Moral Right No War Barrier

War - Part 2 of 4

Rejection of war on moral grounds will remain a pipe dream as long as we must " ? or feel we must -- rely on group force to improve our standard of living or to preserve the one we are enjoying already.

Moral right is invoked, logically, whether we attack or defend. It is moral to get additional resources for your needy group, and it is moral to defend your group against injury. Religious leaders on both sides of a war frequently pray with equal sincerity to the same God for victory.

The species of man is still in the formative stage. Stone Age hunting cultures flourish within a few hours plane flight of our most advanced cities.

Developing nations, as in the past, seek the comforts and conveniences of civilization before achieving the means of satisfying new desires.

The races of man progress at varying rates. Yet, in recent years there has been a tremendous sharing of ideas through the influence of a general intermingling of races. War has contributed greatly to the spread of new, cultural traits --- some good, some bad.

Until man reaches a balance with Nature, as all other creatures eventually do, conflict between the haves and the have-nots likely will continue.

Attempts to reduce the hardship of progress by taking from "inferior" and weak neighbors is all too compelling.

Inasmuch as war affects our lives so drastically, it would seem that the United States, the United Nations, or some well-endowed foundation would undertake a long-range program of research and popular education about war.

Many organizations deal with parts of the subject; journalists, scientists and church men harp about it; and draft-age youth march up the street and back again in futile protest.

However, an effective alternative to war is yet to be discovered.

It is interesting to speculate about the potential of peace through large scale, coordinated projects of study, communication and action.

Until we put the same effort into peace as we do into war we can glean only scraps of significant information and opinions to help us control our destiny.

The American Anthropological Association recently made an important contribution to the understanding of war and peace with a symposium in Washington, D.C. titled "War: The Anthropology of Armed Conflict and Aggression."? Excerpts are published in the December issue of "Natural History," the magazine of the American Museum of Natural History, New York City.

Professor Frank B. Livingstone, of the University of Michigan, addressed himself to "The Effects of Warfare on the Biology of the Human Species."? He presented statistics to refute two popular myths about war --- that war weakens the human race by killing off the best potential fathers, and that war is Nature's way of keeping man in balance with his food supply.

"The last two World Wars have been responsible for enormous numbers of deaths, but it is nevertheless questionable whether they have had any permanent demographic significance," he said.

"In the case of Russia during World War I and the subsequent revolution, the deficit: between expected population and the actual figures was about five million during the height of the fighting and famine; but the population had recovered by 1927."

Prof. Livingstone pointed out that in World War II, approximately 9 per cent of the U.S.S.R.'s and 5 per cent of Germany's population were killed, while for England and France it was only 1 per cent, and for the United States an infinitesimal 0.2 percent.

"When we consider that these slaughters occur about once a generation," said Livingstone. "the conclusion seems inescapable that they have no significant effect on the population growth or size and do not act as forces controlling the population.

"Furthermore, Wright's (1965) figures show that the twentieth century has been the most lethal both in terms of numbers and percentages; so that during the Christian Era warfare has not been a major force controlling the size of human populations.

"Even today the number of young men killed in automobile accidents in one year, which is itself less than 0.1 per cent of the age group, is greater than all the American deaths in the Vietnam war through the summer of 1967.

Continued

Lindsey Williams

Lindsey is best known as a columnist for the Sun Coast Media Group of four daily Florida newspapers and website in Charlotte County, Englewood, North Port and Arcadia. He is a member of the National Society of Newspaper Columnists.

Lin is a semi-retired newspaper publisher, having owned and operated a group of seven weekly newspapers in northeast Ohio. In addition, he wrote a syndicated column on national current events for 24 newspapers in Ohio and Kentucky.

He has been awarded Daughters of the American Revolution national medal for his “leadership, service and patriotism;” the George Washington medal of the Freedoms Foundation at Valley Forge for a series of columns “relating American history to current events;” and the Genesis Award by the University Club of Charlotte County for “community service to history and politics.”

He has written five books on history, three of them about the Charlotte Harbor area. His “Our Fascinating Past: Charlotte Harbor Later Years” in collaboration with U.S. Cleveland was chosen by the Florida Historical Society for its 1997 Golden Quill Award, the organization’s highest book honor. In addition, the society has twice awarded him its Golden Quill for his “outstanding continuing series of local history.” His book “Boldly Onward,” about early Spanish explorers in Florida, is a standard reference for scholars.

Lindsey has been writing to deadline for 64 years. He edited Flint Central High School and Mott College newspapers - - but began his professional career as a sports writer for the “Flint, Michigan, Daily Journal.”

During four years with the U.S. Navy in World War II, he served as Specialist Writer-Public Relations at Detroit, and as a First Class Petty Officer and ship’s photographer aboard South Atlantic destroyer and-sonar trainer Eagle Class ships.

He resumed his journalism career as a reporter for the “Detroit Free Press,” followed by positions as editorial director for Michigan Bell Telephone Co. at Detroit and public relations assistant for AT&T at New York City.

Lin returned to his first love, journalism, in 1959 and “semi-retired” 23 years ago to Punta Gorda where he was persuaded to continue writing.