A Small Human Cell

July 28, 2014: 100 years ago the First World War broke out!

We need to constantly pay attention to events, however small, because they may one day become big. Considering the size of the world, a Human Being is tiny, but his importance is immense; therefore, so are his acts. I take the First World War as an example.

Would you like to know something?

Who killed Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie on June 28, 1914, triggering—even as a pretext—from Serbia, small Serbia, the First World War? It was a student. A tiny human cell. This does not mean I am ignoring his value as a Being, but I need to make a comparison. He was used as a trigger. And we cannot allow this to be done to us. Gavrilo Princip (1894-1918) was a young student. He assassinated the heir to the Austro-Hungarian Empire in Sarajevo. We had the First World War, which many considered to be the war that would end all wars, as Georges Clemenceau (1841-1929), Prime Minister of France at the time, declared. Clemenceau represented France in the Treaty signed in the Hall of Mirrors of the Palace of Versailles, built by Louis XIV (1638-1715), the Sun King, who also died out, because he was human. This document decided on the division of the spoils of Germany, subdued in 1918, and determined that it pay heavy compensation to the victors.

Several analysts have observed that because it was very severe, the Treaty oppressed the German people excessively, leaving them to the mercy of the first adventurer who appeared. This led to the unfortunate rise to power of the pathetic Adolf Hitler (1889-1945), a reference that needs no long comments here. . . It is sufficient to remember that he instituted repugnant racism as a State ideology. And it eventually collapsed, because racism against one will one day become racism against all. He dragged nations, including Brazil, into the Second Great World Conflict (1939-1945), which slaughtered millions. Now, between you and me, I think the "Führer" would have used any reason to wage war. No one, however, should oppress the vanquished too much (in this case Germany of 1918). To manage victory takes special talent. Another detail: gloomy Hitler came to power with a minority of votes. Later, using various artifices, even against Marshal Hindenburg, he destroyed the fragile Weimar Republic and became undisputed dictator. He was a strategist, some say.

The rise to power of a similar teratological leadership cannot be repeated in the world. The serpent denounced in the Apocalypse*1 should not be allowed to raise its head again, no matter what belief, disbelief, or ideology it appears this time. We should also allude to the fact that the serpent does not necessarily present itself in a spectacular form. It is infiltrating, meddlesome, astute. It seduces with cunning. For this reason, the aspect of a serpent in the Apocalypse 12:9: "And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him."

Therefore, any "small" act like that of poor Gavrilo, who was a patriot according to his conviction, can resonate globally. It is not only government measures that befall us, the people, everywhere. Oh no! As minor as they may be, our attitudes also reflect "up high." The collective is us, multiplied. It is like a riddle asking to be deciphered, a tangle of destinies, establishing routes that are not always pleasant.

To the Creator, all His creatures are important. It is urgent that those who influence the world understand that the Human Being is Divine Patrimony, God’s Capital, before it is too late. Let us recall an old saying that warns: "It is the twig that knocks the pot over."

People need to educate themselves intellectually and spiritually to better influence their own destinies. An educated and ecumenically spiritualized society will know, with Peace, how to defend itself in the Third Millennium.

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*1 Apocalypse – The Final book of the Holy Bible. Researching the theme for over 40 years, Paiva Netto, an expert on the subject, published a famous book collection entitled "The Apocalypse of Jesus for the Simple Hearted" comprised of The Prophecies without Mystery, We are all Prophets, Apocalypse without Fear, and Jesus, the Divine Prophet. Together they have sold over 2 million copies.