The critical aspect to human security is what’s called common security, where one sees that her or his real security comes when the other is equally secure, not a threat held in check. How long can the Israelis rely on intercepting missiles and blowing up fighters the minute they emerge from their tunnels? To have any meaning, “security” can only mean a state where there are no rockets or tunnels – and thoughtful people can surely understand this, especially as the failure of military “security” becomes more evident.

The lesson is that we cannot go on relying on violence to defend us from violence. There is no such thing as a clean, sanitized military that can take over the job of protecting us. People have to protect themselves with the robustness of their institutions and integrity of their values. And there is no such thing as a “civil” violence that can shield us from criminal depredations.

The big picture is this: we live in a violent system. Overriding the unquenchable yearning for peace and unity in every one of us, and which is arguably much closer to our actual nature, is a distorting culture that possesses the world of our thoughts and emotions.

The entire system of war and militarism will have to be replaced by nonviolent equivalents—and they do exist—if we want our democracy to be real.