World Peace: Freedom and Happiness

World peace is an endearing concept that means freedom, happiness, and peace within and among all nations and people on earth. As much as it is endearing, it is also a controversial topic. In this day and age of internet, social media, news platforms, and instant communication, the idea of peace is always right in front of us. We are constantly asked if it is possible to have world peace, but not in a direct manner. It is asked implicitly on the forms of videos and news about the ongoing conflicts around the world. The civil war in Yemen, the deadly fights in Afghanistan, the tension between the United States and China, the hostility between middle eastern countries, the civil war in Syria, the economic freefall of Venezuela, and so on. I have asked five acquaintances of mine the question we face daily but this time in a direct manner; is it possible to have world peace? Why or why not?

Vincent, the first person I asked, stated that, “It is naive to think that awareness campaigns, government policy, and heartfelt pleading will bring about a world of peace because human beings are not capable of world peace. Humanity far too big and varied; it is impossible to communicate to everyone and get everyone to be on the same page. Planning a trip with 4 people is already hard enough to get everyone be on the same page.” I disagree with Vincent about awareness campaigns, government policy, and heartfelt pleading because while it may not bring about world peace on the get go it does achieve peace within a certain population, however, we have to understand that since humanity is “far too big and varied” as Vincent stated that any single-dimensional approach to peace is not enough to overthrow the complex war system we have suffered for several years. Even if people have many differences, it would not be a reason for world peace to be impossible, it simply makes world peace harder to reach because building a culture of peace does not mean the homogenization of people’s way of lives. Since people have a lot difference, we just need to have a healthy respect for diversity. This statement that Vincent gave holds irony because everyone that I asked the question too was all on the same page even though they have not met each other. They all believe that world peace is impossible with their reasoning identical, the only difference being in how they said their answers.

Evan, the second person asked, stated, “I don’t think so, as long as organisms exist there will be conflict, depends on what kind of peace. Conflict is the nature of the planet. Of course, if it is humans, I think that peace can exist if human personality is not an issue. But with what we have now, humans cannot have peace just due to the nature of negative traits. I mean I am a particularly good person but even I can cause conflicts and therefore no peace. I mean it is kind of the science of peace, cause every action has an equal and opposite reaction, for every opinion someone will have the opposite, and with facts people will believe them or not. As long as opinions exist conflict will, and conflict ends peace.” I agree with Evan that conflicts will never cease to exist, but I think that Evan and all the other interviewees misunderstands what peace truly is because they do not recognize that peace is more than the absence of conflict and war. Peace is a way of dealing with conflict that results in satisfaction and justice with the absence of violence. The last three interviewees Natalie, Mark, and Hannah said the same thing as Vincent and Evan but in less extensive statements that boils down world peace being impossible due to the ideology that human beings are destructive in nature. This ideology is exactly why many people have little to no hope and only a small ability to see the way ahead of peace because it tells what peace is not, but not what it is. This ideology brought forth by the nature of education in a war system where war is taught as inevitable and sometimes justified; that peace can only be kept if there is a superior force that the defeated and subjugated adheres to. A negative peace is fostered in which many will not have equal justice and security that positive peace provides. This ideology is simply not true as it generalizes the “far too big and varied” humanity that Vincent said. Just as there are people who side with violence and destruction, there are also many people with a tremendous motivation for peace to exist across the world.

Do I think world peace is possible? Yes, I believe world peace is possible because as long as there is a desire for peace that continually wells up in people’s hearts and with a strength to purse it through many changes over the years then we are already a step closer to a world of peace.

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