Is Civilization Worth Saving?

Civilization: An advanced stage of development in the arts and sciences accompanied by corresponding social, political, and cultural complexity.  Culture: 1. The totality of socially transmitted behavior patterns, art, beliefs, institutions, and all other products of human work and thoughts characteristic of as community or population. 2. The act of developing the social, moral, and intellectual facilities through education.

(The American Heritage Dictionary)

One would think that building a consensus on the need to save civilization would be the easiest part of the problem.  But history records otherwise.  The issue turns not so much on what civilization is, as on strongly held beliefs of what civilization isn’t, or more specifically, what is civilized conduct. 

Is it agreed that any group that kills or approves the killing of innocent civilians should be called uncivilized or lacking culture?  But such slaughter has been so ubiquitous throughout history, that by dint of acceptance it is clearly under the umbrella of civilized conduct.

But what may have been accepted or at least tolerated when accomplished by stick, spear, arrow, cannon and conventional explosives has amazingly survived long into the era of weapons of mass destruction (WMD).  For over sixty-years we have had the physical capability of ending civilization on earth by massive loss of life, overwhelming medical care systems and poisoning the food chain for thousands of years.   

That being the case, one issue is whether civilization as it has evolved is worth saving?

P.E.A.C.E. Inc believes that it is, and its principal agenda is to participate with the future leaders of the world, future leaders from all countries and cultures, in education, research, analysis and developing and implementing strategies of non-violent conflict resolution at all levels of society.

This work can and needs to be conducted in every part of society.  Important players include, business, military and intelligence communities, religions, non-government organizations, and education.

We have selected the college and university level of education for our first focus primarily because a significant number of the world’s future leaders in all areas of society pass through that system.

The Sustainable Peace and Development (SPD) program has been designed to provide students during their college/university years with a set of tools, with a system as powerful for non-violent conflict resolution as the Pentagon’s Command, Control, Communications and Intelligence (C3I) system is for war.

The assumption and expectation is that the SPD program at each host school will develop uniquely, reflecting the customs and culture of the country and region.

There is no governing body overseeing the building global SPD network.  SPD host schools will make independent decisions concerning the type of formal and informal relationships they will have with each other. P.E.A.C.E. Inc has a number of ideas in this area, and will discuss these when asked.

The SPD program will be a comfortable fit for schools with existing peace studies, peace research, and/or international studies programs.  It can be integrated easily within any of these programs.  There is no need for it to have any special Center or program status unless that suits the need of a particular situation.

P.E.A.C.E. Inc has written a Consequences and Costs of Hosting the SPD Program document.  Sixteen items are detailed that in sum assert the positive anticipated consequences for the college or university that becomes a SPD program host.  While this promotional paper is accurate, it does not address issues that would keep the SPD program from functioning as designed, or prohibit the introduction of the SPD program.

Limits on or of the SPD program include the following:

The SPD program is designed to be student-run.  Its local, regional and international success depends upon the establishment and maintenance of a database by students to support their academic activity.  A country that has a policy that restricts full student access to the World Wide Web will not realize the full potential of the SPD program.

The SPD program is designed to function in a college and university that is independent, tolerant and supportive of differing viewpoints.   A college or university in a country or culture that restricts discussion of subjects because of religious, ideological or any other reasons will not have a fully functioning SPD program.

A model university for the SPD program is one that has a strong liberal arts college with mature academic departments in history, political science, anthropology, sociology, psychology and religion.  Professional programs in business, law, medicine, agriculture, and education are also part of the model.  Institutes and Centers on Peace Studies, Peace Research, and Conflict Resolution obviously are desirable, as would be a School of International Service such as that found at the American University in Washington, D.C.

Other model attributes can be named, but colleges and universities that do not fully match the model are not at great disadvantage as a SPD program host.  This is because each host has the option of becoming a College/University Partner in Peace with other SPD host schools and link in a variety of mutually desirable ways for SPD program support.

The SPD program is multi-discipline within a university, and multi-cultural regionally and globally.  It has the capability to integrate every academic discipline with a thematic focus.  The SPD program software system is neutral as to focus, being a tool-set for use.  It will be the database and intent of the user that will determine how a particular SPD host uses the program.  More directly, the SPD program could be diverted from its designed use for peace and conflict resolution.  In this instance it is no different from the potential abuse of any tool, fire being a classical example.

The SPD program is designed as a practicum in democratic functioning.  It is expected that responsible students will run the program within the norms of the host university.  The program will be a continuing test site of the democracy of knowledge.  It has been stated that there is complete democracy in mathematics and physics.  We strongly believe that democracy is also inherent in open source information of every discipline.  Testing this belief will most certainly demonstrate the stimulation, frustration, strengths and fragility of freedom in the global marketplace of ideas. 

A paradox of knowledge is admitted and probably must be endured.  Knowledge can be the basis of hope for understanding that can lead to peaceful resolution of potential conflict.   Knowledge can also be the basis of despair when it supports fear and prejudice.

The point we are making here is that an extensive database of information and a powerful computer system to manipulate it can be a very valuable part of conflict resolution and peacemaking, but their utility depends entirely upon dedicated individuals imbued with ethical and moral values and the will to apply them with justice.

In the SPD program, these dedicated individuals are faculty and students who are wise enough to recognize that the world is in a precarious situation; a dangerous mix of climate, environment, political, economic and weapon technology challenges. These individuals are also responsible and bold enough to vest their energy in study and fieldwork to increase the probability that they will live in a future world with safe air, pure water, and a greatly diminished shadow of war and the predictable consequences of weapon technology.

It is our opinion that none of the current institutions of peace, and certainly not the nation state system, are alone capable of avoiding both slow moving catastrophes and earth ending use of weapons of mass destruction. Mobilizing the energy of the future leaders of the world to assure their own more peaceful world, but more basically that they will inherit a livable world, is necessary and gives hope for survival of civilization.  The SPD program will be a most useful tool in this undertaking.  It is our gift from P.E.A.C.E. Inc.

Civilization is undergoing great transformation. Evidence of this bolsters the extreme positions of both the optimist and the pessimist. Hope based optimism and fear based pessimism is the currency of these different assessments. But spins on reality in both camps are augers for the grave of civilization as it is currently defined.

The nation-state system is dysfunctional, completely incapable of feeding, healing and providing security for billions of its citizens. Rapacious economic systems are addicted to profit, and corruption compounds the condition. Our proclivity to institutional and personal violence to each other and to Earth is probably a case study on many other planets that survived their adolescence.

There is zero expectation that the Visiting Others have arrived to save us from the consequences of our poor decisions and stubbornness to make changes clearly required to survive. What very likely will happen is that the arbiters of the global status quo will declare the Visiting Others to be the ultimate threat to the world that must be resisted to the end. Unless you are one of the arbiters, it will be hard to understand why the obscene profits from the ultimate and certainly last great “defense” claim on resources is really necessary.

It will be at this point when the con of war will be transparent. The Visiting Others will not engage, and false flag operations will be perceived for what they are. If nature, particularly in the form of the return of Planet X, does not close the book of life on Earth, there is a chance that the life saving transformation of homo sapiens to sapiens sapiens will take place.

The reader has the option of being a terrified observer, or a participant in transformation based upon knowledge that is available now. Herbert Spencer, the astute 19th century English philosopher and political theorist nailed this years ago in two sage statements: “The great aim of education is not knowledge but action,” and “There is a principle which is a bar against all information, which is proof against all arguments and which cannot fail to keep man in everlasting ignorance – that principal is contempt prior to investigation.”