Peace,
Sept. 11 and planetary thinking
Jennie M Xue ;
An author
and columnist based in Northern California
|
JAKARTA
POST, 09 September 2014
Peace
is simple, the Sept. 11 tragedy was horrible, Brand Islam needs revamping and
the world needs to think on a planetary level. But human beings make things
complicated and peace is a luxury in this chaotic world. We can change the
world for the better if we all work hand-in-hand in making peace universal.
Victor
Hugo in Oration on Voltaire wrote: “If barbarism persists, then philosophy
must protest. If the sword is relentless, then civilization must denounce
it.”
I
was in Jakarta when Indonesia experienced the May 1998 tragedy and I had just
returned that summer from New York City when Sept. 11, 2001 occurred. I
climbed up the observation deck at the World Trade Center and enjoyed the
foggy view of Manhattan, not knowing that it would be my last time standing
in that building.
In
1998 in Indonesia and in 2001 in the US, I saw firsthand the devastating
consequences of inhumane acts of killing and violence. Blood, tears, fire and
rubble. Death, orphans, bodies, amputees, victims and survivors.
It
was as if hell had broken loose. On earth. Enough.
The
world has become a bit gloomier with those two incidents, yet they taught me
an important lesson: hatred is loud and love is silent. To fight hatred, we
must amplify love as loudly as possible. With anything and everything we
have: debate, media coverage, teaching, speaking, writing and other creative
ways to disseminate the core message.
We
also must cut the financial sources of militant extremists and terrorist
groups.
Recently,
we read and watched videos about the beheadings of two American journalists,
James Foley and Steven Sotloff, by the Islamic State (IS) organization — by
far the most extreme of extremists. As if the “brand” of Islam hadn’t been
tarnished enough, IS flaunted the term “Islam” in a horrific and
terrorizing
way.
US
President Barack Obama has made a statement to fight back against IS and the
military has been using force to do so, which the world appreciates. This
time around, I support a US military attack. Humanity must be saved, loudly
and militantly.
Obviously
IS is much more dangerous than al-Qaeda, as it aims to claim territories, not
merely to attack individuals and symbols of freedom. Carefully review these
numbers to better grasp how powerful the group is.
IS
owns US$2 billion in cash and makes $3 million per day from oil and other
assets since the capture of Mosul in Iraq. By comparison, the Taliban has
$560 million, Hezbollah $500 million, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of
Columbia (FARC) $350 million, al-Shabaab $100 million and Hamas $70 million.
Six
million people are living under IS control across 90,650 square kilometers in
Syria and Iraq. The group aspires to occupy 1,2 milion square km by reversing
the Sykes-Picot Agreement of 1916. There are already 80,000 personnel
fighting for IS.
Scientifically
and technologically speaking, the human race has reached a point in which it
has started to search for other planets to inhabit. City College of New York
theoretical physics professor Michio Kaku, who is also one of the founders of
string theory, once said that based on patterns of energy consumption there
are three levels of extraterrestrial civilization: planetary, stellar and
galactic.
Today,
the earth has not even reached level one. We are now at level zero, for we
rely on planetary-based energy consumption, which has obviously been
financing the IS terror on humanity.
At
level zero, sectarian wars and conflicts are focused on obtaining the
greatest amount of natural resources, aka energy.
At
level one, the whole planet can be self-sustaining using renewable resources.
At level two, collaboration between planets in galaxies is possible. And at
level three, intergalactic communications are possible, allowing planets and
galaxies to be united in federations.
Yet,
the hard truth today is that the name of a religion has been used to justify
unforgivable crimes against humanity.
At
level zero of extraterrestrial civilization, we must fight various elements
that could result in our early extinction.
Maintaining
and disseminating messages of peace is of utmost urgency today. We don’t need
another Sept. 11 tragedy to remind ourselves of the message. Let’s just think
and act on a planetary level, not sectarian. ●
|
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar