Security or Peace? No. Security AND Peace

I never tire of repeating that during so many centuries of absolute male dominance, force has prevailed over reason, with leaders shielded in the perverse proverb “if you want peace, prepare for war”, encouraged by the most dour alarms and threats from weapons manufacturers interested having peace appear simply as a pause between two wars. 

For that reason I likewise never tire of repeating that the colossal investments made in “human security” amount to 4,000 million dollars daily, while in that same 24-hour period 60,000-70,000 people die from hunger and neglect. 

The promoters of “human security” at all costs travel the earth while rubbing their hands in delight at the profits made from the war machines they sell, even to the poorest countries, because “security comes first”. 

Thus they sell the latest model bombers to poverty-stricken countries… And in order to honor its commitments to NATO, Europe charges huge sums to countries like Spain in which budget cuts are being imposed on education, health care and R + D + innovation. This is incongruous and senseless, but security is security… 

But in this essential aspect I also believe that the present system is coming to an end. Thanks to the potential for distance participation that new communications technologies provide, for the first time in history the “peoples” may fulfill the immense responsibility assumed when they decided to “save succeeding generations from the scourge of war”. 

Peace or security? No. Now peace AND security. 

From subjects to citizens. To human beings who are committed, and not merely spectators. Citizens of the world who can transform that sinister proverb into “if you want peace, help build it in your daily lives, with your peaceful but firm dissent, through your attitudes”. 

The time for submission has passed. “We, the Peoples”… are taking the reins. 

A new era is dawning.