THE
MEANING OF COMPLETE WORLD DISARMAMENT
OUTLINE:
1. AVOID PREMATURE DISARMAMENT
2.
ELIMINATE
ALL NATIONAL WEAPONS OF WAR
3.
NO
STANDING MILITARY FORCES
4. REPLACING THE WARRIOR CULTURE OF EACH NATION
5.
WHEN ANY GROUP NEEDS PROTECTION OR DEFENSE,
THEY WILL CALL UPON THE WORLD PEACE FORCE
INSTEAD OF TRYING TO RE-ARM THEMSELVES.
6.
FULL COOPERATION AMONG THE FORCES OF LAW-AND-ORDER EVERYWHERE ON EARTH
THE
MEANING OF COMPLETE WORLD DISARMAMENT
by James Park
Never before in all of human history
has there ever been a time when human beings did not possess weapons.
Weapons of war were sometimes used to capture new lands and people.
But in recent history, the weapons of war
were always said to exist in order to defend the natiion.
In the history of the USA, this 'change' of purpose
was even reflected in the name of the department
that controlled the weapons of war.
It was originally known as the War Department;
now it is called the Department of Defense.
Complete disarmament means that there will longer be
any national military forces.
This will be possible only after a World Peace Force has emerged
and probably has about 1,000,000 men and women employed full-time
to maintain peace everywhere on planet Earth.
The United States of American has been acting as the
de facto world policeman.
We have 700 military bases outside of the borders of the USA.
(And, of course, we have even more soldiers stationed within the USA.)
And we have the capacity to extend our military might anywhere we
please.
We have not always respected the borders of other nations,
when it seemed to us that they were not handling matters very well.
For example, if they were not controlling terrorists,
we have not hesitated to take over their countries
in order to do the job better.
Afghanistan would be the prime, recent example of this.
1. AVOID PREMATURE DISARMAMENT
As long as there are national military forces that
can cause problems,
there will have to be other
national military forces to keep them in
check.
Which nations would disarm while their perceived enemies still have
military forces?
But once the World Peace Force is up to sufficient strength,
then the national governments will see the economies of reducing
and eventually eliminating their own national armed forces.
The World Peace Force will have to prove itself in
actual combat.
Once the World Peace Force has shown that it can defeat and disarm
the military forces of renegade nations,
then the peoples of the Earth will welcome the new law and
order
created by the World Court and the World Peace Force.
2. ELIMINATE ALL NATIONAL WEAPONS OF WAR
Over the centuries of human history, the weapons of
warfare have advanced.
In the earliest times, all weapons were held in human hands.
They were used to kill the enemy one person at a time.
Sticks and rocks were probably the first weapons of war.
Later weapons that could kill
at a distance were developed.
Spears and arrows were also used against wild animals,
either to prevent them from killing and eating humans
or to kill the wild animals and eat them.
Because such weapons are so easy to make (or pick
up),
it would be impossible to eliminate all such individual weapons
—or
items such as knives that could easily be used as weapons.
Modern times have created huge weapons of warfare:
War boats, tanks, & planes have become such a common sight
that it would be difficult to imagine a world without these.
But it could happen.
Imagine a planet where the weapons of warfare
are possessed exclusively by a planetary peace force.
If and when this happens on the planet Earth,
it will mean that all nations have given up
their armies, navies, and airforces.
No more warplanes will be manufactured or possessed by anyone.
There will be no more warships of any kind,
since they will have no role in keeping world peace.
And there will be no armies—with
all of their machinery and equipment.
3. NO STANDING MILITARY FORCES
Under the coming condition of complete disarmament,
there will no longer by any human beings employed by any nation
for the purpose of 'defending' that nation.
All needs for defense will be fulfilled by the World Peace Force.
Having no military budgets and no military personnel
will be one of the easiest ways to enforce complete disarmament.
It is very difficult to hide the fact that some people
are engaged in preparing for warfare.
The World Peace Force will exist everywhere on the planet
Earth.
So they will know whenever anyone is trying to organize a military
force.
