(Still) More Peace Quotes

Always worth thinking about:

 

“Before the war, and especially before the Boer War, it was summer all the year round.”

George Orwell

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“Peace is not an absence of war, it is a virtue, a state of mind, a disposition for benevolence, confidence, justice.”

Benedict Spinoza

—–

“Once you hear the details of victory, it is hard to distinguish it from a defeat.”

Jean-Paul Sartre

—–

“How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings that publisheth peace.”

Old Testament — Isaiah

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“If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.”

New Testament – Romans

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“Keep thyself first in peace, and then thou wilt be able to bring others to peace.”

Thomas a Kempis

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“Peace cannot be kept by force. It can only be achieved by understanding”

Albert Einstein

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(I really like the quote from Sartre…IGB)

The Charter for Compassion (redux)

Some time ago I wrote a post about the Charter for Compassion project .  Well, if you click on the site link you will see that the Charter has been written and now is in the process of being circulated.  Here is the text:

“The Charter for Compassion

The principle of compassion lies at the heart of all religious, ethical and spiritual traditions, calling us always to treat all others as we wish to be treated ourselves. Compassion impels us to work tirelessly to alleviate the suffering of our fellow creatures, to dethrone ourselves from the centre of our world and put another there, and to honour the inviolable sanctity of every single human being, treating everybody, without exception, with absolute justice, equity and respect.

It is also necessary in both public and private life to refrain consistently and empathically from inflicting pain. To act or speak violently out of spite, chauvinism, or self-interest, to impoverish, exploit or deny basic rights to anybody, and to incite hatred by denigrating others—even our enemies—is a denial of our common humanity. We acknowledge that we have failed to live compassionately and that some have even increased the sum of human misery in the name of religion.

We therefore call upon all men and women ~ to restore compassion to the centre of morality and religion ~ to return to the ancient principle that any interpretation of scripture that breeds violence, hatred or disdain is illegitimate ~ to ensure that youth are given accurate and respectful information about other traditions, religions and cultures ~ to encourage a positive appreciation of cultural and religious diversity ~ to cultivate an informed empathy with the suffering of all human beings—even those regarded as enemies.

We urgently need to make compassion a clear, luminous and dynamic force in our polarized world. Rooted in a principled determination to transcend selfishness, compassion can break down political, dogmatic, ideological and religious boundaries. Born of our deep interdependence, compassion is essential to human relationships and to a fulfilled humanity. It is the path to enlightenment, and indispensible to the creation of a just economy and a peaceful global community.”

You can learn more about the Charterl’s partners, the famous people involved, etc… on the site.

Compassion is  a quality possessed by all truly spiritual people and essential to a culture of peace.

IGbarb says:  “Wage peace compassionately!”

 

Walls

I suppose everybody knows that yesterday was the big celebration of the fall of the Berlin Wall 20 years ago.  It was interesting, and inspiring to be reminded of those amazing events (if you are old enough to remember them).   I found the falling dominos at first a strange idea (since in International Relations we used to talk about the “domino” theory–go look it up), but as I learned more about it, I think it was a good metaphor.  As it happens, in the mid 80s, because I was teaching courses to American soldiers in Berlin I could travel back and forth from West to East Berlin, and I visited some people who lived not far from the Brandenburg gate (on the Eastern side !).  I swear that as you went from East to West on the subway you could feel the moment you passed the wall.  To me at least, it was palpable.

Anyhow, I saw on French TV last night that there is a young photographer (whose name now escapes me) who at this moment has an exhibition of photographs of other major walls in the world.   She made the point that  these walls exist to, supposedly, protect one group from the “evils” of another:  poverty, terrorism, illegal immigration, etc…  You probably know where some of these walls are, and I don’t want to point political fingers here.  What came to my mind was how the “fall” (or simply removal) of such walls are concrete signs of peace and can facilitate (obviously) more exchange and unification (or in the case of the Germans reunification) among alienated groups and peoples.   So, in a sense these remaining walls, and what is or is not being done about are gages for the evolution toward peace in the world.   Crudely put:  walls going up, peace getting farther away; walls coming down, the possibilities for peace increasing.

Does that make sense?

IGbarb says “tear down the walls!”

“Everybody together
We should be together
We should be together my friends
We can be together
We will be
We must begin here and now
A new continent of earth and fire
Come on now gettin higher and higher
Tear down the walls
Tear down the walls
Tear down the walls
Won’t you try”

(Jefferson Airplane, “We Can be Together”)

Berlin Wall

Blue Helmets and Berets

I thought it would be interesting to show a few images of peacekeepers.  They are soldiers, but they are there for peace and managing conflict.  Believe me, in today’s world we definitely need them.  They aren’t perfect (there have been scandals) but they are essential.  They come from many places, but all wear the traditional blue headgear.

