why do people think there'll ever be peace?

[Zoomerang96]

is it to keep the ma7ority of us sane people from going insane at the thought of there never being anything more than what currently exists?

does anyone really believe israel and palestine/the middle east will ever get along?

does anyone think that poverty will ever disappear, even in such large scales like in africa?

and of course does ANYONE ever think the "war on terror" will ever be "won"? i mean seriously...does anyone ever believe the president of the united states of america when he says they will fight "until" the war on terror is complete?

what about the war on drugs? is that over yet? when are we pulling out on that?

the terms used by politicians and media are hilarious if you really think about it.

there never was peace on earth, and i really wonder how many people think there ever will be.

ultimately, do humans say these things only because we need an ideal to strive for?

 

[Kieran McConville]

Yeah, probably. The war is a wonderful metaphor for stuff. Also it stifles dissent.

We're at war, caisenema! We've always been at war! I should know, sir, I've ALWAYS been here...

 

[blueyedpoet]

I don't know if there ever will be peace, but to assume that there will not be is lame. It allows people to be lazy and allow evil to surround us all.

 

[A_Wanderer]

A peaceful world is not neccessarily a free world.

 

[nathan1977]

"I'm sick of hearing again and again
"That there's (never*) gonna be peace on earth"
~ Bono

Lyrics originally written in 98
Revised in fall 01

 

[Moonlit_Angel]

I think it's not nearly as far-fetched an idea as people make it sound. Of course a peaceful world isn't likely now-it's kinda hard, after all, to get anything done if one just sits there and is like, "Well, it's never gonna happen, so why bother?".

But if people actually weren't so cynical and actually worked hard at trying to achieve more peaceful relations and getting everyone to get along well, then yeah, I think all these sorts of things could be possible.

Angela

 

[trevster2k]

At the time, who thought slavery would end, who thought people of different races would marry, who thought China and India would recover from their tremendous poverty to lead the 21st century in economic growth, who thought gays and lesbians would be openly accepted in our societies, who thought the world would be proven to be a sphere, and I'm sure there are many others improbabilities which at the time were thought to be a ridiculous belief.

Lots of supposedly impossible things have come to pass through understanding and the capacity of human beings to rise above petty discriminations. You're right about the political spin on war on drugs, terror, those aren't actual achievable goals. Who thought the United States of America would be one of the largest trading partners of the largest communist nation on earth, China? The reason, political ideologies are ignored when it comes to economics, Cuba is treated as a pariah by the US while China is embraced. Poverty has already been eliminated on a large scale in many parts of the world as well as many diseases, of course there are many areas which still need assistance to achieve complete success but we have proven already that we can create change.

Lots of improbable things come true in our world. Why? HOPE, there is always hope.

 

[A_Wanderer]

What do we mean by peace, there are some examples of peace that I would find thoroughly unacceptable.

Peace of the Grave?

Peace of Subjegation?

Peace in Our Time?

Peace in All Time?

 

[Saracene]

Well no, I don't think that poverty or racism will ever disappear completely or that there will ever be world-wide peace.

However I think it's entirely possible to imagine the world that may not be completely free of all the evils but is still better than what it is now.

 

[melon]

At the bare minimum, religion will always ensure the very violent world it claims to defend against. Why? "It's God's will." Hence, the logic is that those who work for world peace are atheists going against "God's will."

This may not be the conscious argument of today, per se, but guess which groups opposed the smallpox vaccine? That was "God's punishment for sin," don't you know? Thankfully, back in those days, governments had no qualms about holding people down and forcibly vaccinating them. Maybe we need to do this to the Amish to eradicate polio, since they're in the way.

This is also why there's been a lot of "Christian Zionism" these days. It's not support for the Jews. It's the hope that having the Jews and the Palestinians kill each other will spark Armageddon and the Second Coming. After all, Jerry Falwell sees the "silver lining" in such a scenario; all the Palestinians and 3/4 of the Jews will be killed, with the remaining converting to Christianity. Good times!

Melon

 

[A_Wanderer]

I think you are identifying the type of peace that prosthelyzing religions are built for, complete and total dominion over the globe and absolute power. Until their peace is realised then there can only be conflict with their competition.

