War is a complex problem which will not be easy to solve. The reason for this is that war has many underlying causes that are often difficult to identify and change. There are economic imperatives and land issues, There are anger issues, intolerance issues and the inability of leaders to compromise on conflicting goals. There are the masculinity issues about being a warrior and perhaps even many as yet undiscovered factors that propel us toward war. Until all of these underlying issues are identified and the appropriate actions taken, we will never be able to look forward to a world without war,

When each of us ultimately becomes more aware and begins to identify these obstacles and then commit ourselves to work toward making the necessary changes, one problem at a time, only then will we will begin to see the beginnings of a more reasonable, a more cooperative and a better functioning world where all people will be able to look forward to a brighter future which will finally allow them to live dignified and peaceful lives.

According to scientific thought, our planet is now 4.5 billion years of age. Since the first humans began to roam the earth millions of years ago, their first instinct was to find food and defend themselves-- violently when necessary. We are still functioning in this primitive, violent way these many millions of years later, not taking into account that the world is no longer the same and human beings are no longer cave dwellers. Since the advent of the hydrogen bomb, our way of thinking about war must change. We are on the brink of total annihilation either through the complete destruction of our world or through released radioactivity which will kill or injure everyone on our planet. War is no longer a rational way of solving differences.

How will we secure our future without resorting to war? It means that alternative ways must be found to put pressure on rogue states— diplomacy, sanctions, increased dialogue and the ability of the rational world to try to understand the thinking and the motivations of others and the ability of everyone in confrontational circumstances to make compromises. There is no longer any other alternative. The time is now. More and more small unstable countries are getting the bomb, and we can no longer pretend that this danger does not exist.

All of us who care about the future must put our energies to this task, or we will be facing a time when this wonderful earth that we love so much will be reduced to a few atoms of radioactive dust.