Just over seventy years ago, (October 15 1953) we Brits exploded an atomic device in the desert region that forms most of central Australia. This pyramid type concrete structure marks the spot today. A friend of mine, Richard, and I passed that way in 2011 and I collected from the desert floor a piece of semi-glass, formed by the effects of the heat of that blast on the desert sand. I have it still in my personal archive.
That test was carried out only eight years after atomic devices were used seriously in war, over Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
The theory was, that if you made a big enough bang the long-term result would be beneficial to mankind in general.
Up until that 1945 World War II Event, the world’s biggest man-made bang had happened in Halifax, Nova Scotia. That occurred during World War I, and was the result of a chain reaction following the collision of two ships in the harbour. My wife Myra and I visited that Canadian city in September, and learned a little of the devastation of that big bang.
One quarter of the way through this 21st century, there are plenty of man-made big bangs echoing around the world, especially Ukraine and Gaza-Israel. Whatever the theory around “big-bang” it looks to be far removed from peace on earth.
Back in the 1960s the then-popular Norman Luboff Choir put out a long playing (LP) vinyl record which included the number, Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me.
(“Let There Be Peace on Earth” is a song written by Jill Jackson-Miller and Sy Miller in 1955. It was initially written for and sung by the International Children’s Choir created by Easter Beakly and Arthur Granger of the Granger Dance Academy in Long Beach, California.)
The ancients of China have a long established reputation for coming up with wise sayings in condensed form. Wherever, and whatever the source for this wisdom, here is one worth consideration:-
If there be righteousness in the heart,
there will be beauty in the character.
If there be beauty in the character
there will be harmony in the family home.
If there be harmony in the family home,
there will be order in the nation.
When there is order in the nation,
there will be peace in the world.
This piece of traditional wisdom is a long way from any big bang theory, and may well be thought far too airy-fairy to be taken seriously. But wait – don’t go away just yet. Hang about. Think. Implementing this idea is closer, and quicker, and concentrates upon the root cause of all those big bangs mentioned above. Namely, individual Man. It is much easier to go on an anti-war, anti-nuclear protest than it is to take a look at ones own inner attitudes and opinion. A lot easier than even thinking these may need changing and refining. But because this piece of theory is so much closer, is it not worth a try? At least to make an attempt to putting a theory into practice? To take a look at my own relationships day to day, towards the people I meet routinely, and face up to the flaws which – in my better moments – I know need changing.
The effect of doing this isn’t going to get as noticed as a big bang would. But the application of this theory to practice would be far more productive, both personally and socially.
Perceptions & Pictures 