Three pounds of TNT can obliterate a car. Four thousand pounds of TNT destroyed the Federal Building in Oklahoma City (see picture above). Thirty-three-thousand pounds of TNT for every man, woman and child living on Planet Earth is the equivalent of the destructive force of today’s world’s nuclear arsenal. There is a dawning realization that the path which mankind follows for thousands of years has brought us to the brink of extinction.
Apparently, 33,000 lbs. (15 tons) of TNT for each one of us is not enough:
- In the past 5 years Canada increased military budget by 25% and USA by 34%.
- In 2019, 87% of members of the U.S. House of Representatives and 90% of members of the Senate voted to escalate the US military budget in circumstances where USA spends more on the military than China+ Russia+ UK+ France+ India+ Saudi Arabia+ Japan combined. The world we live in does not make sense.
- 1.7 trillion dollars a year is spent on the militaries in circumstances where every 10 seconds a child dies from malnutrition, where half of humans live in poverty, and where 12% of military expenditures would end hunger and poverty in the whole world.
- Domestic laws of every country put behind bars a person who takes the life of another, while 63 million military personnel around the world are trained, paid, and blessed to kill other humans upon the orders of those who hold most of the cards. Forty-five present armed conflicts waging around the world are the results of this arrangement.
Mankind’s very survival depends upon drastic change of our concept of human cohabitation currently principled on armed violence and inequality. We have to make a conscious choice of magnitude never before faced by man. If we choose to move on the right path, we can have a bright future. But if we don’t, our future is bleak, dark, and short.
The crisis that confronts us is the threat of total destruction, the most critical threat we have ever faced. To overcome this crisis demands setting a new direction, far different from a course the mainstream of mankind had taken for millenia. That direction is the world of permanent peace and the well being for all, including our planet. This crucial change starts with individuals spreading the message that mankind’s all-the-time dream is not only possible, but also within our reach.
Human affairs are not forever destined to be determined by force. They can be affected by reason and choice. “Once around 3.5% of the whole population has begun to participate, success appears to be inevitable.”–David Robson
In the era of connected humans, if only ten people undertake to enlist one other person every week, and each person so enlisted will do the same, in 6 months the positive power of the entire earth’s adult population will compel the creation of good such as the world has never known. As there is absolutely nothing that can stop the collective desire of humanity. What appears to be a pipe-dream will turn become a normal part of our life in no time. The most meaningful work anyone can be engaged-in begins with joining us.
