Posted July 14, 2006. By Rick Grant rickgrant01@comcast.net

Rodney King said, "Can't we all just get along." No! Since the dawn of humankind when homo sapiens walked upright, war is coded in our DNA. It's part of the human condition. We exisit therefore we fight. It seems we will have to evolve another step as a species to overcome this legacy of solving conflicts by violence. Rhetorically, we ask: How much blood do we have to shed before talking seems like a good idea?

Today, Israel is warring with Jordanian terrorists, and as usual, innocent civilians are paying the price. In Iraq, every man, woman, and child carry AK-47 assault rifles. If you look at someone funny, they shoot you. Warring factions are engaged in a three way civil war, with American soliders caught in the middle. In America, every urban jungle is plagued by gun violence and murders. The mayor of Washington D.C. declared a crime emergency because of the burgeoning murder rate. Perhaps, when the streets are flooded with blood, maybe then we will stop killing each other.

No, not even then. It's a call to a higher consciousness when conflict management is preferable to killing. But the real prolem is wars are being waged in the name of God by factions who think they have God on their side. So, kill, kill, kill in the name of Alah or God. But who is right? Ah, once you believe that God is on your side, you are convinced you are right.

It's simple: To reduce violence and war--leave God out of conflicts and people might be more rational. Religious zealots are loose cannons who have justified their cause--thus, to them, killing is sanctioned in God's name. "Thou shall not kill," except if the people you are killing do not believe in your self styled dogma. It's absurd, but that's how they think.

No, Rodney, we cant' get along. Now, where's my M-16, surely there is someone who needs killing? Yeah, that guy who put me on hold for twenty minutes has got to go. That idiot at the Motor Vehicle, he's on my list. Yeah, it's a long list. But wait just a darn minute. I haven't got time to terminate my enemies with extreme prejudice because I'm not sure God is on my side. Dang! And I was lock and loaded. Well it worth pondering! Meanwhile wars rage on.