With the entrance of November our thoughts automatically turn and preparations begin for the festive Thanksgiving/Christmas holiday season. In between, however falls another less glamorous holiday, Veterans Day, observed each year on November 11, that commemorates the courage, patriotism and sacrifices of the men and women who have served in the US Armed Forces.
The observance began in 1919 with President Woodrow Wilson’s proclamation of November 11 as Armistice Day to remind Americans of the tragedies of war–a lesson we still refuse to learn despite the increasing sophistication of modern warfare. Since time immemorial man historically has fought territorial, tribal, national, political, religious, civil or other wars all of which have caused great suffering and hardship on both sides.
World Book Encyclopedia states that the two major components of war are cause and reason with the two usually totally unrelated. “When a nation makes war its government always states the reason for the war. This is necessary if the people are to be unified in the war effort. The causes of war may be selfish, base or even wicked but the reasons stated are usually lofty and noble.” Therefore cause must wait (sometimes for years) for a more popular and marketable reason that the people are more likely to be willing to support and literally fall for. Armies in the past have been comprised primarily of foot soldiers. However with the rapid advancement of science and technology in recent decades more intellectual recruits are targeted for operation of today’s highly sophisticated weaponry capable of killing and contaminating millions of people and areas at a time. It was Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. who succinctly stated, “We must learn to live together as brothers or we will die together as fools.”
Mere knowledge of this fact is insufficient in itself for there is no task more important in this day than that of the establishment of universal peace (technologically and scientifically impossible in any other era), for in this lies the freedom of all peoples. In this unparalleled day in the history of mankind exists a continuous stream of divine blueprints for building “the foundation of a unified world society based on the principles of justice and love,” being increasingly adhered to through guidance by the new spiritual GPS.
Among them: “The whole world must be looked upon as one single country, all nations as one nation, all men as belonging to one race. . . Do not be satisfied until each one with whom you are concerned is to you as a member of your family. Regard each one as a father or brother, or as a sister or mother, or as a child. If you can attain to this, your difficulties will vanish; you will know what to do,” state writings from some of the endless Baha’i prescriptions for the divine art of living in this new day of God. Also “Regard mankind (and especially children) as a mine rich in gems of inestimable value. Education can alone cause it to reveal its treasure and enable mankind to benefit there from.”
In this enlightened age the war on ignorance, hatred and prejudice successfully fought is unequivocally the war to end all wars. (Investigate!)
