Use reason, not military power

When countries make use of the military instead of reason to resolve problems, an incident can occur that can become a series of frightening situations. For example, in 1914, the archduke of Austria was assassinated, which led to World War I. This tragedy also brought about the destruction of the Ottoman Empire, which created an extraordinarily unstable situation in the Middle East that is still a major problem today.

Of course, the basic problem in the first place was the inability for these European rulers, many of whom were related, to resolve their problems peacefully. It is interesting to note that these countries have been at war with one another off-and-on since the early medieval period, which was a result of the breakup of the Roman Empire.

However, there is no reason why these countries couldn’t have used reason in their relationships with one another instead of bringing in military forces.

What it does point out today is the need for our leaders to understand the role that history plays and the importance of approaching international problems using reason.

This story was originally published December 15, 2015 at 3:37 PM with the headline "Use reason, not military power."