Robert C. Koehler: Takes one to know one

There are a number of blatant ways for terrorist organizations – by which I mean national governments – to justify committing mass murder.

Once you start killing, it’s hard to stop. But you have to justify what you’re doing – a process humanity has been engaged in since the dawn of civilization. We call it “war,” which turns mass murder into a necessary abstraction and gives us a far simpler way of dealing with conflict than . . . oh my God, understanding counter points of view and creating solutions rather than enemies.

This involves more than in peace, which is a concept far more complex than simply a ceasefire. It’s a living concept. And it seems to me that trying to reorganize our planet around this shimmering possibility is, as I have said previously, “the largest project the human race has ever undertaken.” And it involves all of us.