This fantastic article was written by Sarah Biren, a baker, cook, author, and blogger living in Toronto. We encourage you to check out her website here!
We live in an era where violence is common. Attacks have been occurring across the globe, and although the situations horrifies us, as time passes the terror fades. It was just another headline. The victims, people with lives and families, are reduced to statistics. A verbal warzone is happening in the political sphere, and more violence is the result. Attacks, war, and disrest happening around the world, away from our hometowns, doesn’t scare us. Yet this lack of fear is terrifying in its own right. We have become desensitized to violence.
“Because we have been brainwashed to think this way, we do not consider the suffering of individual soldiers,” writes the Dalai Lama in his most recent statement about war. “…We should all be horrified by the extent of this tragedy, but we are too confused.”
The Reality of War
“Of course, war and the large military establishments are the greatest sources of violence in the world,” the Dalai Lama writes. “Whether their purpose is defensive or offensive, these vast powerful organizations exist solely to kill human beings.”
We have become so accustomed to the concept of war, its tragedies don’t bother us anymore. “If it’s not affecting me personally, it doesn’t matter,” we think. We turn a blind eye to the harsh situations of others, and avoid thinking about our role as an individual.
Why War Sounds Natural to Most People
“Since armies are legal, we feel that war is acceptable,” writes the Dalai Lama. “In general, nobody feels that war is criminal or that accepting it is criminal attitude. In fact, we have been brainwashed.”
We have been trained to be impassive to the horrors of war. This numbness comes when we see violence from the sidelines, yet it also enables us to easily partake in the brutality.
“Some former soldiers have told me that when they shot their first person they felt uncomfortable but as they continued to kill it began to feel quite normal. In time, we can get used to anything.”
The Unspoken Dangers of War
He writes, “It is not only during times of war that military establishments are destructive. By their very design, they were the single greatest violators of human rights, and it is the soldiers themselves who suffer most consistently from their abuse. … They are then compelled to forfeit their individual will, and, in the end, to sacrifice their lives.”
We defend people being abused and discriminated against, yet we accept political violence. Soldiers dying at the forefront is sad, but not as horrifying as a victim of a terror attack. Yet in both cases, it is still a human life. We are just accustomed to the former.
The Dalai Lama writes another danger of war.“There are people with destructive intentions in every society, and the temptation to gain command over an organization capable of fulfilling their desires can become overwhelming. … As long as there are powerful armies there will always be danger of dictatorship.”
What if War is Necessary?
“I want to make it clear, however,” he writes, “that although I am deeply opposed to war, I am not advocating appeasement. It is often necessary to take a strong stand to counter unjust aggression.”
He gives the examples of the Second World War and how it stopped the tyranny of Nazi Germany, and the Korean War which helped South Korea create democracy. Yet we will only know in hindsight if wars were justified. Many battles throughout history ended as a bloodbath without any legitimate gain.
“Therefore, it is better to avoid it if possible,” he continues, “and never to presume that we know beforehand whether the outcome of a particular war will be beneficial or not.”
What is the Solution to War?
“The last forty years in Europe have seen merely the absence of war, which has not been real peace but a facsimile founded dear. At best, building arms to maintain peace serves only as a temporary measure.”
In our current political situation, it is hard to imagine world peace. War is a part of our history and our lives today. Yet this is the generation of rapid change. War is created by the consent of the population, and we have the ability to stand against it and undo the acceptance of violence within ourselves.
“As long as adversaries do not trust each other, any number of factors can upset the balance of power,” concludes the Dalai Lama. “Lasting peace can assure secured only on the basis of genuine trust.”