And they will take all actions necessary to disarm any such groups.
Most of the national weapons of warfare are very
difficult to hide.
Where would one put an aircraft carrier?
And even the planes themselves would be hard to hide.
If no nation is permitted to have weapons of war,
then all military bases and armed forces would disappear.
And the peace-loving peoples of the Earth would make sure
that no nation is secretly rebuilding a military capacity.
There will be no military budgets for any nation.
Since the various nation-states will no longer will need any defense,
no tax-monies will be devoted to any military expenditure.
In the USA, this will be a huge relief to the taxpayers.
And we will be glad to give some of our tax-money to the World Peace
Force
because we no longer have any need for the Pentagon
and the thousands of other parts of our former military budget.
When even Americans embrace the love of peace,
we will report to the World Peace Force
if ever any individual Americans begin to rearm themselves.
We will simply not tolerate any human beings being trained for war.
When any young men or women anywhere in the world
feel called to the military life,
they will have to join the World Peace Force
instead of joining the Army, Navy, or Airforce of any nation.
The armed forces formerly operated by any nation
will be completely a thing of the past,
just as there is no longer a need for possies in the Western United
States.
When we have a much better way of keeping the peace,
then national military forces could only do more harm.
Politicians will learn how to govern without the use of national
military forces.
4. REPLACING THE WARRIOR CULTURE OF EACH NATION
It will probably take a generation or more after the
establishment of the World Peace Force,
but eventually national pride in military forces will disappear.
When the last person ever employed
by any branch of the armed forces of the USA has died,
then there will be no more need for national military cemeteries.
We can honor the military leaders of history,
but we will not be creating any more national heros
who made their mark by fighting for the homeland.
Instead, we can honor those who devoted their lives
to keeping world peace.
All members of the World Peace Force will, of course,
come from particular nation-states.
And each state will find its own ways of honoring
those who die in the course of enforcing world law.
Perhaps there will be special cemeteries for them.
But, more likely, they will be buried (or otherwise remembered)
in the same ways that we honor all human beings who have died.
This could be similar to the ways we now honor
people
who served as local police officers:
There is no need to say that they served their country.
Rather they served the people who were protected by their services.
When they retire and later die,
they are honored by their own families
without involving any national leaders.
Likewise, most of the members of the World Peace
Force
will retire rather
than be killed in the line
of duty.
In their old age, they will return to their countries of origin,
live out their peaceful retirements and be honored
in whatever private ways are common for their people.
Their years of service in the World Peace Force will be duly recognized.
But there will no longer be any talk about them defending their own
country.
They served to keep the peace
of the whole planet Earth.
Right now, during the US military occupations of
Iraq and Afghanistan,
it is somewhat awkward to honor the US military personnel who die.
When our soldiers are blown up patroling the streets of a distant city,
in what sense can they be said to be defending America?
Those who plant the bombs to kill American military men and women
are acting in what they perceive to be their national interest:
They want to kill the foreign invaders who have taken over their
country.
However, if the World Peace Force were patroling the
same streets,
they would be welcomed by all peace-loving people.
Instead of attempting to impose a strange system of government,
the World Peace Force would be perceived to be preventing killing in
all forms
so that the local people could eventually create a new government of
their own devising.
5. WHEN ANY GROUP NEEDS PROTECTION OR DEFENSE,
THEY WILL CALL UPON THE WORLD PEACE FORCE
INSTEAD OF TRYING TO RE-ARM THEMSELVES.
Tribal feelings will not disappear once a World
Peace Force is established.
But tribal feelings will no longer lead to warfare between the tribes.
Because the World Peace Force will be the only military force on the
Earth,
they will easily be able to send all necessary troops
to keep the peace between hostile tribes.
Nations will periodically experience the collapse of
law-and-order,
which could lead to tribal killing.
But instead of allowing the tribes to arm themselves against their
rivals,
the World Peace Force will sent however many men and women are needed
to keep the peace between hostile groups.
