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So, you're on the pessimist side, ha?

I still hope and work for changes. I've noticed a lot of people that want that so i'll keep trying.

PS: By ''nature'' you mean education ( lack of it) and the social environment that brainwashes children?

And yes I have looked at the history but that does not say we cannot change.

Hi,

You wrote, "PS: By ''nature'' you mean education ( lack of it) and the social environment that brainwashes children?

And yes I have looked at the history but that does not say we cannot change."

By nature I meant that as a species our behavior is such that we are aggressive creatures and that appears to be genetic. That has nothing to do with education. For example, may of history's greatest conquerors were well educated. If anything, education seems to foster better ways of conquering and controlling those that are not.

Note that when a dictator regime rises to power or conquers another nation that many times the educated scholars are often imprisoned or more likely killed. It is the free thinkers that are the least useful and the most likely to be eliminated. This happened in the ancient past and continues today. It is oppression.

As for saying we can not change I am a little more pragmatic. I always look for ways to change, but I am a very big fan of the "Speak softly and carry a big stick" foundation.

Unfortunately, geopolitics is an extremely complex subject. We would like to distill the operating manual for the world on a single poster board with a stick. Many have tried and still do, but the platitudes and catchy quotes fail to capture the truth in geopolitics and many times (if not always) these poster bearers are simply manipulated idiots for someone else's political cause.

I would prefer to work for peace, but I also want to be a well armed sheep.

If you want to expand on the geopolitical workings of the world or things like the "Balance of Power Theory" I would be willing to put more time in, but it would be a wordy subject and I also have a regular job to do. In the end you will realize that theory and reality tend to exist on opposite ends of the spectrum. Peace may be theoretically possible, but it has always been transitory and fleeting at best. Predicting events geopolitically is next to impossible as we are always surprised by actual events and the ever changing dynamics of power.

Plato wrote, "the penalty for not participating in politics is that you will be ruled by your inferiors." That is not bound simply by local politics, but applies world-wide.

Right on AH, I'm in absolutely full agreement with you on this!

Good 'Ole TR was very correct regarding his "speak softly and carry a big stick" philosophy.....as the world is still very dangerous place, and unfortunately Homo Sapiens have yet to evolve enough not to be violent....this has been demonstrated time and again throughout of history on this planet, after all it's been a very short climb down from the tree so far.

ever wondered why the violence? that would be besides the "genetics" and "that's how humans are" theories.

What's your spin on it?

You live in a region that has seen thousands of years of violence, oppression, and conquerers from external nations. Others may be internal struggles and there is the European Revolutions of 1848, which started internally and spread throughout Europe. Romania was in the heart of that.

My guess is that geology plays an important role as people struggle for resources and defensive positions.

In some cases it is a matter of survival as one nation captures another to subjugate its population and actually assimilate those people (by interbreeding) into their own. Other reasons may be ridding the populace of the yoke of tyranny.

So, there are many reasons I can think of and our inherent violent genetics easily facilitate these conquests and revolts for freedom.

As a society you have had to live though some millenniums of interesting times, whereas the United States has but a few hundred years and a large melting pot of populations.

I think it is more about the lack of resources and the values (distorted and distructive ones)that we still promote as opposed to genetics. History is well... history. it can tell us how things were but considering the future the topic is open for discussion.

Yes, my country had some quite rough times in the past but now it seems like people want to work against nature. I mean what is the point of competing with one another when there is no need to. C'mon, the only threat for the human race is...the stupidity of human race. And there is plenty of it.

A rough example would be that two people have greater odds of survival that one man, in any environment. Nature isn't perfect either but the behaviours are based on the same principle: resources. In this way we can see that we are no smarter than a monkey. Some evolution, isn't it?

Well, for all of the bloody history to have unfolded we required that aggressive underpinning in our genes to make it happen.

Of course, if we were totally passive creatures we would have been extinct a long time ago. Some humorous examples:

"Oh, there is a raging forest fire coming. Well, at least we will be warm for life."

or...

"Look! A lion! He looks hungary. Well, might as well walk his way to save him some steps."

or...

"Wow, look at all those angry people with painted faces and long pointy sticks charging our way! I better put on some large kettles of soothing camomile tea..."

Okay, just taking some time here for some good fun, but our nature is a two-edge sword. It serves us for survival and it also can kill us. Everything has its price.

GA!

I find that the older I get, the more cynical I get. Now, I am always wary of the intentions of anyone that has anything for sale.

Another benefit of growing older, seems to be that we care less what other people think about us, making us more vocal about our painfully earned wisdom.

On the other hand, I may just be a grumpy (and dirty) old man.