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Originally Posted by Cynthetiq
I have this Icelandic saying hanging in my office...
it translates to:
Spoiler: God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference.
vit til aš greina žar į milli. ....
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The French have a saying, too: we surrender. I'm not willing to give up on something because it seems extremely difficult. I'm not comparing myself to JFK, but going to the moon was once considered by MOST people to be completely impossible. Mankind split the atom. We've cured plagues, and we even got Marisa Tomei an Oscar. It just takes the will to act. Maybe all war being over forver isn't step one. Maybe step 1 is having a whole week without war. Step 2 is having a month. Then we go from there. I'm not willing to give up on something this good because it's too big or too hard.
BTW, that's what my wife said last night.
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Originally Posted by Baraka_Guru
Poverty is a big issue that causes a lot of unrest, but it isn't the only thing I was referring to. Think the Middle East and the unrest caused over specific pieces of land. Is it worth going to war over "sacred land"? And, non-religiously, is it worth going to war to secure oil reserves because you don't want to change your excessive way of life? The "American way of life," which might very well be deemed more "sacred" to some than Jerusalem to others.
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I still see these things as solvable problems. One way or another, the US will eventually have to stop using oil. It's an inevitability. Oil is finite in the world, and will run out. Same with coal and natural gas. It's not a question of if but when people will have to stop using these things. As for religious entitlement: people can get entitled about anything. It's one facet of selfishness. The idea would be, simply, promoting consideration of others. The golden rule is said to have predated written word.