According to a recent commentary in the Sunday Telegram, war is healthy for the economy and promotes peace (“War makes us safer and richer,” May 4). The author of the column admitted that billions of people have been killed throughout the centuries, and countless others have been afflicted by unspeakable tragedies.

Even if his figures were proven to be correct, does that mean that humanity should continue on this path? Let us explore some other options.

May I began with the military budgets that are spent worldwide with the only intention of killing our human brothers and sisters? And let us not forget what this is doing to our earthly environment.

What if that amount of money were spent instead on offering to help those in need? It is possible we might eliminate world hunger, alleviate many human miseries and enhance the common good.

We know that there are countries in this world that get by very well without a military budget or with only a small defensive military budget. Consider the novel idea of all countries sharing their abilities and their resources. Most people feel a moral imperative to help those less fortunate than themselves.

Confucius, a very wise prophet, had this to say: “If a man takes no thought about what is distant, he will find sorrow near at hand.”

I fear that we have allowed our leaders for the past several centuries to continue to take us down the path of war and destruction while we amuse ourselves with small pleasures. We have collectively not given sufficient thought to our distant future and find ourselves with the many sorrows heard on the nightly news.

Now is the time to forge a new way forward without suffering the horrors of war and destruction.

Sally Breen

Windham