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HUMAN SOCIETY AND WARS (
Edited Urantia paper 70, section 2) |
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CEDOMIL VUGRINCIC, M.D., Ph.D. |
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In the
past ages a fierce war has instituted social changes in the society and has
facilitated the adoption of new ideas such as would not have occurred
naturally in ten thousand years. The terrible price paid for these certain
war advantages was that society was temporarily thrown back into savagery;
civilized reason had to abdicate. War is
strong medicine, very costly and most dangerous; while often curative of
certain social disorders, it sometimes kills the patient, destroys the
society. The
constant necessity for national defense creates many new and advanced social
adjustments. Society, today, enjoys the benefit of a long list of useful
innovations which were at first wholly military. War has
had a social meaning to past civilizations because it has: 1. Imposed discipline,
enforced co-operation. 2. Put a premium on fortitude
and courage. 3. Fostered and solidified
nationalism. Olden
wars strengthened nations, but today wars disrupt progress of civilized
cultures. Early
wars promoted the organization and efficiency, but these have now become the
aims of modern industry. During past ages war was a social ferment which
pushed civilization forward; this is now better served through new creative
prosperous inventions. Ancient
warfare has supported the concept of God blessings of battles, however modern
man should learn to reach to the God through love and brotherhood of men. War is today
rapidly becoming culturally bankrupt, incapable of producing the dividends of
social gains in any way commensurate with the terrible losses attendant upon
its invocation. International bloodletting of war must be replaced by better
methods of curing the ills between nations and urges for national
sovereignties. The
nations of the planet Urantia have entered upon the gigantic struggle between
nationalistic militarism and industrialism, and if industrialism is to
triumph over militarism, it must avoid the dangers which beset it. The perils
of industrialism on Urantia are: 1. The strong drift toward
materialism- spiritual
blindness. 2. The worship of
wealth-power-
value distortion. 3. The vices of
luxury- cultural
immaturity. 4. The increasing dangers
of indolence- service
insensitivity. 5. The growth of
undesirable racial softness-
biological softness. 6. The threat of
standardized industrial slavery-
personality stagnation. Militarism
is autocratic and cruel- savage. It promotes social organization among the
conquerors but disintegrate the vanquished. Industrialism is more civilized
and should be so carried on as to promote the initiative and to encourage
human individualism. Society
should in any way possible foster the human originality (origin quality). Do not
make the mistake of glorifying war, but rather look for the substitutes which
will assure
the continuation of advancement and unification of the civilization. If such
adequate substitutes are not provided, then you may be sure that the wars
will continue. Man
will never accept peace as a normal mode of living until he has been
thoroughly and repeatedly
convinced that peace is the best for his material welfare, and until society
has wisely provided substitutes through peaceful integration. Nations need to
let loose a collective drive designated to liberate those ever- accumulating
emotions and energies belonging to self-preservation reaction of human
individual and collective sovereignties. In
passing, humans need to honor the school of experience which has compelled
the arrogant individualists to submit themselves to highly concentrated
self-authority of a chief executive. Old-
fashioned wars did select the innately great men for leadership, but modern
war no longer does. Humans
need to discover truthful, moral and non-corrupt leaders in their spiritually
progressive societies. The nations must turn to those which cherish the
conquest of peace, morality and truth in industry, science, art and social
achievements of progressively unifying life on this world. |
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Reference: The Urantia Book, Urantia Foundation |
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