A Discourse on Peace

What does peace really mean? Ask ten different people, get ten different answers. Peace is a very vague term – the dictionary says, ”
Peace
Pronunciation: \ˈpēs\
Function: noun
1 : a state of tranquillity or quiet: as a : freedom from civil disturbance b : a state of security or order within a community provided for by law or custom
2 : freedom from disquieting or oppressive thoughts or emotions
3 : harmony in personal relations
4 a : a state or period of mutual concord between governments b : a pact or agreement to end hostilities between those who have been at war or in a state of enmity
5 —used interjectionally to ask for silence or calm or as a greeting or farewell”

But what does that really mean?

For me, peace would be a state of non-violence, tolerance, and acceptance in the world. No one group of people will dominant any other group people. I know some people’s idea of peace is if everyone would believe in the same god as them. This is -never- going to happen in the world. Even if you had a fascist government enforcing one belief – that isn’t really peace – that’s imprisonment. Plus, people will still not believe in private because of their own opinions even if they don’t have another option. Do you really want people to be enslaved by your ideology? That is a false peace.

Peace includes the freedom to do as you please as long as you aren’t hurting yourself, others, or the planet. Just because you don’t agree with my lifestyle is no reason to vilify it. Everyone has a different path to walk in life and we should be respectful of that. Learning to live with respect and love for our neighbors is the foundation of most major religions yet people chose not to listen to it. It’s not about who’s right or wrong – it’s about getting along and not killing each other over different myths. You can’t argue belief with logic so don’t even try.

It’s about not enforcing your beliefs on others. This is a hard one for lots of people. Everyone thinks their way is the right way. I got news for you, everyone has different ideas about right and wrong. We can agree on a few foundations: not stealing, not killing, and no violence or hate. However, even these fundamental wrongs can be a “right” if someone is say, stealing bread to feed their starving child. The thing we need is a civilization that is civilized and doesn’t make food and water a commodity but a right. We need to build a world in which stealing is unnecessary because everyone has enough. That world is possible but not within the current frameworks of our system.

In my definition of peace, the idea of peace extends to all beings on this planet. This would mean the end to the animal holocaust that our world is so addicted to. In order to have peace, the foundation of our society can not be violence and murder. The military could still exist as a humanitarian effort but we wouldn’t teach our children to kill. We wouldn’t teach our kids to play with guns or watch violent movies. We wouldn’t think in terms of us and them – we would view the world as what we all are – people. We would agree to disagree and tolerate each other. We would have a thriving human community based on sharing and giving instead of competing. We would live in a world where we are all equal. That would be peace.