And the World Peace Force might have to use thousands of their troops
to keep the peace in a fractured nation
while the peaceful leaders of that nation re-create
whatever forms of government seems best to them.
A world-wide change of consciousness will be
necessary,
since the military impulse has been so strong since the beginning of
human groups.
After a few generations of positive experience with the World Peace
Force,
children of every nation will grow up assuming that the World Peace
Force
will take care of any problems that used to lead to warfare.
When people anywhere in the world feel threatened in
any way,
they will first call upon their local police for protection.
If the local police have been doing their job well,
individual troublemakers and small groups of law-breakers
can easily be identified and arrested.
And if ever violent groups become too large for the
local police,
everyone who knows about them will call the World Peace Force,
who can disarm any gangs with whatever force is necessary.
And the World Peace Force can maintain whatever level of presence is
required
to prevent those gangs from arming themselves once again.
The World Peace Force will also operate prisons,
where violators of the peace will be kept
until their recover from their violent inclinations.
6. FULL COOPERATION AMONG THE FORCES OF LAW-AND-ORDER EVERYWHERE ON
EARTH
Local police might occasionally call upon the
superior forces of the World Peace Force
when they cannot handle problems emerging in a certain place.
Because the World Peace Force will have bases in every country of the
world,
they will be ready to step in with the most appropriate forces.
And they will have military forces who already speak the languages of
the people.
Only the worst local situations will require members of the World Peace
Force
stationed in other countries to come in temporarily to restore order.
Once any particular crisis has been resolved,
the soldiers of the World Peace Force can return to their regular home
bases.
Sometimes local police forces will be corrupted by
drug-money or tribal loyalty.
In those cases, the peace-loving people of that locality
will call upon the World Peace Force to enforce law-and-order,
even if that requires shooting the local police.
Some leaders will attempt to use local and national police
for their own political purposes.
In such cases, the World Peace Force might be required to restore
impartial peace
while the poltiical situation is resolved.
When a former nation-state has fragmented,
the World Peace Force might have to prevent killing from every side
until some new order emerges.
Perhaps smaller nations will emerge from a failed state.
Each new state will have its own system of government.
And no particular system of government will be enforced by the World
Peace Force.
The planet Earth will have several different systems
of government
once the World Peace Force comes into its own.
Some nations will have hereditary monarchies.
Some nations will be governed by religious leaders.
Some nations will choose various forms of democracy.
The only forms of government that will no longer be possible
will be military dictatorships, which were formerly possible
because whoever controlled the army could control the country.
When no country has its own army, then military dictators cannot emerge.
The disarmament of the planet Earth will create a
new era for the world.
When national military forces no longer exist anywhere,
what new forms of human government might emerge?
Created
April 2, 2009; Revised 5-6-2009; 8-2-2009
AUTHOR:
James Park is an independent existential philosopher,
living and writing from Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Much more about him will be discovered on his website:
An Existential Philosopher's Museum:
http://www.tc.umn.edu/~parkx032/
LINKS
TO SIMILAR THINKING:
The future we create will depend on what we imagine
now.
And the Internet will be one way
that creative imaginations from anywhere on our planet
can share their visions of a world without war.
When such similar thoughts are discovered,
they will be linked from here.
World Peace Force—Early Thinking
This
link leads to a collection of other essays by James Park
dealing with various dimensions of the proposed World Peace Force.
See related cyber-sermons by James Park:
TERRORISM, WAR,
& PEACE
Holy War
Against Terrorism
. D
Peaceful
Muslims & Violent Muslims
. D N
Deprogramming
Osama Bin Laden
. D
World
Without
War
. D
Blessed Are the
Peacemakers . D
How a
World
Peace Force
Would Handle Situations like Iraq
Better than the United States As Policeman
. D N
Exit
Strategy
for Iraq:
Arabic-Speaking Peace-Keepers . D
N
Policing
Mutual Genocide:
Not a War on
Terrorism, Not a Civil War. D N
Tribalism in Iraq.
D
Iraq after
Occupation . D
Lessons from
Iraq . D N