"Wilding (part 2)" by GrandaddyBonegrinder
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Conflict Resolution through Violence
Responding to a question on the religions of man, Mark Twain once remarked, “Man is a Religious Animal. He is the only Religious Animal. He is the only animal that has the True Religion- several of them. He is the only animal that loves his neighbor as himself and cuts his throat if his theology isn't straight” (1882). Presently in the United States, 80 million Americans attend worship services on any given weekend, yet the U.S.A. has a higher rate of violence, drug addiction, crime, and murder than any other industrialized nation, and incarcerates more of its total population than any other country in the world. Looking at the above statistics one might ask if it would be better if religion were not there at all? First of all, Monotheistic cosmology presents the ideology of the holy “cosmic war’, a war eternally raging in the heavens pitting all good against all evil. This belief in the value of a “holy war” glorifies and legitimizes warfare. When the act of “good overcoming evil” becomes an act of sacred obligation, it provides “divine” legitimacy to everlasting violence. The mind-set of the society that embraces the “holy war” ideology contends that it is: our holy duty to destroy them for they are “evil” (Kosmin & Lachman, 1993). “When inflicting violent harm goes from being a choice to being a duty, it is fair to expect that the violence will become relentless, merciless and everlasting” (Baumeister, 1997). This relentless violence is amplified in the Monotheist’s moral code of reciprocity. The principle of reciprocity is the justification, motivation, the very essence of the concept of justice with reward and punishment. At its basic level, reciprocity is the principle of vengeance, "an eye for an eye", saith the Lord. The principle of reciprocity states that violent behavior in one group produces justification for violence by any and all opposing groups, thus creating the never-ending conflict. We see this all over the world today from Bosnia to Iraq from South Africa to China from Ireland to Israel from Afghanistan to right here in the United States. Furthermore, modern day monotheistic religions promote the ideology that violence is an acceptable form of conflict resolution. The Bible shows the Christian/Judeo God using violence to solve virtually all his conflicts (ie. the great flood, killing the first born of Egypt, leading the chosen ones to victory in battle, human sacrifice, etc.). Christians may argue that the “Son of God” came to bring peace to the earth by quoting scriptures such as “love thy neighbor” and “turn the other cheek”, yet, Jesus states in Mathew 10:34-36 that he came to earth not to promote peace but to bring violence. “Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword". For I came to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and a man's enemies will be the members of his household”, creating ambiguity at best (KJ Bible). As I mentioned in my previous journal entry, there are a few of the Christian sects such as the Quakers, Mennonites and Amish that embrace a non-violence sentiment, but even these so-called peace churches (right along side our massive, major religious institutions) socialize our society with the ideology that “violence is an acceptable form of conflict resolution” without even thinking about it. Eight out of ten kindergarten children in America know the story of David slaying Goliath; a little man killing a big man with a weapon. David, like the Christian God and so many of the Christian heroes, is promoting “violence as an acceptable form of conflict resolution” to even our youngest and most innocent citizens (Kosmin & Lachman, 1993). In a society where violence is sanctioned and even promoted by that societies moral intuitions, violence will be the norm. From “hockey dads” to “wilding gangs” to “city-wide riots” to everlasting “government military action”, each segment of society reflects its religious belief system on the whole. Such a society promotes the cultural norm that “violence is an acceptable means of conflict resolution” and helps legitimize a warrior culture that will fight the never-ending war against “evil”. Since the end of World War 11, the US government (intertwined with a massive military/industrial complex) has used these American values of “violence is acceptable form of conflict resolution” and the “holy war against evil” to keep the American “warrior culture” thriving, and to expand US influence, occupation and imperialism all over the world. For a warrior culture to survive and grow in a society, that society must remain in a state of constant or near-constant warfare. The Monotheist’s “eternal holy war” concept supports, legitimizes and encourages a never-ending war for peace. On the National level, the “war” against some “evil” keeps the masses scared, and gives the people a common enemy (so they approve of mass military spending). The citizens of a warrior culture need to give up a few personal freedoms