Why is war still an option?

Why is war still an option?

The threat of war from Russia toward the Ukraine sits heavily on the hearts and minds of many people across the globe. War creates much pain and suffering for all involved, except those few who politically or economically profit from it. The cost, in terms of the economic, social, mental and physical health of the people caught up in war, is untenable. Why is war still an option?

Why is war between any nations still seen as an option, when we know that we all live together on the planet we call Earth? Planet Earth sits within a galaxy we call The Milky Way. As far as we know, Earth is the one planet in the universe that can support life. Planet Earth has no visual borders; no state borders, no national borders. Such borders are human constructions. So, even though Earth has various bio-regions and we earthlings do have various cultural and religious differences, we all live together on the one planet. Within such a context, warring against each other truly makes no sense at all.

Additionally, planet Earth is presently undergoing a climate emergency that we humans are at least contributing to, if not creating, through our heavy reliance on fossil fuels to maintain a particular life-style. The present climate emergency is calling into account our way of living in the world. Many people are responding to such a call. Yet, war flies in the face of the current climate emergency. Within a climate emergency, why is war still an option? The cost to planet Earth is untenable. Why do we humans still see war as an option?