Pace e Bene – 8 August 2025

“Unfortunately the blindness and madness of a society that is shaken to its very roots by the storms of passion and greed for power make the fully effective use of political negotiation impossible. Menwant to negotiate for peace, and strive to do so, but their fear is greater than their good will. They do not dare to take serious and bold initiatives for peace. Fear of losing face, fear of the propaganda consequences of apparent ‘weakness,’ make it impossible for them to do what is really courageous: to take firm steps toward world peace. When they take one step forward they immediately tell the world about it and then take four steps backward. We are all walking backward toward a precipice. We know the precipice is there, but we assert that we are all the while going forward. This is because the world in its madness is guided by military men, who are the blindest of the blind.”—Thomas Merton’s August, 1962 letter to Shinzo Hamai, mayor of Hiroshima, Japan.

The only thing I would add to this quote from Merton is that the madness is also guided by corrupt, greedy, and incompetent politicians who are more concerned about placating a tyrant than they are about working for ALL of the people they are supposed to represent.