“While few would deny the individual a right to defend himself from attack, issues of national defense are not so clear-cut. Most of today’s societies take a position of defensiveness that far exceeds any individual level of caution. If most people were as defensive with strangers as their countries display toward other countries, mankind would not yet have achieved civilization.” -Kenneth Callison
What does it really mean to feel secure?
For most of us, personal safety isn’t just about strong locks or security guards. It’s a web of things—physical protection, emotional steadiness, financial breathing room, connection to others, and the inner grit to recover when life knocks you sideways. Feeling safe isn’t something “nice-to-have”. It’s a basic human requirement, one that shapes how we live, love, and respond to the world.
- Physical safety – You’re free from harm or threat, able to move through your home and community without fear.
- Emotional well-being – You can show the full range of your feelings and beliefs and still feel centered in who you are.
- Financial stability – You can meet your needs, make plans, and save without living in a state of constant strain or bureaucratic burden.
- Social connection – Your relationships are genuine, supportive, and mutual.
- Psychological resilience – You believe in your own ability to bounce back and handle what comes.
If these are the things that anchor our personal sense of worth and purpose, why do so many nations equate their own security with weapons stockpiles and the deliberate cultivation of fear?
The Cost of Fear
In 2024 alone, global defense spending surged to $2.46 trillion, with regions across Europe, Asia, and the Middle East ramping up their military budgets in response to perceived threats. Despite a 7.4% rise in 2024—marking the third year of growth—the world is no closer to lasting peace.
Ken Callison warns: “When the militarization of the planet reaches a point beyond all reason, as it clearly has, additional military expenditures reduce the security of the species, the society, and the individual.”
The truth is, what’s meant to protect us often does the opposite.
For many, “national security” is just another way of saying “military strength.” The armed forces are framed as guardians of the people and as proof of a nation’s power. As the U.S. Department of Defense states, its mission is “To provide the military forces needed to deter and win wars and to protect the security of our country and our allies.”
But if real safety in our personal lives comes from trust, stability, and connection, why is national safety so often built on fear, force, and distrust?
- Fear – When one nation sees another as a threat, anxiety over invasion, domination, or loss of sovereignty takes hold.
- Force – The response? Doubling down on arms and military strength—an arms race intended to deter but which often stirs the very tensions it’s meant to prevent.
- Distrust – Assuming the worst, nations default to surveillance, spying, and manipulation, pushing diplomacy aside and keeping suspicion alive with their own citizens and others.
The Lost Opportunity
Picture what $2.46 trillion could have accomplished if it hadn’t been funneled into preparing for war.
At a time when the planet faces mounting crises—pollution, vanishing fresh water, homelessness, famine—we continue to pour unimaginable sums into the machinery of destruction. That same money could have funded massive environmental cleanup, advanced renewable energy, or brought quality education and training programs to communities worldwide.
We could be fighting poverty, not people. Feeding the hungry instead of feeding the war machine. Confronting the actual threats to human survival.
The real tragedy isn’t simply that we keep choosing war. It’s that we’ve failed to see our own shared worth as a species.
The Paradox of “Security”
The idea that safety comes from arming ourselves to the teeth is a dangerous illusion. For generations, leaders have been trained to distrust and even resent “the enemy,” locking us into a cycle where everyone is constantly braced for conflict.
As Callison puts it: “The strength and security achieved by societies today is both shallow and expensive. Modern security requires individuals to distort their faith in humanity, justifying the sacrifice of their spiritual health to the feeling of fear.”
So why is safety defined as readiness to fight rather than readiness to cooperate? Our inability to understand ourselves—both individually and collectively—has brought us to a place where the very weapons we built for protection now stand as the greatest barriers to peace.
Real security begins with self-awareness. It grows from the willingness to forgive, to embrace new perspectives, and to imagine different ways of relating to one another. Until we trade fear for empathy, and control for connection, peace will remain out of reach.
“To have a secure world, the individual must trust and believe in mankind’s worth.” -Ken Callison
A Vision for Peace-Rooted Security
What would national security look like if it were grounded in peace instead of fear?
In The Way to World Peace: An Idea Whose Time Has Come, Ken Callison reminds us that security through militarization is a myth we’ve been sold. True security comes from redefining who we are—as individuals and as a species.
When we truly understand our purpose and worth, it becomes impossible to see war as anything other than a betrayal of ourselves and our future. The values that define our personal safety—trust, stability, connection—should also define national security.
This shift will not come easily. It will take patience, courage, and levels of cooperation we’ve never before achieved. But without it, we’ll keep circling the same track: negotiating peace while waging war.
Peacemaking begins when leaders recognize their own humanity in those they once called enemies. When the illusion of national superiority falls away, the truth will stand clear: we are one.
Imagine life without the looming shadow of war. Imagine the pride in knowing humanity has moved beyond killing in the name of “security.” Imagine putting our time, skills, and resources into healing the planet, feeding the hungry, and ensuring every person has a place to call home. Imagine a world grounded in love, compassion, and forgiveness.
That is what national security, rooted in peace, would look like.
“In the end, a redefinition of what constitutes nation security will place its demands upon humanity unlike anything else mankind has ever attempted. To accomplish this goal, humanity must learn where its true strength lies.” -Ken Callison
Kenneth Callison is a visionary leader committed to building a world without threats like militarization, poverty, the looming water crisis, and environmental destruction. His upcoming book presents a powerful plan for achieving lasting peace. As a prominent entrepreneur and thought leader, he advocates for denuclearization, emphasizing the urgent need for action while fostering a deeper understanding of our shared humanity.
Join A Time for Humanity™ now, which provides inspiration, guidance, global collaboration, and special events. We explore Callison’s transformative concepts and the path forward for humanity.
