Peace

is it just a concept?

Published on August 8, 2007 By KarmaGirl In Blogging

I was meditating on the concept of "peace" during my morning commute. It's a great idea, isn't it? The world living in harmony. Mankind being civil. People existing without fear. Families building a home and feeling safe...living a life without violence or senseless loss.

Peace

It'll never happen.

There are signs up all over the place saying "Peace- No War!" What war are the referring to? One would argue that they are referring to the war in Iraq. US citizens are dying over there. But what about the US citizens that die in the US every day? It's war- just a different type.

US Casualties in Iraq 2005: 846
US Casualties in California 2005: 2,503 (but, they call it "murder" instead)

Peace

California is more dangerous than being in the war.... 3 times as dangerous. Why? At least the military recruits signed up knowing they could be placed in a war. What did the people in California do?

Peace

Do some other countries even try? Just read about the AIDS epidemic and the hideous reasons that it is spread (equates to murder..except by disease) in Africa. What about the military brutality (that's too nice of a word for it) in the Congo? Or, even the horrific population control methods enforced and involuntarily forced on women in Tibet?

Peace

I'll never see it in my lifetime.

Comments (Page 1)

Zydor

on Aug 08, 2007

You will not if you are determined to find it, but you will if you dont look.

You are right, there will always be wars yaddie yadda, to dream otherwise is just that, a dream, its very regretably in mankinds competitive nature.

Instead of sleepness nights worrying about impending Armagedeon, sleep content that there are many good things in this world, you just dont get them reported. Crime is endemic in some areas thats for sure, but in the vast majority its not, and you can go about normal life (with sensible unintrusive precautions) without fear. Live in a crime ridden area, and for sure life is rough to say the least - but you will only hear about the bad bits, its the latter that boosts media circulation and revenue - not stories about "man strokes cat".

Callous, indifferent? No, not at all, just realistic - dont let the voluable few dictate your life, its what they want to satisfy their urge to be 'iconic'. Just enjoy the good things about life, there is a lot around, despite the media's sponsor telling you otherwise. Its very easy to be negative, the Media are past masters at that easy art form, it takes focus and effort to be positive in the whirl of negative media, but its worth it, life is ok if you look for it .......

Smile, be happy

KarmaGirl

on Aug 08, 2007

sleepness nights worrying about impending Armagedeon

lol...uh, I don't think that has ever happened to me.

The point wasn't about *my* life. I live in a small community that has so little crime that it doesn't even have its own police force. However, you never know when some jerk with no value on life could step in and destroy your "peaceful" existence.

The article is about "peace", not "good in life". Sure, there are plenty of good things in life. I enjoy many each day. But "peace" just doesn't exist. The two are not the same.

Locamama

on Aug 08, 2007

Yes, I think world peace is an admirable goal but not realistic. I remember during the first Iraq war how sad it made me that we hadn't learned enough to move beyond killing each other to solve our differences. I guess I have become more jaded since then.

foreverserenity

on Aug 08, 2007

I doubt I'll see peace in my children's lifetime too and that's a horrible prediction!

KarmaGirl

on Aug 08, 2007

Peace is plentiful, Angie.

Nah, I really don't see it. I see joy. I see happiness. But, I don't see real peace. All I have seen in my lifetime is more and more violence and less and less consequences. Then when we try to establish "peace" in a country riddled with horrible violence, we get people complaining that we aren't "peaceful". Can you have peace without violence? Is violence the only way to maintain peace?

Jythier

on Aug 08, 2007

I think respect is the only way to have peace without violence.

Texas Wahine

on Aug 08, 2007

Random killings get a lot of press, but the reality is being a law-abiding citizen does much to reduce your chance of being murdered.

I think comparing CA murder stats to Iraq war deaths is tacky.

Jythier

on Aug 08, 2007

Maybe we should compare CA murder stats to Iraq murder stats.

InBloom

on Aug 08, 2007

Peace exists in some aspects of my life. As for "world" peace, well, I still have hope...even if it doesn't look so good right now.

KarmaGirl

on Aug 08, 2007

I think comparing CA murder stats to Iraq war deaths is tacky.

Why is that? Is it because you are closer to the war? Is somebody who dies after they enlist in the military more of a tragedy than the kid who gets shot by a drive by shooting because he was close to the targets house? If we can't keep our own citizens from killing each other, then how will be ever "lead" any other country on how to be peaceful?

Can you tell me how comparing the war in Iraq to the war on our own soil is "tacky". I have a feeling that you say that because you are close to the war in Iraq. But, would you feel any different if a loved one died because of being shot in Iraq or if they were shot while walking down the street? Aren't both equal wastes of life? Are either "peaceful"?

Peace is where you find it. Where you make it. Even if only for yourself. You've created your little refuge from the world, enjoy it for all its worth because as you know, some people don't even have that.

I know what you mean with this, and it's true to a degree. But real peace, as in the sense of general peace on Earth, is just not going to happen. People have become too self serving and evil to be peaceful. Heck, you can't even drive to work without seeing some jerk being aggressive and dangerous.

I don't watch the News, either. I've never been a fan of reading the paper, either. Other than the occasional odd happening (like the guy who got bitten by his pet black widow and was found days later in his apartment being eaten by pet lizards and spiders) I don't pay attention to any news. Why? I live close enough to Detroit that I get Detroit news. It's absolutely barbaric what happens on a day to day basis, and so many of the victims are innocent bystanders.

Texas Wahine

on Aug 08, 2007

Karma, I would love to see the stats that show that most of the murders in CA are children getting caught in the crossfire.

Avoiding criminal activity greatly reduces your risk of being murdered.

I don't equate being a gang-banger with being a Soldier.

KarmaGirl

on Aug 09, 2007

Karma, I would love to see the stats that show that most of the murders in CA are children getting caught in the crossfire.

I don't know the stats on California, but I know what I see on the news from Detroit. There isn't a single day that I have turned on the news and haven't heard about a kid being shot because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time. Hell, just the other day a little boy was killed while he sat in his living room playing Xbox. Bullet went through the window and killed him in a senseless drive by. And, where did I say that "most" were that? It was one example. That would be like saying "most" of military deaths are due to land mines. It's just one example of senseless death.

The big difference is that a soldier signs up to be in the military. I didn't sign up. Why? Because when you sign up, you do so with the understanding that you could go to war and die since that's a reality of the military. A soldier chooses to be there- a child has no choice of where their parents raise them.

Or, what about being killed during a robbery? Or being killed while being car jacked? These types of murders happen every day- they just happen more frequently in big cities due to larger populations. It's not realistic thinking to think that most of the crimes are because of being a "gang-banger" .

What about stories like these (two from todays Detroit News, one from LA):
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070809/METRO/708090444&imw=Y
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070809/UPDATE/708090452
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/crime/la-me-history8aug08,1,1620271.story?coll=la-headlines-california-crime&ctrack=3&cset=true

stevendedalus

on Aug 09, 2007

Aug '45

toothache's revenge

on Aug 09, 2007

peace isn't something that happens out in the world. peace happens in your head. if you are lucky.

deep, huh?

i fight a war every day because i like to be angry. for some reason, it feels good to me, it feels right. but the one thing that i have just recently come to understand is that world peace is a pipe dream. i'm not really a bitter person, just being realistic too.

Draginol

on Aug 09, 2007

Universal peace is impossible as long as one person has what another person wants.

Peace is easy to conceive as we sit comfortably in our culture of plenty.

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