Of Plowshares and Swords Essay

Flesh …steel…hate; these three.

Flesh, soft and pliant, yields before cold unrelenting steel. And yet it is flesh that wields steel. Steel, of itself, has no ‘animus’, no life force or passion that drives it. The blade, or any other weapon formed by ingenious flesh, lacks a will to act on its own. It possesses neither intelligence nor malice.

It is ‘hate’ that fires the hasty passions of flesh and fuels the rage that drives our kind to strike in anger. Hate unlocks moral restraint and unleashes its blind rage. Flesh carries out its evil agenda. Steel, then becomes naught but the tool of hate.

Steel, of itself, is not evil.

The ingenuity of flesh rapes the abundance of earth, plunders its resources, and perverts them into instruments of unspeakable cruelty. Steel can be fashioned into a blade that slashes flesh to spill the life blood of the innocent. Or it can be formed into a weapon that hurtles leaden projectiles toward vulnerable bodies. But hate is the trigger.

Steel could just as easily be formed into implements of peace that promote prosperity, provide for the common benefit, and establish security. But first hate must be replaced with another passion equally as strong, as intense.

Yet it is a passion that drives flesh to another end. Instead of being unleashed on itself to bring about destructive means, the senseless spilling of blood and ending of life, it propels men clothed in garments of flesh to a higher end.

This power affirms life rather than diminishes it. It seeks to benefit others instead of pursuing its own selfish interests; rather than plunder another’s’ possessions it dispenses abundance at its own expense.

A new choice then is presented; one that doesn’t pit brother against brother but friend for friend. New eyes that see no foes, only opportunities to assist, to preserve life, and enhance its quality.

Or there is that old familiar course, as old as man.

As long as hate reigns, as long as flesh succumbs, steel is left to ravage.

Flesh…steel…hate, these three

Steel, then becomes naught but the tool of hate.