Thread: The Reality of Peace- Essay

Just some essay I did for English class. I don't, the teacher said it was good. What do you guys think? The assignment was: Take one of your beliefs and write what you would do if you were faced with a situation that made you want to denounce said belief. ( I know, I didn't really get it either). Anyway...

The Reality of Peace

By Scott Johnson

As humans we have an advanced consciousness, an understanding of social “right and wrong”, empathy and respect; all the ingredients to live peacefully. However there is a very barbaric, animalistic thirst for blood, competition and domination that seems to constantly surface through out man’s search for peace. There is a seemingly inevitable “kill” mode that is always resorted to. We have not, as of yet, evolved away from this irrational blood lust. It is one of the many animal instincts we still carry. As dogs fight over meat, man fights over money and power. And although I care for peace greatly and understand its virtues I question how I would react when faced with a great injustice or oppression that I felt needed to be stopped. Would passive aggression due? Are humans (as a species) capable of using peace against war? And lastly, is aggression ever a justified measure to reach peace?

Mahatma Gandhi is the poster boy for passive aggression. He defeated the British imperialist while they were still one of the most powerful forces on earth, without ever resulting to violence. It is in my opinion that Gandhi is the closest thing to a messiah in recent history. But, is this possible on a personal level? It is almost like a child wishing to be superman. There is something “posthuman” about Gandhi’s tactics that seem unachievable by most. I put myself in Gandhi’s shoes for this dilemma. If an imperial force of some kind, oppressing my family, beliefs and way of life how would I react? Ideally a Gandhi like reaction is the one I most admire but, in such a circumstance I believe that emotions would be so high and rage would cloud rational thought. In all honesty I believe I would react violently, or perhaps even worse, allow myself to be victimized.

Is this representative of mankind as a whole? I would say yes. I do not think that we can all live like Gandhi, or Jesus Christ or Guatama Buddha. We have not reached that level of spiritual clarity and brotherly love. We can only fight with the distance hope of peace.

But does this make sense? This seems like a backwards motive. I think we hide our aggression with the visage of peace. We are always fighting to regain “peace”. This I feel is the major flaw of our global politics, and will always be the major flaw.

Even one who believes strongly in peace, unless self-disciplined greatly or spiritually enlightened will always resort to violence. It is more comfortable for humans, easier and biologically fitting. Although I would love for peace to govern our Earth, I do not think we, as a species are capable of achieving that mythical goal.

excellent essay and one that deals with a subject i write on often, being a follower of gandhi's exhortation, as you can see from my sig...

only thing that jumped out at me needing fixing is 'through out' which should be one word... you write well and you argue well, though you haven't really come to any conclusion other than the status quo being unavoidable...

i had sadly come to the same conclusion after a lifetime spent studying/observing/experiencing human life and behavior... however, i am one who will not resort to violence against my fellow man or fellow creatures [w/ exception noted below], having taken a vow to never aid or abet such actions in any way... which is why i won't help writers whose work has any violent content...

i do have to admit to my weakness [irrational-fear-driven] in occasionally ending the life of a spider or the streams of ants that now and then invade the house... i leave all alone otherwise, but still feel guilt that i can't do that within my small living space... and i've given up eating any fellow animal or using them or their body parts in any way... i can wish all would do so, but know that day will never come...

you might find my writings on the subject of interest... browse the site and/or email me for a list of relevant titles...

love and hugs, maia

I would recommend some further editing.

[Revision] As humans we have an advanced consciousness, an understanding of social right and wrong, empathy, and respect; all the [characteristics necessary] to live peacefully. However, there is a very barbaric, animalistic thirst for blood and domination that [surfaces constantly] in man’s efforts to achieve peace. There is a “kill” mode that is always resorted to. We have not evolved from this irrational blood lust, this primal instinct. [Just] as dogs fight over meat, man fights over money and power. I [desire] peace greatly and understand its virtues yet I question how I would react when faced with injustice or oppression and the need to overcome it. Would passive aggression d[o]? Is the human species capable of using peace rather than war to perpetuate peace? Is aggression ever justified?

Mahatma Gandhi is the poster boy for passive aggression. He defeated the British imperialist[s], while they were still one of the most powerful forces on earth, without ever resulting to violence. [I believe] Gandhi is the closest thing to a messiah in recent history. But, is such restraint possible on a personal level for every human being? There is something seemingly superhuman in Gandhi’s tactics, seemingly unachievable by most others. If an imperial force were oppressing my family, undermining our beliefs and way of life, how would I react? Ideally a Gandhi-like reaction is the one I most desire, but in such a circumstance I believe that emotions would run high and rage might cloud rational thought. I believe I would react violently, or worse, I might allow myself to be victimized.

Is this representative of mankind as a whole? I say that it is. I do not believe that we can all live like Gandhi, or Jesus Christ, or Guatama Buddha. We have not reached that level of spiritual clarity and brotherly love. We can only strive toward the distant hope of peace.

Does this make sense? It seems like our motives are backwards and that we attempt to mask our aggression with claims of peaceful intent. This I feel is and always will be the major flaw in global politics. Why are we always fighting to regain peace? Did we ever possess it?

Even one who believes strongly in peace, unless greatly self-disciplined or spiritually enlightened, will resort to violence in times of threat. It is part of mankind's biological composite. It is all together frightening while also familiar to us. It is my desire that peace govern the Earth, but I do not think we, as a species, are capable of achieving that mythical goal.

Interesting essay.

If you are self-disciplined enough I think you can make a simple choice over whether you fight or not if you see an injustice. Even Jesus got angry and kicked over the tables in the temple. I personally think peace is possible but not through war, as you point out in your essay. If people know the difference between right and wrong... I think education and a realisation of our flaws is the way forward but that's just me.
Gandhi was not fighting against any single injustice but against a massive injustice. He recognised a heroic self-sacrifice for a single incident is noble but the power of peace lies with the masses, with teaching and with education. Even then contrary to popular belief he was not perfect but by standing in the way of injustice he was able to prevent it in a non-violent way.
But that's just my opinion.
(and mammamaia, I am impressed by your level of control, I would be grateful if u could email me that list of relevent titles you mentioned)

sure, will!... send me an email reminding me of what you want and i'll assemble a list for you... in the meantime, you can probably find 'em on your own, by just scanning the list of titles in both the essay and philosetry sections, as each title has a thumbnail blurb re the subject of the piece...

love and hugs, maia
maia3maia@hotmail.com

mammamaia
I seem to be unable to mail you but will explore your site and contact you how I can, my Internet is having a lot of trouble lately. I won't annoy Sock by clogging up his thread with messages to you so my Internet is sorted I'll email you on your site or something similar