News from Peace Begins With Me

Remembrance Day. I have to admit that I have difficulty with Remembrance Day. It feels as though this day, in addition to being an opportunity to acknowledge the men and women who gave their lives at the behest of our country's leaders, is also an implicit endorsement of the use of armed conflict as a way to address the challenges we face as a global community.

While I want to honour the men and women who have dedicated their lives, I do not want to honour this means of problem solving. War represents the failure of humanity to address its challenges in more thoughtful ways. We are too accepting of war; too willing to use force as a way to settle our disputes; too ready to buy the argument that we achieve peace through conflict. My wish is that we used Remembrance Day in a different way - that we used this day as an opportunity to reflect on how we get ourselves into these armed conflicts in the first place.

Yet, it feels unpatriotic or disrespectful to question the act of war by one's own government and service men. The tendency is to act as if there is no choice, as if war is the only way. I'm often chided for being unrealistic when I question our motives and intentions with regards to war or when I suggest there are more peaceful alternatives. Yet how can we ever achieve a state of peace if we don't consider peace realistic?

If we are truly dedicated to creating peace, what is our commitment to peace? What resources do we dedicate to peace? Do we have a Department of Peace? Do we have a peace room? Do we have thousands of trained individuals dedicated to teaching peace? Do we dedicate a sizable portion of our government's financial resources to peace? Do we honour those individuals who refuse to be agents of war and offer them sanctuary in our country?

Costa Rica is one country that does more than talk about peace. This small country has taken significant steps toward the goal of peace. Costa Rica abolished its army in 1949. And it has taken the financial resources that were dedicated to the military and directed these resources toward education, healthcare, and the environment with the result Costa Rica Ranks first among the Americas in the 2008 Environmental Performance Index, first in the Happy Planet Index, and is considered the greenest country in the world. Other countries have implemented a Department of Peace within their government and dedicated resources to this goal.

Recently I was in Winnipeg, Manitoba as the guest of David Newman, Chair of the World Peace Partners, a committee of the Rotary Club of Winnipeg. The Winnipeg Rotarians in partnership with the University of Winnipeg, the University of Manitoba, the Arthur Mauro Centre for Peace and Justice, the Canadian Mennonite University, and the Canadian Museum for Human Rights are determined to make Winnipeg an international Centre for Peace Building and Human Rights.

Their mission is to advance the concept that each human being, regardless of where they live or the faith they practice, has rights and responsibilities in creating a sustainable and peaceful world. Their goal is to build awareness that peace begins within oneself and to promote a better understanding of others. They are doing this by developing and teaching curriculum dedicated to peace, and in 2012 a world class museum to human rights will open in Winnipeg.

If peace is to be achieved it must begin with each of us making a commitment to being peaceful. It must begin with each of us leaning the skills and strategies of peaceful decision-making and peaceful conflict resolution. The battlefield that needs to be won does not exist outside of us but rather inside of us. Our fear is largely the result of an imagination that regularly manufacturers its own nightmares. Only when we develop mastery over our thoughts and related emotions will we learn to behave in peaceful ways. Only then will we make progress in our desire for a peaceful world, a world where we remember war only because it no longer exists.

Cheers,
Ted