War = Peace (?)
- Topic:
Culture
- Article By:
Reuben
- Photo:
I was recently listenin' to Tavis Smiley and Cornel West talk about the Wikileaks documents and how over 109,000 innocent civilians have been killed in Iraq during the war that started several years ago.
What's your take on this?
Mine, I say why even go to war in the first place? I know, many people are gonna say, to protect the country we live in, our families, our way of life, etc. etc. But is that really the reason most of the modern wars are even fought in the first place? Do wars really equal peace?
Take the current war in Iraq for instance, it was supposedly fought in retaliation for the attacks on September 11, 2001. The administration at the time told us flat out that the Iraqi's had "weapons of mass destruction" - which was proven to be a huge lie, so the war was changed to be called operation Iraqi Freedom to justify the actions taken by the United States. ...Did this war solve anything?
Tens of thousands at the very least are dead, many thousands have been maimed and an entire country was left in shambles.
Myself personally, I don't believe in war. I think there is always a better and more peaceful solution to the worlds issues and even their deepest problems. But it first takes some honesty to address what those issues and problems really are.
For example, why go to war and tell us that some nation needs saving when you can't even save your own nation, from the ravages of hate, poverty, unemployment, lack of decent healthcare for all citizens, an unjust legal system, etc. etc. ...Too often wars are justified by showing how much people need our help and our way of life. But, what of the many who are stuck livin' with the results of our way of life?
What if we in industrialized nations could simply change our mindset and our view of the rest of the world in which we are all citizens? Can we consume less? ...So that there is so much more to go around for all peoples to share? Can we pollute less? ....So that what precious natural beauty we have left on this planet isn't bein' destroyed at the rate at which it is? Can we learn and educate ourselves and our children better? ...Not math and science, but learnin' to appreciate and not demonize the differences between us.
I personally and strongly believe that if we all learn to treat others more fairly and more respectfully then so many of this worlds issues could be solved very quickly. Think about it, if you stop dumpin' chemicals off the coasts of these materially poor nations then they can start cleanin' up their own ecosystems and start livin' off things like fishin' again. If you stop selling arms to nations globally then maybe peoples first reaction to a bad situation wouldn't immediately be to take up arms against them.
Maybe if we stop demonizing others religious beliefs and try to find common ground and work from that point forward it would be much harder to take up arms against someone else that we don't find so foreign from us, cause their differences don't seem so sinister.
We need to start from a place of love, and take it from there.
If we can see and appreciate how much we all are the same, how we all love our families & friends, wanna be able to work hard and play harder, eat well and be as healthy as possible. When we look through the spectrum of sameness then I believe things can and will be much different. Someone in Haiti, Mexico, Ghana, or Peurto Rico is no different from me and my family. My family is essentially no different than a family in Europe or Africa or Asia.
What can we individually do to effect change?
What will effect change is simple to say but more work to implement...
1.) Teach our kids to respect those that are different from us. Don't speak disparagingly of others, especially when any young people are around. Don't aspire to live in a color blind world, rather work to achieve an environment where all colors, creeds and the like are appreciated rather than demonized or vilified. ...If we change how we as adults behave then we'll change the outlook and attitudes of our youth.
As individuals we need to work at understanding and respecting the differences in others. Understanding leads to tolerance which ultimately leads to peace.
2.) Practice what we preach. If all people who claim to be religious actually lived by their believes then war, hatred, and killing would for the most part be a non-issue. Most major religions have the same core teachings against these things, and are advocates for love, peace, and tolerance.
Take Christianity for example, how can anyone who claims to be a true Christian believe in killing others? In most Christian bible's it says to "live by the sword die by the sword." Jesus was a peaceful man who strongly believed in the power of love. He even went as far as to say that it would be the number one identifying characteristic of his people "that you have love among yourselves".
Jesus was also courageous enough to speak truth even to those who had a huge amount of political power. I want to be an example of the same courageousness that he and those who have been inspired in one way or another by him and his tenants have shown, such as Dr. King, Ghandi, and others.
This is why I personally don't believe in the power of politics to change our world. If it were gonna be people that would change our world it would have to be motivated by love and understanding and not out of a sense of entitlement, fear, or division and anger. Politics seems to only divide. We need now more than ever to be unified as human beings on this planet, no matter what our cultures or religious affiliations are ...there is always a way to find a common ground on which to build bridges to peace and understanding, we just have to be willing to put in the work.
Holla Back Y'all:
DaLyfe.com Sponsors
