Swords Into Plowshares

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Swords Into Plowshares

The prophet Isaiah declared, “And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.” (New International Version) This scripture is prominently displayed upon the walls of the United Nations in New York. The charter of the United Nations a document written with the purpose of promoting peace and the endeavor to avoid another world war. 1945 the end of the Second World War ushered in a new age; this period is considered the Cold War.

Winston Churchill the visionary and transformational figure during World War II spoke of the Iron Curtain, his words are pertinent to the threats we face today. “We have to consider here today while time remains, is the permanent prevention of war and the establishment of conditions of freedom and democracy as rapidly as possible in all countries. Our difficulties and dangers will not be removed by closing our eyes to them. They will not be removed by mere waiting to see what happens; nor will they be removed by a policy of appeasement,” (Chuchill) The years following World War II Communism began its march upon Europe and reached into Southeast Asia. No two conflicts define the struggle within the Cold War more than Korea and Vietnam. The Korean and Vietnam conflicts combined shed the blood of over 100, 000 Americans, all for the purpose of saving democracy around the world. Why would President Truman and preceding Presidents involve the American people in wars not politically popular and can do harm to the nation’s morale? The Korean War a United Nations sanctioned conflict. T...

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...theory is a collectivist philosophy. “Critical theorists hope to create pluralistic security communities, where states behave according to the same norms or institutions that underpin collective security. States would renounce the use of military force, and there would instead be generally shared expectations of peaceful change. Furthermore, states would identify positively with one another so that the security of each is perceived as the responsibility of all. States would not think in terms of self-help or self-interest, but would instead define their interests in terms of the international community. In this new world, national interests are international interests.” A new threat to world peace is “Ideological Islamic Terror.” History will judge our efforts, but until then mankind needs to keep working at how swords can be turned into plowshares.

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