebetweenadultsanymore,itisplantingseedsofhatredintotheheartsofthenextgeneration.Ourhopeforthefutureislosingintheflamesofgunfire.

　　Whydopeoplefight?AnEnglishwriteroncedescribed:thishappenednotbythewillofGod,notbythewillofMankind,butbecausesomefewmenwereafraidtobeopenandgeneroustoeachother.Therewasaspringthattheyknewtheyshouldnottouch,and,likemischievousandnervouschildren,theyhadtoucheditatlast,andnowtheworldistosufferfortheirmischief.

　　SomepeoplemightthinkI’mexaggeratingthesituation:it’sonlyconflict,it’snotwar.ButIhavetoremindyou,throughoutthehistory,bigwarsalwaysstartfromsmallandcontinuousconflicts:WorldWar1startedfromtheconflictbetweentheAustro-HungarianEmpireandBosnia;WorldWar2beganwiththeclashbetweenGermanyandCzechSlovak.Awarinthe20thcentury,asweallknow,couldpushourcivilizationbackwardforseveraldecades.Butifawarweretohappentoday,justimaginethesenuclearweapons,ourworldwouldnotonlyrecede,itwouldvanish.

　　Here,then,istheproblemIpresenttoyoutoday:shallweputanendtothehumanrace,orshallMankindrenouncewar?Manypeoplewillnotfacethisalternativebecauseit’ssodifficulttoabolishwar.Theyscarcelyrealizethatthedangeristothemselvesandtotheirchildrenandtotheirgrandchildren,ANDtotheuniversalhumanity.Soeventoday,peopleholdthebeliefthataslongasnuclearweaponsareprohibited,conflictsmaybeallowedtocontinue.I’mafraidthishopeisillusory.Whateveragreementsreachedwithouthydrogenbombsintimesofpeacewouldbenothingintimesofrealwar.Thisisnotthewaywe’regoingtomakepeace.

　　Warorpeace,thisisthequestion.

　　Sofar,Mankindhasexistedonthisplanetforamillionyears.Forcountlessages,thesunroseandset,themoonwaxedandwaned,thestarshoneinthenight,butitwasonlywiththecomingofManthatthesethingswereunderstood.We’veestablishedagreatcivilization.ButisthisalltoendintrivialhorrorbecausesofewmenareabletothinkofMankindratherthanofthemselves?Isourracesoblindtothesimplestdictatesofself-preservation,thatthelastproofofourintelligenceistobetheexterminationofalllifeonourplanet?

　　No,Idonotbelievethisistobetheend,forwe’renotseparateandindifferentlikethebeasts.We’reMankind.Wewouldforgetourquarrelsforamoment.Andifwe’llallowourselvestosurvive,thereiseveryreasontoexpectthevictoryofthefuture.Thereliesbeforeus,ifwechoose,continualprogressinhappiness,knowledge,andwisdom.

　　Now,Iappeal,asahumanbeingtohumanbeings:rememberyourhumanity,forgetthere