I Belong, Therefore I Am?

"We know what are the causes of war; they are fairly obvious, and even a schoolboy can see them – greed, nationalism, the search for power, geographical and national divisions, economic conflicts, sovereign states, patriotism, one ideology, whether of the left or of the right, trying to impose itself upon another, and so on.
These causes of war are created by you and me. War is the spectacular expression of our daily existence, is it not? We identify ourselves with a particular group, national, religious, or racial, because it gives us a sense of power; and power inevitably brings about catastrophe. You and I are responsible for war, not Hitler, Stalin, or some other super-leader. It is a convenient expression to say that capitalists, or insane leaders, are responsible for war. At heart, each one wants to be wealthy, each one wants power. These are the causes of war, for which you and I are responsible. I think it is fairly clear that war is the result of our daily existence, only more spectacularly, more bloodily so."

• Krishnamurti

"There seems to be a human need to be part of something bigger, to not just see ourselves as something isolated. And at the same time, there seems to be a need to belong to a defined group, whether it be religious, national, ethnic groups, ideological or political parties. But, do we need group identities? What do these groups do for us? Why can’t we just be individuals and see ourselves as part of humanity as a whole?"

• Mark Habeeb

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