War is not part of our human nature. It is not inevitable and is not an inherited trait. So what is it about our biology that makes us susceptible to war? It’s a cultural invention. Over the past 10,000 years we’ve had dominating societies where the primary decisions were made by men. There are consequences of taking women out of the decision making process in regards to war. Additionally, Judith has found that the fear of scarce resources sometimes drives people to war. It makes us vulnerable to war mongers, who come in and take advantage of that fear thinking. They stir up the fear of lack in order to form an army.
Segment 2: Peace Systems. Judith believes we can create “peace systems.” For example, the European Union was created because people were tired of the brutality and the waste of WWII. They had a vision and they created the European Union, which is an example of a peace system. Another example is the United States. We decided that we would be united and solve our conflicts by using a court system. When the global community becomes aware that war mongers are causing war, and when they decide to stop being drawn into the scare tactics and instead create a global peace system with treaties, boycotts, and sanctions, peace happens.
So how do we deal with economic dislocation when we stop creating weapons? There is no simple answer as it would affect jobs and big money, but the citizens can start by telling their government that they would “prefer to spend the money in other ways rather than in arms and defense.” The only people who make money off of war is the war industry. It’s bad for business such as Target, Google and Apple to have war.
Segment 3: Less corruption and less war. There is an emphasis on the role of women in creating a peaceful world, because of their biological make-up. Their child-bearing DNA requires social stability. Although women are aggressive just like men, when it comes to using physical conflict, there is a difference. Biologically, a woman carries a child, takes the risk of childbirth, feeds the child, and protects the child for at least 12 years until they can reproduce on their own. It is a much bigger biological investment than what men invest. Women have been adapted to WANT social stability in their community, where they are raising their children. Therefore women have a lot of traits that help them resolve conflict without violence. Where women are involved in leadership in a society, there’s less corruption and less war.
Segment 4: War is not an inherited trait. So how do we manage population growth, strain on resources and climate change in a non-violent way? Judith says there is an answer: there is a general global hungering to avoid war because our survival instinct has been triggered. There is a sense that what we’ve been doing in the past has to change. War is NOT inevitable. The threats that are coming at us can actually unite us instead of tear us apart. To learn more about Judith’s work please visit http://www.afww.org/.
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