100 years ago today, the world was at peace, or at least as much at peace as we shaved apes can get.  We haven’t really enjoyed a day like that in the years since.  The great powers of Europe had spent several decades preparing for a war, but they had, through diplomacy or a balance of terror, kept the lid on Pandora’s box.

People went about their business as they had all their lives.  A generation of young men in all corners of the globe was coming of age and enjoying the flower of youth.  The future was bright for them, maybe in a way that hasn’t been experienced since. In five short years, that generation would be shattered and much reduced, to the point that young women in England despaired of ever marrying due to a shortage of men.

The fields of Belgium and France were much the same as they had been for centuries.  There were no trenches, shell holes, or unexploded shells to mar the picture postcard landscape.  The same could be said of Poland, Russia, Italy, and Turkey.

I don’t think anyone went to bed on June 27, 1914 realizing that they had just enjoyed the last day of peace that our world would know for many years.  I do think that the best lesson we can draw from that is to recognize that any day where humanity isn’t butchering itself wholesale is a good day, and that we should be thankful for them.  You never know when the good days will end and how long it will be until the next one comes.