The First Step

The war on the military battle-field or in the streets of the foreign city, where it is now usually fought, is no different in kind from the war being waged constantly within the individual human mind. There may be a difference of degree but essentially they are one and the same thing. The individual human mind has amassed a wealth of evidence to support the notion that it is an important separate identity and, put very simply, that sense of being a separate identity is the first step...
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The war on the military battle-field or in the streets of the foreign city, where it is now usually fought, is no different in kind from the war being waged constantly within the individual human mind. There may be a difference of degree but essentially they are one and the same thing. The individual human mind has amassed a wealth of evidence to support the notion that it is an important separate identity and, put very simply, that sense of being a separate identity is the first step to murder. From the idea of my self comes all the rest of it--my self-esteem, my values, my family, my tribe, my nation, my culture, my beliefs, my rights, and so forth--and thus the foundations are laid from which one views the whole of the world. One may view that world positively or negatively, or sentimentally or coldly, depending upon the nature of the personal foundation but whichever way one views the world, it is a personal viewpoint born out of all the accumulated memories and interpretations of one's own experiences and responses both good and bad. This notion of individuality is bound to bring about conflict with others; conflict in varying degrees and with varying forms, from our minor domestic disputes to the full-blown military campaign.