Peace on Earth

You hear that wish a lot this time of year.  Wouldn’t it be wonderful if it could come true?  But it seems such an impossible thing to do.  “What can I do to make peace on earth?”  you probably ask.  “I’m only one person with no power whatsoever.”  But are you really powerless to get the process started?  Remember that saying about every journey starting with one step.  Think of the things that you can do.

How about starting in the family?  You know that son/daughter/brother/sister/mother/father/in-laws/cousin/aunt/uncle you haven’t talked to in some time because of some slight in the past.  Why not reach out and see if you can mend the situation?  Welcome an apology if one comes or apologize if that is the answer.  Get together with them to talk things over without getting into another argument.  Pay a loan if that is the issue.  Forgive a loan if that is appropriate.  At the very least it could bring peace into your life.

Make peace in the neighbourhood.  You know that neighbour who you don’t talk to anymore?  Reach out and try to find common ground. If the difference is over politics, talk about something else.  If it is over the look of one of your properties, see what you can agree on to make things better.  If their kids and yours don’t get along, have all the adults and kids sit down together to see where the antagonism arises.  Reach out to any neighbours who appear to be having problems or who are new to the neighbourhood.  Help where you can.  Such efforts could bring a more harmonious feeling among all you neighbours.

How about that service club/church group/fraternal organization/business group/sports club that is having problems with an internal dispute?  Try and broker a resolution meeting or suggest a way to solve the issue.  If you cannot come up with a solution yourself, suggest ways that could lead to solution to the satisfaction of both/all sides.  Remember that the idea is to come to a resolution to the satisfaction of all sides.  That needs compromise and pragmatism.  You want peace within the organization.

When you get to politics peace can be more difficult.  Feelings run higher.  Democracy is a contest.  But it need not be bloody contest.  One individual cannot make much of a difference.  But if we nominate and elect politicians who practice respect instead of antagonism, things might get better.  If we let it be known that we will not stand for attack politics and that we expect that politicians will do their best for all people, things might just get better.

But the real challenge is peace between nations and other belligerent groups.  To do that peacefully, that is without any attempt at peace through subjugation, will require a great deal of political will and diplomacy.  That means we must elect people with great skills in diplomacy and statesmanship.  Unfortunately, I don’t see any world leaders that fill that bill.  There is no doubt that the current Canadian Prime Minister would like to accomplish that goal, but he lacks the statesmanship characteristics required.  And there is no other person who is likely to rise to that role.  We must firmly reject politics that depend on division and belligerence for their platform.  There is no sign that likely candidates for leadership of any countries with such diplomatic characteristics are on the horizon.  But if we find them, we should hold on to them.

In every case where we try to bring forth peace, it is vitally important that we try to sit down and talk to our rivals.  Each side needs to listen as the other side explains their wants and problems.  From an understanding of these issues, a road to reconciliation can probably be found.  Wars, whether local, national, political, cultural, religious or ethnic are usually promoted by people who are only willing to see one side of an issue.

One bright spot among too many dark ones this year was the President of the United States sitting down with the leader of North Korea and talking about their issues.  It may very well have defused a possible hostile situation.  The follow-on dialogue between the leaders of each of the Koreas also shows promise of easing tensions in at least one part of the world. 

So, whether you start in the family, the neighbourhood, local or national politics, or on a world-wide scale, you can do your part to eventually bring peace to people.  Don’t blow it!