Dear Editor:

At one time the people of ancient Greece, and a later time the ancient people of Rome, and in more recent times, the people of England, had the military power to largely determine what would happen in their world.   Each claimed to be using their military power to promote "good will and peace" among the people of their world.   We know how miserably they failed. 

Militarily, the United States is standing today in their old shoes.   We have the military power to largely determine what happens in our world today. But a society free of poverty and war cannot be created by war and violent means.   Until we face up to that fact, there cannot be a society free of poverty and war.  My generation failed to sponsor a movement toward creating such a society.  We allowed ourselves to drift along with the swift currents of militarism and never came to terms with an ethical world and life view that would justify and make compelling such a movement.  Our opportunity to do so is history. Surely we know by now we cannot create such a society using military means.   If we tried, really tried and failed, to create a poverty war free world using non military means, I can not believe we would be any worse off than we will be if we give ourselves no other choice but to continue fighting and killing one another with modern weapons of war.         

Sincerely,

John B. Isom