Hopes for the future

The fools who rule the world unfortunately fail to realize that what ordinary people want above all is to live their life in peace.

This simple fact is true for the vast majority of human beings, but apparently it never has filtered up (or down) to the so-called leaders. They prefer to indulge in games of power, games of war, games that threaten the fate of humanity. They ignore the prayers and pleas of ordinary, decent folk to end the cruel and never-ending farce of history and lead us to a better world, a world without war, without bullets, bombs and nuclear missiles, without hatred, prejudice and terror.

How sad that for many rulers of yesterday and today, peace seems to be a dirty word and they seem incapable and even unwilling to admit it into their vocabulary. What the situation calls for is a new breed of leaders the world over who are committed to peace and the well-being of ordinary people and who will thereby change the face of history and save humanity.

In these Days of Awe and deep introspection culminating in Yom Kippur, we wish, not only for us Jews but also for people of all faiths, a brighter, sweeter, more prosperous and peaceful year.

After millennia of misrule and massacre, mankind stands on the brink. It is time for ordinary, peace-loving people of all races and faiths to take up the reins in order to ensure our future. DAVID HERMAN Jerusalem

The deepening crisis between the United States and North Korea brings to mind a lesson our history teacher gave our high school class in 1938 in Cape Town.

The leading scientists of the world had perfected a device that, if detonated, would destroy everyone on Earth. For days and weeks, they hotly debated whether to try it out or not. But human nature being what it is, they pressed the button.

Everyone on Earth was destroyed. But deep in the jungles of Africa there remained a pair of monkeys. After a few days, one said to the other, “Shall we start it over again?” MORRIS MARCUS Tel Aviv