This year, 2015, marks the 70th anniversary of the end of the most widespread and devastating conflict in human history. In order to pay our respects to the tens of millions of innocent people who died in WW2 as well as to the millions more who died in the many wars that preceded and followed and to prevent more people from losing lives, limbs, and loved ones in future wars as global citizens it is our fundamental duty to promote peace.

In order to carry out this duty we must better recognize the role ones own actions play in shaping if not creating ones adversaries, the ever-present danger posed by nationalism, superstition, and other forms of irrational and collective thinking, and the danger posed by distorting, downplaying, or denying history and failing to learn from critically important historical lessons which came at immensely great costs because these lessons must be passed on to future generations.

We must also better recognize that we’re one species of many living within a fragile biosphere and that nationalist, superstitious, and other irrational divides exist only within the minds of those who have yet to climb out of their narrow wells of thought to get an objective overview of humanity and the situation here on planet earth. This is the least we can do to honor the sacrifices made by past generations and to establish a solid foundation of peace for future generations.