The End of Times

Eversince the dawn of the Neanderthal, mankind has been in mortal combat. Real combat is seldom seen in the movies, or TV, it is simply too graphic to show to the public. The truth of the matter, is warfare is a horrifying sight. First, let me mention that fighting in and of itself is an ugly affair. There is no such thing as a pretty war. Idyllicly it would be a beautiful dream to see brotherly love amongst all mankind, however, this dream is more far-fetched than the one I'm about to speak of, namely self-destruction. The real question is, why do people fight to begin with? I think most can answer this question , namely money, the total lust for power, position, and control of others.

The bulk of our national debt is spent on the tools of war. Billions of dollars of our national budget go towards development of new weapons that have one purpose and one purpose only, namely to destroy life. I think because of the nature of man, it is most unlikely that we will ever see the end of fighting. If fighting is to stop at all, I think this will only happen when we encounter the next nuclear holocaust and we destroy the world completely. Is this possible? I think it should be obvious, it is very possible. It is just a matter of time before some mad man pushes the button to start the beginning of the end of mankind. It is only a matter of time, and circumstance that this will occur.

The only way to prevent the total annihilation of all human kind, is a total ban of all nuclear weapons, which I doubt I will ever see in my lifetime or my children's lifetime. All it takes is one madman to start the beginning of the end. I would think most would agree we have plenty of those madman in the world today. To me it is more shocking that it has not already occurred. Most are unaware that we came within minutes of a nuclear disaster at the time of John F. Kennedy. This occurred when the United States put up a naval blockade against Russian ships to deliver nuclear devices to Cuba. It was a standoff, I will never forget, for I was part of that engagement. This was known as the Cuban Missile Crisis, which Cuba was building military sites which would enable them to launch nuclear missiles at the United States. It was a frightening affair that will always stay embedded in my memory.

It would be a wonderful thought to think mankind will be around for a long long time. But I am not that naïve to think that this could be true. As smart as mankind is, we are equally that dumb. If a natural disaster such as an earthquake, global warming, meteor strike to the earth, or some other natural disaster doesn't finish us off, I'm sure, mankind will destroy itself.

In my opinion, it is only a fanciful dream that all of mankind will someday unite as brothers and sisters in this world. The reason for this, is that mankind's frailties will always prevail namely, greed, hatred and power. In my humble opinion, total world enlightenment is highly unlikely. Even the Bible predicts an end to mankind known as Armageddon. It would appear that even God himself does not think man has a chance to discover peace on earth.

None of this is to say that there are not any good people in the world, for the truth of the matter is there are numerous amounts of people who feel the way I feel. But because of mankind's frailties the end of times is inevitable, it is only a matter of when.

If you're an avid news observer, I believe it's quite obvious to see all the violence that is occurring in the world around us. People against people, state against state, country against country, the list of violence goes on and on. I can't recall in my entire life when I ever watch the news where I did not see violence of some sort going on in the world. There have been many predictions about the end of the world, they come and they go and some will tell you this is been going on since the beginning of recorded history. This is true, but the odds of any one of these predictions coming true is highly favorable in today's tense world. Each year another country attains nuclear weapons, they are not decreasing in number,rather, they are increasing in number. All it will take is for one country to push the first button, this will start the chain reaction that will ensure total worldly annihilation. It is idyllic to think that all of mankind will discover brotherly love before we destroy ourselves completely.

I am not one to stand on a corner with a sign saying the end of the world is near, but I think the facts speak for themselves, with all the tension we have in the world at this very moment. Nothing lasts forever, and if nature itself doesn't destroy this world, I firmly believe mankind will do the job for mother nature by total self annihilation.

In conclusion, would it be fair for me to say that there is no hope at all for mankind? I won't say this, for there is always hope. But it is my humble opinion this would entail a miracle of some sort. All those who agree with me, can only hope and pray for such a miracle. If mankind can wake up in time, we in fact have the abilities to create a wonderful future for all of humanity. Just maybe, mankind will wake up in time, before we have to pay the ultimate price.