President Obama’s speech accepting the Nobel Peace Prize, as well as comments on the last blog by two readers, illustrates why it is important for us to incorporate into our thinking the idea that the human race is an organism bound by invisible bounds instead of a collection of independent individuals. We are not just alike; we are the same. This is not a new technological discovery from which we can benefit. It is an essential aspect of our existence that we have lost sight of over the years.
It is no surprise that our desire for peace is driven by a need to get rid of and violent conflict and crime. But, as we can see in the rest of nature, violence is not antithetical to life; it is necessary for the food web to function. Because we often think of the immune system as the defender of the body it is easy to overlook the fact that it is more realistic to recognize that the immune system exists primarily to wage war against all pathogenic enemies of the body. Anything that attacks the body is attacked by the immune system. It is for this same reason that war is seen as the precursor to peace. Since the human race is an organism it must also have an immune system. Unlike most organisms in which specialized cells perform specific functions, all humans have the potential to serve in any role necessary for the survival of the species because all men are created equal.
It is hard-wired in us that any of us can serve in any role that contributes to the survival of the species, and that includes fighting our enemies. This is why war is not our problem. It is natural for us to fight our enemies. Our problem is our misidentification of other humans as our enemies. As long as we perceive that we have enemies we will be willing to fight them.
This brings us to an interesting point because, as we have discussed earlier, all of this occurs under the guidance of the DNA molecule. In the next blog I will discuss more about this aspect of DNA and how we can exert influence over it.
A systems level discussion on Organizational Leadership and World Peace written by:
© Darius A. Lecointe, Ph.D., J.D., M.A. Join in the discussion here or through dalecointe@gmail.com
3 comments:
Very, very interesting stuff. Violence does have it's place in the fabric of nature. The old testament God of the Israelites, often instructed them in tactics of warfare, and it was not always in the structure of defense.
I found it very interesting when the President said that he understood the controversy surrounding his being recognized by the Noble committee. He went on to say, that it was necessary for America to continue to be a model in how war should be conducted if it became necessary.
Just for the sake of discussion I'd like to ask this question: Will there be a need for violence in a Earth made new? Is this violence that we experience even in our bodies a product of sin?
I will be tuned in to see your opinion on how we can "exert influence" over our DNA.
We take for granted the fact that we are the same and act as if we were similar. Violent conflicts arise when we repudiate certain behaviors or attitude that our neighbors display and yet forget that they are latent in ourselves. This intolerance of other is, in fact, self-hatred. The more the other suffers, the better we feel. It is our differences that fosters in us a sense of superiority and generate arrogance in us. This arrogance compels us to bully others or wage war against them, being the enemy we hate. Is peace really the absence of War? I would say that peace is the constant menace and fear of war. We are at peace only when we are fighting because we externalize our fears, punishing someone else for it.
The opening paragraph of this blog brings to my mind the Nimrod Manifesto. The species, for the first time, understood that it was an organic One. The goal was to strengthen themselves against future divine interference in human affairs. The project, though thwarted, was noble and praiseworthy in nature. Is there any lesson for us to learn there? Under what condition(s) will we succeed if we give it a try? How do we know that?
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