in order for the government them safe from “evil”. From a worldwide view, the “war” allows American military intervention in any country at any time under the guise of fighting some “evil”. The last fifty years of US history reflect the common theme of a religious supported warrior culture. First came the “war” against the “evils” of Communism. The Republicans assumed control of Congress in 1953, and Joe McCarthy became chairman of the Senate permanent investigations subcommittee; a post in which he wielded great power. McCarthy used his position to exploit the public's fear of Communism. On the National level, the “war” against the “evils” Communism kept the masses scared and gave the US people a common enemy (so they approved of mass military spending). Of course, in order for the government to keep its citizens safe from “evil”, the US people needed to give up a few personal freedoms. From a worldwide view, the “war” allowed American military intervention in any country at any time under the guise of fighting “the evils of Communism” (Vidal, 2002). Second, as Communism began to crumble, the US began its longest and most expensive war; the war against the “evils” of drugs. Nixon launched this war against American citizens in 1972 at a time of extreme political and social unrest. For Nixon, the drug war was a method of wilding on "uppity blacks," "radical leftists" and "dirty" hippies" that he regarded as "second class citizens" and "traitors" to the American way of life. In the early 80’s, the Reagan/Bush prohibition machine stepped up the drug war with urine testing, property seizures, mandatory minimums, and a massive anti-cannabis propaganda campaign. In 1986, during the Bush and Quayle administration, the US government demanded drug testing for all its employees. Coincidentally, at this time both the Bush and the Quayle families were large stockholders in Lilly, Abbot and Bristol Pharmaceutical companies. In fact, Dan Quayle's father owned controlling interest in Lilly Pharmaceutical during the Bush presidency. Illegal drug smuggling by the CIA (Iran/Contra, etc.) created vast sums of unregulated money to fund illegal military operations inside and outside our nation’s boarders (Conrad, 1993). On the National level, The Drug War (like the war against Communism) kept the masses scared and gave the US people a common enemy (again approving of mass military spending). Of course, in order for the government to keep its citizens safe from “evil”, the US people again needed to give up a few personal freedoms. On a worldwide view, this “war” allowed American military intervention in any country at any time under the guise of fighting “the evils of drugs.” However, during the late 90’s The Drug War began losing popularity as several states approved medical marijuana, and hundreds of farmer coalitions began lobbing for the right to grow hemp (Norris and Resner, 1999). Without the war on drugs, the US military machine was forced to scale back. If there were no wars to fight, then the proposal by the US government to spend more than one half its total yearly budget ($330 billion) on the military would be unacceptable even to a hardened warrior culture. However, fortunately for America’s military/industrial complex, the US is now fighting a war against the “evils” of terrorism. Once again, on the National level, just like the wars against the “evils” of Communism and the “evils” of drugs, the war against the “evils” of terrorism keeps the masses scared and gives the US people a common enemy (once again approving mass military spending). Of course, in order for the government to keep its citizens safe from “evil”, the US people need to give up a few more personal freedoms. On a worldwide view, this “war” allows American military intervention in any country at any time under the guise of fighting “the evils of terrorism.” Monotheism socializes societies into accepting and embracing a warrior culture with a belief system that sanctifies and legitimizes “never-ending warfare” and violence. Led by a male dominated hierarchy, much like the church, the United States imposes its will on the world under the guise of moral peacemaking, thus, promoting “wilding” on a planetary scale. Bibliography Baumeister, Roy F., Evil – Inside Human Violence and Cruelty, Henry Holt and Company, New York, New York, 1997 Conrad, Chris. Hemp: Lifeline to the Future, Creative Xpressions Publications. Los Angeles, California: 1993. Norris, Mikki and Resner, Virginia: Shattered Lives: Portraits from America's Drug War, http://www.hr95.org/, 1999. Vidal, Gore: Perpetual War for Perpetual Peace, Thunder’s Mouth Press, New York, New York, 2002 Kosmin, Barry & Lachman, Semour P., One Nation Under God: Religion in Contemporary American Society, Harmony Books, New York, NY, 1993. The Bible, King James Version, International Bible Society, New Brunswick, New Jersey, 1978 Twain, Mark, Freedom Nest Quotes, http://www.freedomsnest.com/cgi-bin/qaq.cgi?ref=twamar&subject=religion, 1882 Copyright 2004 GrandaddyBonegrinder
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