Saturday, August 2, 2008

World Peace?

How do I want to contribute to world peace?


Well, what is “world peace”? When thinking of world peace, does one think of all mankind “singing the same song.” Possibly, but what is the song being sung? Is it the song of the collective or of the Individual? As Ghandi said, "The first step in peace for all is to reach out to the person next to you." Here, the important person is not yourself but your fellows; your responsibility lays in the service of others, how does that create peace? To speak of World Peace is almost detachment of self-responsibility, of course you serve others, but if you yourself are not whole and at peace then in reality you are not doing your true part.

Fighting for world peace can be much like fighting in a bloody war, you are nameless, and in some ways your responsibility of the deaths you have caused now lay as a collective whole on everyone. World peace, I believe, is an abstraction of the true goal, that is, individual peace; the task of true individual peace is more arduous. Now we come to the question, what is peace? I believe peace comes from knowing your own wants and needs and being at peace with the process you choose to achieve such things. To look yourself in the eyes and be comfortable, no doubt that you are at “one” with yourself, your self-purpose. How can this be achieved “peacefully”? To peacefully achieve your own ends you must be conscious of every individuals right to do so, and be wary not to encroach upon the rights of others. In reality, world peace is found in a candy shop, where the child buying candy wants what he’s buying and the man selling the candy values the return. Or, at the street corner at the hotdog booth, the balloon salesman, the hug, honest smiles between any individuals. Humankind is nothing without the individual, and so the world should be regarded as a place of individuals that through striving for their own ends support others in achieve their separate ends, and for the most part, peacefully.


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