Peace

This is definitely one of the toughest indicators to even think about, never mind write about. The indicator I’m using, which is on Wikipedia, (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peace_index) is, I’m pretty sure, outdated, inaccurate, and there’s just no way everyone is going to be happy about it. But again, it’s the only thing I’ve been able to find out there.

How do we achieve peace? Lots of people have lots of theories, and, to be completely honest, no one has come up with the perfect solution yet. (If you have, please let me know.)

The problem with attaining peace is that, despite much protest in support of it, sometimes I think human beings really, deep down, find it boring and would much rather continue on in the rambunctious way they always have. I think we’re a bit afraid of peace because, when all the excitement of war is done, well, there’s a lot of hard work and clean-up afterwards. Witness the unrest and the Middle East — lots of people out still protesting, lots of trash lining the streets, lots of talk, not much happening at the top levels for real change, which is going to require a massive amount of work.

But the problem of getting peaceful is not something anyone on the planet can ignore. Not with several thousand nuclear weapons hanging around and a few not-too-stable countries (i.e., North Korea and Iran) adamant about their right to blow up other sovereign nations in their immediate neighborhood and possibly further away.

But how do you promote peace? Is it economic? Certain very wealthy Persian Gulf countries seem to indicate otherwise.

I’ve been extremely saddened to see the new-born country of South Sudan almost immediately riven with violence in the form of brutal cattle raids between tribes. This has been going on for centuries and apparently, is seen as just a part of normal life. How do we make peace the norm, and consign violence to the history books once and for all? Or is that even possible?

Thanks for stopping by,

Heather McC