Over many years Australia has gone to war with very little or no benefits.

People are left to suffer, families are killed and bombed, their countries are left in a mess and our troops are left damaged for the rest of their lives.

What will you be doing for the International Day of Peace this year on September 21st to send a message to governments worldwide that violence is no longer the answer?

People can find out more about the International Day of peace at - and the person behind it at: www.peaceoneday.org/

Many factors may influence the decision to go
to war. The personalities of the leaders; the
influence of nationalist, religious, or other
ideologies; the extent of popular support for war;
the anticipated economic gains or losses; the
ambitions or advice of the military; perceptions
or mispercpetions of the other side's motives and
intentions; the expected reaction of the international
community; and, of course, expectations about the
likely outcome of the conflict.

War occurs as a result of a political decision.
There can be no war unless the leaders of at least two
societies with conflicting interests decide that they
prefer war to any alternative means of settling their
differences. War is a highly structured social activity.
It cannot be sustained without a strong political
authority that can persuade people to risk their lives
for a purpose beyond themselves.

To a visitor from another planet, it would seem that the
modern world is obsessed with preparations for "defense"
(it's never called "offense").
Many countries spend more of their budgets for military
purposes than they do for education or medical care.

Altogether, the international military establishment
employs over an estimated 100 million people. World
military expenditures for military purposes has consumed
money in the trillions.

This represents a colossal diversion of funds from socially
useful goals. The example that I've given in the past
was that - a single hour's worth of these expenditures would
suffice to save, through immunisation, over 120,000 children
around the world who die each day from preventable infectious
diseases.

What will I be doing for the International Day of Peace?
Apart from going to Church in the Morning - the 21st
being a Sunday - and my son's Birthday. After the family
barbeque in the afternoon I will try to find the time to
write and send off a few letters to Canberra. Not sure
what that will achieve - but at least I would have done
something.

"What will you be doing for the International Day of Peace this year on September 21st to send a message to governments worldwide that violence is no longer the answer?"

Absolutely nothing.

Me neither, Is Mise.

>>"What will you be doing for the International Day of Peace this year on September 21st to send a message to governments worldwide that violence is no longer the answer?" Absolutely nothing.<<

For some reason, I feel strangely proud that both my parents put on military uniforms in 1940 at the age of 19, my father in the navy, mother in the air force, and spent the next five years fighting for what they believed was necessary to give me a life of peace and prosperity. I just hope that I would have had the courage to do the same, had the need arisen.

The world is not yet sufficiently mature to be able to rest easy, that our way of life will never again be threatened. For a start, we are still saddled with the misguided concepts at the heart of religion, which has been the tinder for innumerable conflicts over many centuries. Nor do we seem able to shed an ingrained acquisitiveness, that also feeds feelings of inequality and belligerence as we strive for what we perceive are our "rights".

Perhaps we never will. I certainly ain't gonna happen in my lifetime.

Over many years Australia has gone to war with very little or no benefits.
NathanJ,
Due to war many of us have had it very good for a long time. Trouble is they're too stupid to realise it hence their idiotic idealism destroying it all again.

I know what I'll be doing that day....laughing.
As stated above, the Human Race is still a long way indeed from being peaceful, war and it's cousins will be with us for a while yet I'm afraid.
World Peace is a wonderful idea, and well worth working towards, but to achieve it we need to first remove it's progenitors, poverty, religion, inequality, and stupidity (lack of education).
Do all that and you may, MAY, have a shot at it, but I for one won't be holding my breath, our monkey genes need a damn good laundering if we're ever to know real peace.
Ever notice the correlation between education standards and religion, violence et. al.?
We almost made it to a truly secular society with education and opportunity for all, but the powers that be felt threatened by that and brought us instead the dumbing down of education, sensationalist media and multiculturalism, and war has festered and spread thereby, and they love it, the profits to be made, the controls they can introduce, and we the people bleed and die exactly the same as does our ancestors Dream of a better world.
Ave caesar! Morituri te salutamu