Our World in Conflict

There Is Violence Everywhere

The world is a violent place, filled with robberies, shootings, gang wars, drug cartels, terroristic acts, and civil wars. Conflicts exist among and within whole countries over property, wealth, religion, culture, and other factors. Particularly visible contributors of violence are terrorists' organizations such as Al Qaeda and ISIS (aka IS, ISIL). One can assume that the people in these groups are fighting, and willing to die for their cause, but most challenge their extreme methods.

In many countries, people live in constant fear, not knowing when or where the next attack will occur. Millions of people have had to flee for their lives and have lost their homes and belongings as a result. Many, once living happy lives, become immigrants or refugees, trying to reach safety and shelter in other countries. The lucky ones are successful, but others are not. The overriding question they all ask is this: "When will it end, or will it ever end?" Most people just want to live their lives in peace.

Meet the Rieses

David Riese lived in a small town in Ohio with a population of sixteen thousand and holding. He made his home in a quiet neighborhood with small two-story houses; most of which were over fifty years old. He had friendly neighbors, whom he had known for several years. David was in his late twenties, slim, dark-haired, and of average height. He was an honest, mild-mannered person who got along with everyone. He was opposed to violence of any kind and was glad he never had served in the military.

David enjoyed soccer and golf for recreation; he also liked being out in his garage working at his hobby, woodworking. He enjoyed building things such as cabinets, end tables, chests, and such. Being a safety-test engineer for an automaker, David took his job seriously. He knew that if he did his work properly, everyone who bought those cars would be safer if there were an accident. He saw his job as protecting people and felt proud of that. David constantly reminded the test technicians, "If those air bags and seat belts work properly, we'll be saving lives."

One thing that had constantly bothered David was the unending stream of news reports of violence all over the world. When he heard news about yet another violent act, he wished that he could do something about it. Although he loved his chosen career, if given the chance, he wouldn't think twice about getting involved with peacekeeping initiatives.

David had even been thinking about joining a peacekeeping organization, but he only had a limited amount of free time from work. He needed to make a living. The hard part was finding something he could do on weekends. David had not traveled extensively, mostly just in and around Ohio. Little did he know he would soon be a world traveler in a most unimaginable way.

Jean Butler was David's steady girlfriend of two years. She was an ER nurse at a local hospital and lived in an apartment only two blocks from David's house. Jean was pretty in an understated way, simple and outdoorsy. Her fresh, healthy appearance drew David to her the moment they met. Jean was in her mid twenties, with auburn hair, which she usually wore in a ponytail. She was of average height, just half a head shorter than David. Jean enjoyed getting out of the city on her days off work.

She often went hiking or jogging in the countryside or played golf with friends. Jean was also an avid marathon runner, who loved the thrill of competition, especially those events associated with gathering funds for a good cause. David and Jean went to the same school but were three grades apart. They didn't start seeing each other until her brother Joseph introduced them. Joseph was in the same grade as David and protective of his baby sister.

He was certain that David was a good match for Jean because he was kindhearted and dependably respectful of women. He was not at all like her past boyfriends, who had left her brokenhearted or battered. It helped that both David and Jean had many of the same interests, such as hiking and playing golf. After dating steadily for several months, Jean had fallen in love with David, and he with her.

She felt he was the kind of man with whom she could spend the rest of her life. She loved that they had so many things in common, including their shared passions for golf, hiking, and soccer. Another thing they had in common was their concern for world peace. It seemed like that was a dominant topic of conversation when they were together. They both thought it discouraging that violence was so rampant in the world that they could not avoid discussing it.

Too Close to Home

One morning two armed men forced their way into a home not over three blocks away from where David lived. They had disguised themselves as deliverymen. When the elderly man living there answered the door, the robbers forced their way into the house. Luckily for him the men were only there to rob the house and did not intend to hurt him. They tied him up and took his money, credit cards, and whatever expensive electronic equipment they could carry.

After leaving, they pawned the equipment and used the credit cards at various places in the area, later throwing them in a trash dumpster. The old man remained tied up most of the day until his daughter, who called several times with no answer, went to check on him.

That evening David had asked Jean out for dinner, so they went to their favorite local restaurant. It was a nice place, quiet and with great ambiance.

It was their favorite restaurant because they always had a good dining experience there. The dining room lights were kept soft. All the tables had comfortable, well-positioned seats to afford a sense of intimacy to couples dining together. The servers were always polite and paid constant attention to their customers. Jean and David had just ordered dinner and were waiting at their table when their go-to subject came up again.

"There was another suicide bombing on the news today. Twelve people were killed," said David sadly.

"I know. I heard about it on the radio. It's awful!" Jean exclaimed.

"I can't fathom why someone would do something like that," said David, shaking his head.

"There was a home invasion too, not far from where we live," said Jean despondently. This statement reminded David of something.

"My dad told me once that,...