Though force can protect in emergency, only justice, fairness, consideration and co-operation can finally lead men to the dawn of eternal peace.
- Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890 - 1969)
Is eternal peace even possible? Given the present set of circumstances under which we live and have developed in terms of civilization, not likely.
When most of us think of justice, we think first of our courts of law. There, surely, justice must prevail above all.
If justice is the quality of being fair or just, then it must be based on truth. In most countries, truth may be buried or denied for a variety of reasons in court while the skill of the barristers in arguing a case based on limited facts is what determines the outcome.
One would think that fairness should best be meted out by governments elected by the people whose best interests they trust their elected representatives to uphold. I know few people who believe that their governments are fair, at least to the extent they they have confidence in their elected governments.
For consideration and cooperation one would best look to one's mother because these are hard to find elsewhere. They exist, these treasured qualities, but they grow in acidic soil.
Who can we look to for peace, someone who can use justice and fairness in their truest senses and from whom we can expect consideration and cooperation as Eisenhower predicted? That sentence contains the reason for its own failure.
Peace, be it individual or at a community, national or global level, must begin with ourselves. Peace is individual. Global peace requires that a large majority of people in the world want peace, are prepared to act to secure peace and enjoy and appreciate peace wtihin themselves.
Doesn't that sound almost impossible? Well, if you think so then perhaps you are part of the problem.
When Toyota wants to sell cars, it advertises heavily. Using industry standards regarding market penetration with television commercials, Toyota will put its ads on several times on each station or network it uses, often ten to 12 times in an evening. Proctor and Gamble does the same with their soaps and other personal products. They hit the consumer again and again, mercilessly, with the same message. Repetition sells.
What have you done in the past year to promote peace, either within yourself or in the world? If you want personal peace, don't look for it from Toyota, Practor and Gamble, political leaders, religious leaders or news sources. They thrive in a troubled world that seeks comfort from their messages.
Wars are fought to achieve peace, if we believe what our leaders have told us in the past. It hasn't worked, of course. People flock to places of worship in troubled times, then find other things to do when life is calm because they understand that their religion did not bring peace.
If you truly believe that peace is a worthy objective, then make peace within yourself. Start talking about peace with other people. Include it in a conversation, but don't try to start a discussion about peace or people will likely head away from you.
Others will only want to listen to you about peace if you honestly believe that peace is possible yourself. And if you and everyone else who believes in it keeps talking about it to as many people as we can find who want to know how it can happen.
We can be quiet on the subject, as most of us are. When those who want peace remain quiet, those who thrive in times of war and chaos advertise their message loud, clear and often. War-lovers, though they comprise only a small minority of people in any country, are persistent and tireless. They never quit because their lives revolve around what they preach.
So long as those who want peace remain quiet about it, there will be war and troubled times. Some people will prosper and those people will not be the ones who want peace.
Do you want peace? Then show it. Talk about it. When someone asks how peace can happen, direct them to the source of this article. Explain the reasoning I have used here.
Peace lovers can only be more powerful than advertising agencies when they spread their message to others. Word of mouth is the most effective and powerful form of advertising.
You have that effectiveness and power within you. Talk.
Bill Allin
Turning It Around: Causes and Cures for Today's Epidemic Social Problems, striving to bring peace to the world by word of mouth. Pass it on.
Learn more at http://billallin.com