Peace on Earth and Goodwill To All
Sounds great! This phrase often conjures up warm feelings, and memories of the holiday season when it feels right to feel “good will” towards others. The problem is, we need to be thinking this way on a regular basis. Saving these emotions for one season a year is part of the reason we have actually not seen Peace on Earth for as far back as 2925BC!! Realistically, it has probably been even longer. (http://www.warscholar.com/Timeline.html)
Think of all the people brutally murdered in wars currently waged across the globe. Think about the ethnic cleansing in Africa, the “war on terror” in Iraq and in Afghanistan, recent conflicts between Hamas and Isreal, Russia and Georgia, and uprisings in Burma. Now picture, if you can, the thousands of innocent, wonderful, and loving people who suffered. If you met some of these people, they might remind you of your energetic, warm and caring grandparents, or your son or daughter filled with hope and promise, or your best friend from school who was always there for you… Yet, these noble people are in agony, with blood gushing from sockets where blown off limbs used to attach, brains swelling from concussions and cracked skulls, and internal organs ruptured from the shock waves of nearby explosions. In fact, they probably won’t make it through the night..
Now, realize that this has been going on for about 5,000 years. Why? Who is to blame?
Unfortunately, the blame is on all of us.
What about Hitler? What about Pol Pot? countless of other ruthless dictators? What about the crusades?, or countless other massacres in the name of religion?
In no way will understanding the motivations behind these heinous crimes justify or absolve those involved. But these situations are EXACTLY why we need to implement a weekly moment of silent reflection on non-violence across the globe.
You may wonder “How could this possibly help?”
None of these massive onslaughts took place overnight. We, as a society, had a number of opportunities to stop the madness…
Picture an angry young man. For whatever reasons, his experiences growing up have caused him to think the world is against him, and thus acts against the world. This is where you come in. You are at the grocery store, and you see this man. He doesn’t say anything, but stares with anger, as if you had wronged him in some way (he might not even realize he‘s glaring at you). Knowing you did nothing wrong, you become annoyed with this young man and shout “What’s yer problem!”. Or, even worse, you bottle up your anger and passive-aggressively bump his cart or get in his way when he’s trying to get a carton of eggs.
Now, you have just reinforced his belief that the world is against him. As time goes by, he experiences similar things repeatedly, and sometimes the outcome is much worse… Maybe some people get angry enough to pick fights? Leading him to start picking fights… next thing you know, he’s leading a powerful nation on a vicious crusade to take over the world. Of coarse, it was a decade ago when you saw him at the store, and don’t even realize you were part of the problem. Or maybe you recognize him, and think to yourself “I knew that dude was a jerk!”. (If you think this is too far fetched, please keep reading. We cover less extreme situations in just a moment.. the next few paragraphs are important for the less extreme cases as well)
Why was this our fault?
First of all, yes, it is mostly the young man/ruthless dictator's fault as well, but we cannot get away without taking any responsibility. We have been taught from day one to be on the defensive, because being vulnerable can hurt too much. We were taught this while being teased on the playground, having our hearts broken in relationships, getting yelled at by our bosses, and fighting with our friends, family and roommates. “If I am vulnerable, it will show weakness, and they will win!”.
Have you ever been angry at something that happened to you earlier in the day and accidentally glared at a stranger? Most likely. Often we are not even aware we are doing it. Also, some cultures tend to be more solemn in public than others, to the point where they seem to be glaring. On top of that, other people just naturally look unhappy. I know some people in my life that I often ask “what’s wrong?” just to find out that nothing is wrong, their default look just happens to appear upset. Now, if you had thought about all of these possibilities in the instant that young man glared at you, or gave you “stink eye”, you could have reacted differently. Or, instead of forcing yourself to think about all those possiblities, you could have given him the benefit of the doubt.
Instead of saying “What’s yer problem!”, you could have said in a calm and caring voice “Hey, is something wrong?” or “My friend, are you OK?”. Chances are, he would snap out of it and smile and apologize… or possibly he would tell you something was bothering him, and this admission alone could provide some cathartic release for him. And if other people who run into him follow the same pattern, maybe his attitude about the world will change…. Maybe he would decide to start an organization to help troubled youth get off the streets? Who knows.
TOO FAR FETCHED?
OK. Maybe you don’t believe this would have worked on such powerful cases as Hitler, Pol Pot, etc. We could argue about this, but it is not necessarily important. The most important point is that these tyrants could not have done what they did on their own… Not even close! Instead, they needed MILLIONS of downtrodden individuals to work for them. Millions of people who felt they had been wronged. Millions of people who felt someone was to blame for their current state. Millions of people who felt strong enough hatred that they were willing to kill other humans because of it! THIS IS WHERE YOU COME IN. You, me, and the rest of our society!
If we can change our ways as a society, we can make such atrocities much less likely to happen. By training ourselves to try to understand those we feel have wronged us, rather than to defend ourselves from them, we can eliminate much of the misplaced anger in the world. Without such anger and hatred, how could Hitler have come to power? Who would have stood behind him? How would any dictator convince people to slaughter massive amounts of people if that dictator cannot find enough people with that much hatred and anger in them?
