Military force will not bring peace

To the editor:

Every day we hear more people demanding border security and military action to defeat ISIS; we hear the need for more guns, to put American military boots on the ground and close our borders to Syrian refugees. We claim to be a peaceful and powerful nation; any nation, even the most powerful, cannot create peace by using only police and military force in futile efforts to destroy evil in our world.

World War I was described as the 'war to end all wars.” Leaders and governments of victorious nations created new borders for defeated countries but ignored ethnic boundaries for large groups of people with no desire to build peace or national unity. Nearly a century later, many ethnic groups are still inflicting punishment and revenge for decisions made years ago. After 9/11, while ignoring history, we heard these words: 'we need to bomb them back to the stone age.” Before invading Iraq, we heard our national and military leaders use the term 'shock and awe.” These actions and words have created lasting memories for future generations. None of these words and very few military actions have resulted in security for the survivors or lasting peace.

Our collective anger and fear blended with a false sense of pride in the ability of our military - to destroy and eliminate - will result in unintended consequences: Matthew: 12:45, 'Then the spirit finds seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they go in and live there. And that person is worse off than before.”

Phil Owen

Monticello