 

[financeguy]

I think you are identifying the type of peace that prosthelyzing religions are built for, complete and total dominion over the globe and absolute power. Until their peace is realised then there can only be conflict with their competition.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pnac

 

[A_Wanderer]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_interest

 

[financeguy]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spheres_of_influence

 

[A_Wanderer]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic_Peace_Theory

 

[Kieran McConville]

Well guys, we can swap wikipedia links all night, but I'm off to bed now, perchance to dream of Patrick Bateman.

 

[verte76]

We'll never completely get rid of evil. That's unthinkable. As long as there are human beings on this planet we'll have evil. That doesn't mean we shouldn't try to do good things and encourage things like peace.

 

[coemgen]

^ I agree, verte.

 

[joyfulgirl]

This is the world of duality. We only know peace because we have war, we only know light because of darkness, etc. We are not at peace within ourselves, how can there be peace outside of us? Sure we can feel "at peace" inside at certain times but for the most part there's a battle raging within our own minds.

 

[Zoomerang96]

"I'm sick of hearing again and again
"That there's (never*) gonna be peace on earth"
~ Bono

Lyrics originally written in 98
Revised in fall 01

well sorry to break it to you bono, but i'll give you a crisp 100 dollar bill the day the world has "peace".

read 7oyful girl's last post here, that partly explains what i'm trying to say.

as long as heaven's not on earth, earth will continue to be

earth.

and the earth since the beginning of time, since adam and eve, since the stars first exploded in the sky, has known violence.

it's what we are.

but i agree with the sentiment that people should at least try and make things better anyway. it's a fight worth fighting for.

 

[angelordevil]

This is the world of duality. We only know peace because we have war, we only know light because of darkness, etc. We are not at peace within ourselves, how can there be peace outside of us? Sure we can feel "at peace" inside at certain times but for the most part there's a battle raging within our own minds.

That’s very well said. We all do have the battle inside of us--and it’s the same battle the world over, in each person of each nation.

Sadly, I think that what’s keeping us from reaching peace is the fear of the other. It's this fear that often mutates into religious fundamentalism, which, in turn, creates more fear.

Everyone craves validation…that’s the bottom line. Whether you’re starving in Africa, or a “struggling” stockbroker in New York, ultimately you want your life to mean something. The pressure and tension arrives when that validation doesn’t happen. You isolate yourself, create your own space that you can control, and build a big fence between your neighbours. Globally, it’s easier to be ignorant of another culture when you’re just looking in on television, or connecting it with an attack on your city.

There’s also the big question of corporate greed, and how’s truly perpetuating the divide between the haves and have-nots. Along with continual downsizing and mechanization, the current global business model tells workers that they’re disposable.

The latest phenomenon is how this corporate philosophy is infiltrating--even controlling—our respective governments. In watching the United States, we’ve seen how it can physically ruin lives, and mostly those of the poor, with actual wars that are fought on behalf of oil companies and huge conglomerates. I’m not sure what the answers are here, but I do know we have to keep asking questions. We need better politicians, and better decision makers. Everyone deserves full participatory rights in shaping society, not simply a chosen few.

Ultimately, I see technology as a liberating force in the search for peace. In many ways we actually know more about each other than ever before. We’ve got Google Earth, television, the internet. However, it’s as if our hearts haven’t kept pace with our minds.

I think that will be the deal-breaker for humanity—the fact that we’ve got all the tools and technology to create something close to heaven on earth, but what happens next? Do we have the will and the desire to make it happen?

I’m betting that we do. If a website about four guys in a band from Ireland can bring us together, then surely there's a potential for great things to happen.

 

[Zoomerang96]

well said angel, but i disagree with your last paragraph.

we do NOT have it in us, and there's enough people in power that would rather bring the entire world down with them if worse came to worse.

 

[trevster2k]

Well, here is how it all ends. F*ck Dat!


http://www.ebaumsworld.com/flash/endofworld.html

 

[vervex]

I wondered the same thing. I've met people who believe in peace on Earth. And still... I just can't believe it. Since humans learned how to think, they've never stopped fighting. Even if it's just for a female, for territories like animals (in a fancy way now, of course, with bombs and guns), in the name of religion, since milleniums... Why would it stop ? Even though some of us might be pacifists, who's gonna listen to us ? We are nothing... next to war