This is not rocket science. I am not proclaiming to have stumbled upon some crazy concept that will instantly fix the world. Most of us know in our hearts that it is our combined social values and intereactions between each other that sets the mood for interactions between larger groups, and thus cultures, and thus countries. Matin Luther King said it. Ghandi said it before him. In fact Lao Tzu said it 2,500 years ago (translation):
If there is to be peace in the world,
There must be peace in the nations.
If there is to be peace in the nations,
There must be peace in the cities.
If there is to be peace in the cities,
There must be peace between neighbors.
If there is to be peace between neighbors,
There must be peace in the home.
If there is to be peace in the home,
There must be peace in the heart.
VIOLENCE ON A LOCAL LEVEL (this is not just for people suffering in far off countries!)
Global violence is rooted in the hearts and minds of the masses. Therefore, attacking the root (our individual hearts and minds) will address violence on all scales. We are not just aiming to decrease violence between nations, but also violence among cultures, violence among communities, violence among neighbors, and violence among friends and family.
There is plenty of violence in our own neighborhoods every day! As shown in the story earlier, the way you react to others can help build or help tear down their anger and thus their violent tendencies. This has a direct effect on you and your community. Did you know:
- Close to 2 million people are assaulted each year. (38,000 individuals a week! or 5,500 citizens each day!)
- About 1 in 3 High Schoolers report being in a physical fight each year… 1 in 8 of those required medical attention for resulting injuries
- Domestic violence is the #1 cause of
all injuries to women!
- This is a problem for all of us… and it will take all of us to improve it!
WHY SILENCE?
Few things are as noticable as a mass collection of people joined together in silence. In our busy, go-go lives, it is almost impossible to find such silence anywhere inhabited by people. And, more importantly, if we are to gain a better understanding of those who oppose our own views, the first thing we must do is stop talking, and listen. In other words, most of us flap our gums a bit too much and we would benefit from practicing to be silent! :)
WHY ONE MINUTE A WEEK?
Two reasons:
1) People do not change their ways easily! We often read articles or books or see movies that make a big impact on us… maybe enough that we decide we should change our ways (diet, exercise, work more, work less, etc.) However, it is a rare case that our behavior changes long term. This is why we need silence for non-violence as a weekly reminder! It is not enough to want to treat people better. It is not enough to want the world to have less violence. We most continually remind ourselves of this goal.
2) It is only one minute in a week! Since there are 10,080 minutes in every week, there is no excuse why you cannot spend 1 of those reflecting on your responsibilities to your community. If you cannot stop at the given time, take a minute for reflection at another time in the week. We encourage people to reflect even more often, if they'd like, but we know a minute a week is something every single person (that includes you) can afford. In fact, you owe it to your fellow citizens, as they owe it to you.
WHY DO WE ALL DO IT AT THE SAME TIME?
Because it is more powerful. Some believe in the energy created when masses of people are collectively focused on one thing. But even if you don’t, if everyone in a room makes a conscious choice to stop all the noise at the same time, it is a symbol of people working together for a common cause. It shows that no matter what differences you have with those near you, you have at least one thing in common. A desire to decrease the violence in your own life.
WHY SHOULD MY COMPANY PARTICIPATE?
According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, in a 2005 survey at least 50% of all establishments employing over 1,000 or more workers experienced workplace violence. In a previous study, they also found approximately 1 million violent crimes occur in the workplace each year, and 10% of these involved HANDGUNS! So, 1 minute a week could save your company a from the anguish, lost time, lost productivity, and tarnished image of such an incident!
Because your company, and it’s policies have a direct effect on your workers, and you and your employees are all responsible for our society. For those of you constantly thinking of the “bottom line”. Do you think workers are more productive when they think positively about their company? By showing you care about our society, you could gain more support AND PRODUCTIVITY from your workforce!
DO YOU THINK YOU ARE PEACEFUL ENOUGH?
Here is a good test. Below is a list of words. Which of these bring about feelings of anger, fear, distrust, or anxiety from within you?
Democrat
Republican
Black
Hispanic
Asian
Arab
White
Men
Women
Independent woman
Traditional woman
Sensitive man
Jock
Nerd
Jew
Gay
Lesbian
Transvestite
Right Wing
Christian
Christian Conservative
Mormon/LDS
Hindu
Muslim
Buddhist
Atheist
Agnostic
Pro-life
Pro-choice
Abortion
Same sex marriage
Defense of marriage act
National Rifle Association
American Civil Liberties Union
Jesus
Allah
Jews
OK, the list could go on and on. PLEASE UNDERSTAND the point is not that we all need to get along and agree with each other. That will never happen. The point of this exercise is that, if you are like most people, at least a few of these words caused you to feel anger, fear, or some other reactive emotion. I’ll be the first to admit, some of these words still stir up some anger in me (I need these moments of silence as much as you!). Unfortunately, this anger is a defensive reaction, and not one of understanding. There are many great and noble people related to or belonging to every word on this list. They have their reasons, and we need to get past our individual reactive issues if we are ever going to approach our conflicts in a non-violent manner. We will always have conflicts, the important part is how we choose to address them.
