7th Threat: Wars and other Acts of Terrorism.

The last three of the Nine Threats can be called Latent: it is the great burden of sentience to carry within the seeds of its own extinction.

At no time in our history, starting with the apes, have we been free of murderous conflict. Even those who harken back to the blissful days of the Garden of Eden must face the fact that Cain got his wife from a pre-existing pool of blood. I don’t need to beat a dead horse on this, but just in case there are any doubters, look at this: http://conflicthistory.com/#/period/1936-1946

Today is no different, at least from the standpoint of armed conflict and the new face of War; to wit, Terrorism. Of course, now we can not only kill off neighboring tribes, but those on the other side of the world as well. The sticks and stones of yesteryear became arrows and bullets, then atomic bombs.

And for those who think détente can save us from ourselves, ask yourself this: would Bin Laden have used ‘The Bomb’? http://www.kingofbombs.com/terrorism.html

With the proliferation of nuclear weapons (and the club is growing), it is only a matter of time before some single-minded madman becomes the ultimate suicide bomber.

http://ploughshares.org/world-nuclear-stockpile-report
But cheer up. Climate Change may get us first! Next up, the 8^th Threat.