by Michael Douglas Carlin
Mention the word "peace" in almost any crowd and watch the eyes start to roll. People don't really believe that we can have peace on the planet.
–Plato
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Mention the word "peace" in almost any crowd and watch the eyes start to roll. People don't really believe that we can have peace on the planet.
I actually believe we can attain world peace in a generation or two. I not only believe it, I am confident that we will move toward peace as the next reinvention of humanity.
Why am I so confident?
I ride a motorcycle through the streets of Los Angeles. The motorcycle makes me feel free. It liberates me from time to time when the pressures of life pull at me. In riding the streets, I deal with danger every day. The danger I deal with is nothing compared to what it could be. It amazes me that people from all races, cultures, creeds, religions and walks of life are able to descend upon Los Angeles and quickly pick up on our traffic system. Men and women from all over the world become cab drivers in Los Angeles. The traffic system in their own country may be dysfunctional, but they learn to function and thrive here. They learn to speak enough English and become extremely well versed in traffic laws and driving techniques.
Each day, millions of cars and commuters drive throughout the streets of Los Angeles with a statistically insignificant number of accidents (number of trips vs. number of accidents). How is this possible? In all of America, we have traffic laws and a system of moving people and cars that is highly organized. Peace comes from organization, not chaos. The peace-filled world will mimic traffic in Los Angeles.
We have dashed white lines, solid white lines, dashed yellow lines, solid yellow lines and solid double yellow lines. The American driver knows what each line means and consciously makes choices to keep traffic flowing. The solid double yellow line painted on the two lane highway keeps cars flowing in opposite directions from colliding. Isn't that a mind blowing concept that a line painted on the road can keep people with opposing agendas from killing each other? A mere line? I am fascinated by all the traffic laws and the system of traffic lights, road signs, roads, streets, highways, freeways, and toll-ways that keep America moving. What lies at the foundation of this system and the other systems that create peaceful coexistence in America is the "Rule of Law."
Thomas Paine, in Common Sense, stated that, "In America, the law is king. For as in absolute governments the King is law, so in free countries the law ought to be king; and there ought to be no other." The streets of Los Angeles confirm this.
Peace is attainable by drafting lines throughout all aspects of society. Many of the lines have already been drawn, and many have yet to be drawn. Can you see why I believe that peace can exist? Those of you who rolled your eyes might want to take a second look at the building blocks of peace. I invite those of you who are becoming believers to participate in the discussion that will ultimately lead to world peace. Who are the shapers of this peace? Everyone has a voice and a vote, but lawyers will be at the forefront of the discussion. Lawyers are at every bottleneck associated with the rule of law. Lawyers judge, advocate, legislate and litigate. Lawyers are drawing the white lines and yellow lines that build the balanced road of peace and freedom that will coexist.
If you want to torpedo the peace process, simply create a class of people who are above the law and wait for the backlash. In our peace-filled world, no person will be above the law. This will keep people solving problems through logic and reason instead of resorting to personal attacks and violence.
Logic and reason prevail only when people have what they need. We all remember sitting in our first economics class, where we were taught that the first principle of economics is "scarcity." We are sold this enormous lie, and we become agents who give this lie power. If we all agree that resources are scarce, we agree to overpay for them. The first law of economics is that necessary resources are abundant.
Two thirds of the world is covered with water, and the sun provides us with all the energy that we need to survive and thrive. Technology has freed us from the shackles of scarcity.
Individuals can be recycled one or two at a time. Each person who takes responsibility for himself or herself grows independent of the "system" and becomes a productive part of society.
Each time violence rises to the level of genocide, an entire generation is lost to dysfunction and to the denigration of the community. Community works when all elements work in harmony. Schools, faith-based organizations, police, fire, parks, courts, jails, shops, restaurants, and a myriad of other elements make up the peaceful community. An abundance of services keeps people happy and working together.
Scarcity creates imbalance, which leads to unmet needs, jealousy, crime and dysfunction.
In America we don't cross yellow lines, because there are traffic laws that forbid us from crossing yellow lines. The attorneys will create the yellow lines of the future.
Where the law is subject to some other authority and has none of its own, the collapse of the state, in my view, is not far off; but if law is the master of the government and the government is its slave, then the situation is full of promise and men enjoy all the blessings that the gods shower on a state.
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