Brazilians

Asians (from somewhere)

Russians

Spanish

Australians

IGbarb says:  “Keep on keepin’ the peace!”

Peace Today Movie

I just came across nice video of peace images and a gentle peace song:

…and here are the lyrics from the song”A Call for World Peace” by Faith Rivera:

“Peace is the promise I make today
There’s nothing greater for me to say
Than to lay down my fears
Lay down unhappiness
And surrender to
The peace I choose today

Peace is the gift that I give today
No easy shortcut, Peace is the way
I will lay down my pride
Lay down self-righteousness
And surrender to
The peace I choose today

My all, I give My love for all

Peace is the reason we’re here today
No accident, we’ve been by name
Called to lay down our lives
Stand up for greater good
And surrender to the peace we choose today

Peace, we choose – today
Peace, we bring – today
Peace, we live oh-today

Peace today”

IGbarb says:  “Have a peaceful day!”

 

Images with a common theme

I’ve picked up that visuals add a lot to a blog (duh!).  So, I am always looking around for nice peace images.  Today, I just googled “world peace”, and noticed that there are quite a few images with common elements:  hand/arms, dove and/or globe.

I think these are evocative, and I am impressed with how many different ways you can use the same elements to get the message across.

IGbarb says:  the more peace art the better!

Peace over Violence

I just came across the Peace Over Violence site, and it looks to be very timely and meaningful.  Here are a few extracts from their “Manifesto” .
“Violence against women is the most pervasive yet least recognized human rights abuse in the world. For over three decades, women’s advocacy groups around the world have been working to draw attention to the physical, psychological, and sexual abuse of women and to stress the need for action. We have provided abused women with support and protection, lobbied for legal reforms, and challenged the pervasive culture of violence.”

…and…

“We understand violence in relationships, families and communities is a root cause for violence in society. To address the problem at its core is to change how this problem manifests and magnifies itself in society at large. Changing an individual point of view toward sexual, domestic and interpersonal violence will — one on one, one by one — cause social change, a transformation of society, a world without violence.

Our vision is a world without violence. Where no child is abused, no wife battered, no friend raped. A world without terror, without threats, without wounds from intentional actions. Where the strong provide for the vulnerable, where the vulnerable become empowered, where every kind of family is safe and secure, and girls and boys and women and men have a fair and equal chance at the pursuit of happiness in a tolerant and talented society.”

As you can see this organization used to be the Los Angeles Commission on Assaults Against Women (LACAAW), in case you might have heard of it under this other name.

This all looks good to me.  It is all too easy to promote “world peace” and ignore the violence in oneself and one’s immediate surroundings.

IGbarb says:  definitely a good way to go!

What Georgetown U. is doing

Many of you may know that Georgetown University in the (obviously) Georgetown section of Washington D.C. is a very good and prestigious Caltholic university (and they generally play pretty good basket basketball too ).  Well, they also have a Master of Arts Program in Conflict Resolution :

“From Darfur to Iraq to Washington D.C., disputes over politics, culture, resources, and religion have given rise to the need for new and creative approaches to resolving conflict. While deeply-rooted conflicts are often not fully resolved, they may be transformed from heated or violent disputes into more manageable, peaceful forms.

The two-year M.A. program is an intensive, theoretically- and practically-oriented, multidisciplinary degree. It is housed in the Government Department, with core courses offered also in the Department of Psychology and the McDonough School of Business.   Elective courses may be selected from departments across campus, including courses in dispute resolution offered at the Georgetown University Law Center.  The program seeks to build on and reinforce Georgetown University’s traditional commitments to peace, outreach, and ethics.

The program’s broad themes trace the three basic stages of conflict processes including the origins of disputes, mediation and negotiation, and post-conflict peace building. Students examine intergroup, community and global perspectives of conflict resolution while exploring topics such as the role of religion in conflict and conciliation, alternative dispute resolution, multiparty negotiations, workplace conflict resolution, third party intervention in civil conflicts, and emerging norms in the resolution of international conflict.

Students graduating from the program have established successful careers in government, non-governmental organizations, and private sector businesses.”

As you can see from the Curriculum page, the program really is cross disciplinary:

“The Conflict Resolution course of study draws on a rich body of offerings from across the Georgetown University campus. All students will complete four core courses in Conflict Resolution, including courses that are both theory- and practice-oriented. In addition to the core, students may choose from a wide range of elective courses, depending on the student’s individual interests.

Many courses in the Government Department focus on the political aspects of the field. But beyond these, students may be interested in, for example, inter-religious dialogue from a theological perspective, the philosophical origins of violence, the psychological aspects of intergroup relations, or the legalistic methods of Alternative Dispute Resolution. Therefore, courses in such departments as Theology, Philosophy, Psychology, and the Law School are included as integral parts of the program.”

