I learned about history from my Great-Great Uncle
Robert, who was himself born in 1883, and witnessed both the Great World Wars
as an adult. By the time I was introduced to the world wars as part of my
history education, I already had a feel
for the climate of war, or the state of affairs that signal a tinder box
of influences have converged to set the stage for ‘war’, or the preliminary
technological and economic behaviors of today’s modern war. There have been
hints of a ‘Third World War’ cropping up in the news, either as a direct
suggestion, an innuendo, or as a likely path that the world is headed
toward. Pope Francis spoke of war
September, 2013 when he was quoted as saying "Even today, after the second
failure of another world war, perhaps one can speak of a third war, one fought
piecemeal, with crimes, massacres, destruction," The UK Telegraph The UK Telegraph: Pope Warns of a Third Wold War
Is the presumption that another Great War is in the
making a paranoid idea of those inclined to yell ‘the sky is falling’, or is it
a real and an imminent threat supported by experts in the fields of politics
and economics? According to The Examiner, credible experts suggest a legitimate fear of a third world war, due to the
unstable global economy and the complicated mixture of security threats as well
as the resulting alliances that may result. The stage is set for world mayhem, as leaders
struggle to maintain the fragile hold on the relative ‘peace and security’ that
exists within their countries as nuclear weapons are being forged by North
Korea and by Syria
It is important to
note that only five nations are legally allowed to have weapons, and they are China, France, Russia, the UK and
the USA, with the U.S.A. and Russia holding 93% of the world’s total nuclear
arsenal.
Russia and
the United States were the two big players in the nuclear armaments race when I
was young (my age shall remain a mystery). During the 1970’s the armaments race had created so many nuclear
weapons, and created such fear that we kids had ‘Fallout Shelter’ training in
the schools as we watched reels of film in darkened classrooms warning of what
to do in case of the ever possible nuclear fallout from a nuclear bomb.
Little did we know at that time the combined total of destructive
nuclear power would have wiped the planet clean of all human life many times
over, not to mention animal and plant life. We had more to fear then than we could
possibly imagine. The world today has much more to fear.
Today the
international world is more connected than it has ever been at any time in the
past, with over 7 billion people 7 Billion People: The Worldometer in
196 countries, connected by an economy that affects the world through
interconnected global markets, and networked through social networks via the
internet. The world has changed drastically in the last fifty years, as
information and ideas are exchanged at lightning speed. The economic chains
that connect the global markets are subject to the power of information. The
minute the job markets reports losses, or the Gross Domestic Product drops, the
stock market reflects the changes internationally, as though the market itself
is a giant thermometer measuring the world’s temperature. Fear breeds fear, and
the emotional climate of the world is part of the recipe for either stability
or chaos. The United States, Great Britain, and the United Nations, have served
to aid in the stabilization of the international political scene, as well as
serving to foster a spirit of soundness in the world. The principles and values
of great democracies promote unification of the world as well as the humanitarian
treatment of others, and the United States is a leader in that regard, serving
as a world ‘police presence’ of sorts when great atrocities are committed.
The United
States is not only a world leader, but it is considered to be the sole ‘superpower’, although
China, India, and the European Union, are close on its heels and subject to
gaining superpower status during this century. So why is there a reason to
fear?
The appeal
of what seemed at first to be radical acts of a few deranged groups, is now
gaining ground all over the world: ISIS. Although ISIS is a relatively small
force, with a wicked ideology, the danger is not so much a result of the power
they hold among their own, but the danger lies in their appeal to lost souls,
and disenfranchised individuals looking for a cause. When the world climate is
stable, groups like ISIS are not as powerful; their power grows when too many
people are unhappy and confused. Chaos breeds chaos.
Will there
be a Third Great War? No one knows, or can know, but the signs of war are
foreboding in the chaos and ‘piecemeal’ chaos, with “crimes, massacre and
destruction” as Pope Francis stated.
http://www.worldometers.info/world-population/
