swords into plowshares; spears into pruning hooks

"Make media boxes, not bullets."


What a slogan.





I had to look up this word:  gestalt.


"an organized whole that is perceived as more than the sum of its parts"


-------------------------- A customer on the internet discussed an mp3 player that cost less than twelve dollars, finishing his review with these words:


"Made in China,


It is the Gestalt of the global economy.


Make media boxes, not bullets.


Viva capitalism!"


--------------------------- It's like -- spreading, or extending capitalism all around the globe, so that everyone may participate and benefit.





World peace was tried, after World War I, with the League of Nations.


-------------------- The Free Encyclopedia says, "The onset of the Second World War showed that the League had failed its primary purpose, which was to prevent any future world war....Germany withdrew from the League, as did Japan, Italy, Spain, and others. ..."


After World War II, we tried the United Nations.


The United Nations lasted, and does good things, but there was still the Korean War and the Vietnam War under the umbrella of the Cold War, plus Gulf War...


-----------------------


(Was thinking here a couple days ago -- the CIA wouldn't have to do things in secret -- "covert operations" -- if we, the public, were less critical of them...That's not right -- arming the Afghan freedom fighters during the 1980s had to be kept secret from the -- [hello] -- Soviets ... I got mired in one aspect -- the domestic p.r., and momentarily forgot big picture. -- "light dawns on Marblehead")


Am going to see world peace in my lifetime, I think.


Not a "perfect world" -- but world peace through free trade.





"People always find something to go to war about -- if it isn't money, it's religion," someone said; it's true -- it's been true in the past.  Things can get better, though.  Life, and mankind, have improved.  (President Kennedy said something like, The past does not define the future.  Or -- does not predict the future...something like that...)


The League of Nations improved things somewhat.


Then the United Nations did its best and helped modern life, and furthered the goal of peace.


And now we have globalization -- extending a modern lifestyle of peace and prosperity (relatively speaking) to all people.


Of course the challenges will be myriad.  But if we look at the big picture, it's a very exciting time we live in.





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