Creak Talks Sense

Creak here. In the never-ending quest to break the shackles of arthritis, I have seen many pained dogs and sought many cures. I have looked far and wide, over the hills and across vast plains. Still, the only respite I ever truly find is when I stop thinking about myself now and again. That's not to say I'm totally self-absorbed, it's just hard to focus on anything else sometimes. Now, many of you may be thinking, "Hold on, is an arthritic dog about to sermonize here about the importance of devoting care and attention to issues related to the human condition worldwide?" Well, yes. From where this dog rests his tired head, it's about time for a futile plea for sanity.

After I accepted the fact that I am, and always will be colorblind, I was forced to content myself with reading those venerable black and white rags, the newspapers. No flashy Internet news or T.V. programs for me, a pie chart alone had so many colors I didn't know what to do. Anyway, the disturbing trend is, of course, if the news isn't horrendously meaningless or about professional sports, the front page is always plastered with scenes and reports of death and mayhem. War here, destruction there, hatred everywhere. It's difficult to understand why peace cannot be a reality when the human race has taken itself so far in such a relatively short time.

This begs the question: must humans fight? Is it definitively in their nature? Has evolution somehow programmed them to accept no alternative but endless, self destructive war? A quick glance around the world reveals no region lies safe, almost everywhere one looks there is violence, strife, or suffering. Why must this continue?

What interest do I truly have in this? Well yes, the hatred surrounding the people of this earth makes me feel sick, the treatment humans give to each other is oftentimes just atrocious. But, for those who may feel untouched by the insanity of the world, think of this. It is a fact that approximately 25 percent of all research and development worldwide, meaning 25 percent of all scientific progress in the entire world, is devoted to military applications. From weapons to strategy, fully one-quarter of the world's brightest minds are devoted to learning how to more effectively kill. Imagine if that 25 percent were devoted to medicine, or specifically, arthritis research.

The potential is there for great leaps and bounds in human (and canine) achievement. The key to unlock this potential lies in all of us, man's best friend and man himself alike. We must lose our apathy and learn to work together toward our common goals. Only then we will realize that our future truly is to live in peace, or, as John and Yoko would say, "War is Over! (If you want it.)"