PEACE ON EARTH

Bleak Morn writes, "It will be nice when the Iraqi insurgents start playing soccer with the coalition forces in Fallujah on Xmas day." I believe peace starts within and radiates outwards. Each person can want world peace or at least an end to the present war in Iraq, but without each person involved making a commitment like "let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me", there won’t be a lasting peace and the best we might hope for are moments of silence. Peace shouldn’t always be the responsibility of others and entirely left in the hands of those who rule. Shouldn’t peace start with how we treat each other…our fellow man in any given situation on a daily basis and not something we hope for in times of war? I know my feelings on the matter pretty much date back to the era in which I was raised, so perhaps my believing in brotherly love and wanting peace is as nostalgic as lava lamps and bell bottoms! Wait a minute, didn’t they make a comeback a few years ago? Yes, having the troops play soccer on Christmas Day would be not only nice, but an excellent way to remind everyone that the Christmas spirit is alive and well and not living in the shopping malls!

Comments:

Mark
DECEMBER 17, 2004 AT 8:25 AM 

Some people have the simplistic belief that peace is some natural state that will happen if we just let it. Experience should teach that peace only exists in relative terms.All creatures on earth live in a state of perpetual war from bacteria on up to humans. Our social structure is even defined – not in terms of who is aggressive and who is not, but how we respond to aggression.With this in mind it doesn’t do much good to imagine a fairytale land where there is no war – but instead to determine calculated responses to aggression that are effective and reasonable.

Mark
DECEMBER 17, 2004 AT 8:27 AM 

Republicans and Democrats thirst for revenge after 9/11 via "the war on terror" (ie: holy war of Christianity and Judaism against Islam), but this war is neither effective or reasonable. This response doesn’t make sense. 9/11 only killed around 2,752 people. By contrast, in 2002 we lost 3,672 Americans to motor vehicle accidents. Which do you think would save more lives – spending TRILLIONS on killing religious fanatics (and scores of innocent civilians they hide amongst) overseas or spending those trillions on motor vehicle safety enhancements stateside? The terrorism problem needs to be addressed, but a clandestine approach would be more fitting than high profile invasions the serve only as more propaganda for our enemies.

Mark
DECEMBER 17, 2004 AT 8:37 AM 

You suggested that "having the troops play soccer on Christmas Day would be not only nice, but an excellent way to remind everyone that the Christmas spirit is alive and well and not living in the shopping malls!"The problem with comparing the WWI case you mentioned earlier to the present holy war is that in WWI you had Christians killing each other and at least for a day they came to their senses. The warring cultures were so similar that they sang the same holiday tunes.This is not the case in Iraq. Foisting Christian holidays on them is a bad move, and even focusing on the primitive "winter celebration" aspect seems pretty silly in the middle of a desert.To an insurgent, Xmas is just another day – and in a holy war, probably a good day for a demoralizing attack on forces far longing for home.