Rather than argue a particular point of view about the importance of psychopathology in political leaders (history has shown numerous examples from Hitler to Nixon to GW Bush-as Bion said lies 'poison' the liars mind), and aware that no one on this list has reduced the causes of war to individual psychodynamics (I recently posted a well researched sociological analysis of the multiple causes of war done by specialists in the area), instead, I am posting some thoughts and prayers on the subject from the various world spiritualities. Our beliefs, like delusions, serve important functions for us, and research has shown that even when confronted with contradictory evidence (e.g., cognitive dissonance), people cling to their beliefs, As neurologist Richard Cytowic (see his "The Neurological Side of Neuropsychology" published in 1996 by The MIT Press) demonstrated, the limbic/emotional areas of the brain are quite extensive and often strongly influence prefrontal/rational functioning. It seems to me that peace is not just a matter of responding to aggression in self defence either through preemptive wars or what have you, but rather a sustained working towards justice and alleviation of the root causes of war, e.g., racism, poverty, unemployment, history of narcissistic injuries, access to needed resources, etc. People are more vulnerable to political leaders who exhibit what Kernberg and colleagues have called "malignant narcissism" (or what Herbert Rosenfeld has termed "destructive narcissism") when they are suffering from difficult sociological and economic conditions (which breeds a feeling 'what do we have to lose'). I see these thoughts and prayers as reflective of the strength and integrity of the human spirit during times of adversity (rather than falling back on collective and individual splitting processes).
Through the years I have been helped through dialogues with various colleagues and persons I have not met but only read or heard their thoughts on these issues. I value my collegue Martti Siirala's emphasis on a collective sickness, the universality of alienation-people are alienated from the ground of their own being and therefore from other persons, our common guilt for secret murders perpetrated against people (in the 1970s I had visitors to my home from South America who told tragic stories of friends and colleagues kidnapped, tortured and murdered on a large scale by paramilitary troops trained and supported by US military-there was a faint outcry against this) we all share in the common soil from which wars (and mental illnesses) arise. Julia Kristeva wrote cogently of the hate/fear of strangers, including the stranger within ourselves, Pogo spoke of having met the enemy and he is us (similar to a PostKleinian analysis of projective identification process which fosters paranoid fears of others), and Vamik Volkan writes of "suitable targets of externalization." What does it take to see oneself in others? To see that all people want happiness and to avoid suffering? To realize our common humanity (at the genetic level all people share 99.9% of their genome). To defend against unjust aggression, yes, but to see and feel the tragedy in it. To not let it stop there. To work persistently for justice and partnersip.
Brian Koehler
“Who brings about peace is called the companion of God in the work of creation” Jewish proverb.
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God” Jesus
“I think that no human hand should be raised to kill life, since life is God’s gift to us...Life belongs to God, and we do not have the right to destroy it. War is the killing of human beings. How can this be just?” Mother Teresa
“Let us not use bombs and guns to overcome the world. Let us use love and compassion...So let us radiate the peace of God and so light His light and extinguish in the world and in the hearts of all men all hatred and love for power” Mother Teresa
“Lead me from death to life,
from lies to truth.
Lead me from despair to hope,
from fear to trust.
Lead me from hatred to love,
from war to peace.
Let peace fill our hearts, our world,
our universe...peace, peace, peace.”
Mother Teresa
“They shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. O house of Jacob, come let us walk in the light of the Lord” Isaiah 2:4-5
“If you want peace, work for justice” Pope Paul VI
“An individual has not started living until he or she can rise above the narrow confines of his or her individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity” Martin Luther King, Jr.
“Sooner or later, all the peoples of the world will have to discover a way to live together in peace, and thereby transform this pending cosmic elegy into a creative psalm of brotherhood. If this is to be achieved, man must evolve for all human conflict a method which rejects revenge, aggression,
and retaliation. The foundation of such a method is love.” Martin Luther King, Jr.
“In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful:
God, you are peace
and peace is from you.
Please let us live in peace.”
Amin Chanaa, Palestine
“An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.” Mahatma Gandhi
“I propose a system of ethics that is based on a genuine appreciation of the nature of our human existence. I believe that at the most fundamental level our nature is compassionate, and that cooperation, not conflict, lies at the heart of the basic principles that govern our human existence. A genuine recognition and appreciation of this fundamental nature will have profound ethical implications for both the individual and society.” Tenzin Gyatso, The Fourteenth Dalai Lama
“Lord, make me a channel of Thy peace
that where there is hatred, I may bring love;
that where there is wrong, I may bring the spirit of forgiveness.”
St. Francis of Assisi