This looks like a good program.  However, I have a small bone to pick–or rather suggestion to make to improve the program even further.   As far as I can tell there is no course that addresses the field of Peace Studies.  There are several courses on Peace building and Peace Process(es), but an introduction to Peace Studies is notably absent.  All one sees in the core is “conflict resolution”.  This is unfortunate, and really should be remedied.  We need to get beyond the Conflict Resolution/Peace Studies dichotomy…just my 2 cents.

Global Education

Today I googled “peaceful thoughts” (try it…I think you won’t be disappointed), and found–as expected–some nice results.  Among these was the following “teaching activity” on the Global Education website, in Australia:

“Thinking peaceful thoughts

Year level: Lower primary / Middle primary

Learning outcomes

Students share personal thoughts, ideas and understandings of peace.

Preparation

* relaxing, gentle music
* large sheets of paper and drawing materials
* large space

Lie on floor with eyes closed and listen to gentle music.

Think about things that make you feel calm and happy.

Draw a picture to represent these peaceful thoughts.

Write captions for the pictures ‘Peace is…’.

Share these ideas and pictures.

Assessment task

Are students able to revisit these peaceful thoughts in times of conflict? “

If you look at the left side of the page, you will see that this is just one of the teaching activities under the heading Peace building.  Here is the whole list:

“* Children as peace builders (UP)  : Students consider the roles children can play in peace building and overcoming obstacles to peace
* Current conflicts (LS)  : Students develop an understanding of current conflicts and the international responses
* Peace building (LS)  : Students explore and evaluate factors in building sustainable peace
* Peace education in Sierra Leone (UP)  : Students consider the roles children can play in peace building in their community
* Peace keeping (LS)  : Students develop an understanding about processes involved in assisting countries to move from conflict to peace
* Personal peace through the five senses (LP/MP)  : Students focus on personal peace through their five senses
* Piecing lives together (LS)  : Students will analyse the integrated approach necessary for the elimination of landmines
* Recipe for peace (LP/MP)  : Students will use procedural writing to express the key components and actions for peace.
* Stepping out! (UP)  : Students will learn about the problems of landmines, how survivors of landmine accidents are rebuilding their  lives and how the international community is working toward the removal of landmines
* Taking flight (LP/MP)  : Students will to develop empathy for people escaping conflict though book discussion.
* Teachers as peace builders (LS)  : Students will analyse the role of teachers as change agents in rebuilding society after conflict
* Thinking peaceful thoughts (LP/MP)  : Students share personal thoughts, ideas and understandings of peace
* Women as peace builders (U/Sec)  : Students investigate the specific role women play in the building of peace”

Imagine hundreds of thousands of classrooms all over the world doing these things.  Imagine these activities being started early in school and being reinforced and expanded as children move through the grades.  Imagine this being supported by nonviolence training in schools and communities.  This is a lot, but there is nothing here that is not already underway to some degree somewhere.

IGBarb says:  good on yer’ mate!

 

Dona Nobis Pacem

When I started this blog over a year ago, I had the impression that there weren’t so many bloggers focusing on peace.  Overall, that was probably true, but I have found more and more blog-oriented actions for peace.  One interesting one is Mimi’s Dona Nobis Pacem Blogblast for peace initiative. .  This started in 2006 as Mimi explains:

“When I sat down to write a blog post in October 2006, I didn’t expect it to birth a movement. Or did I? But that is exactly what happened. Frustrated and bewildered by the state of affairs in our world, I offered a challenge to my readers on my blog, Mimi Writes: What can we do? I asked. I tossed out an idea: Let’s all write a blog post about peace. And while we’re at it, let’s make some noise. Sign your name on this blue globe graphic, write a post about what peace means to you, title it “Dona Nobis Pacem” which is Latin for Grant Us Peace and publish. One day. One voice. One subject.” I wondered and asked……What would happen if we all said the same thing on the same day? I’ll tell you what happened.

We had a movement on our hands.

And before I knew it, there were peace globes everywhere. My dream is still to see those Latin words on every blog and every Facebook page and beyond – that vision has not changed; but what I’m finding in the ranks of blog pages across our world is far more eloquent than mere numbers can convey. I read them all. Mothers wanted no war for their sons and daughters. Fathers wanted prosperity for their families to flourish. Children scribbled paint-by-number love on blue graphics. Soldiers found no victory in misery. People held court with their adversaries for one day of truce talkin’. A dialogue began. Passion prevailed. Anger found words. Angst bowed to hope.
Diversity stood up to be counted. Tolerance spoke.
People wrote peace.”

There is a gallery of some of the past peace globes here .  You will find many nice images like this:

This year Novemer 5th is the day.

You too can have a peace globe.

IGbarb says:  Dona Nobis Pacem!