It is my observation that some find war as a solution to conflict much more promising and easier to envision than peace. It saddens me immensely, because war means suffering to all involved those who want the war and those who don't. The guilty and the innocent.
Being from Germany, I having close ties to a recent history full of blood shed, evil, sheer stupidity, suffering and destruction. My grandmother's life was directly affected by two wars, (as was my mother's, as was mine) I remember her stories. In my mind, war has just always been a bad idea all the way around. War divides. War makes us choose sides. Each side is convinced of its cause, convinced by the "rightness" of its cause. As "average" people, we never have all the information, the oversight over all the players involved, all the hidden agendas, the strategies, the ripple effects, the consequences in history. It is human nature and conditioning to categorise into good and bad. Every "right" needs a "wrong" to define itself. (Joni's Borderline springs to mind. "Every bristling shaft of pride, church or nation, team or tribe. Every notion we subscribe to is just a borderline. Good or bad we think we know, as if thinking makes things so! All convictions grow along a borderline") When it comes to politics, I try to remember that my knowledge is limited. Being convinced of rightness requires being convinced that the available knowledge is basis enough for feeling right about something, or that the interpretation of that knowledge is correct, etc.... This is just far too slippery for me when it comes to the complexities of politics and basically irrelevant to my believes which guide me through this maze. Some of those believes are: the destruction of human life needs to be avoided at all times. Pursuing peace is worthy of my energy and support, war is not. And thirdly, I try to remember to speak from my heart for what I truly want, not what I believe is "achievable" or "factually right". In this case, with a renewed threat of war at our doorsteps, what I can and want to support are the efforts for a peaceful resolution and of building a world community that prefers peace over war and will choose accordingly. It is the only approach to peace worth striving for. Yes, sometimes peace needs to be enforced, because of those who do not believe in those values and threaten to destroy others, but the solutions of enforcement sought can - as our first priority- be peaceful, as our second priority- be defensive. Only as a measure of last defence, with the approval of the world community, should war even be considered as an option of defence. In the case of Bush, I hear him speak of wanting to secure peace while rushing to pursue it with war -- without the support of the world community. To me, this approach seems flawed , dangerous and righteous on a very basic level. It goes against what I can support. I believe that in conflict situations, be it personal or global, communication is the key. We must be willing to listen to one another. Listening without giving up listening as soon as we hear something that we don't understand, or dislike, or don't want to hear. We need to want to understand how we hurt one another in order to stop doing so. Compassion for the suffering of others can and must lead the way. Only then can we hope to understand the actions of others and find a way to stop the cycle of violence and suffering. I did not mean to make a political statement "against" others when I posted the information about the "Listen for Peace" proposal and the 800 number to the Capitol. I simply wanted to share the information with those who might feel the same. I was prepared for some comments. Of course those aligned with my own felt good, those opposed felt uncomfortable. But I was glad for the communication that followed. It helps grow an understanding of opinions and positions. We all have valuable insights to contribute. The JMDL community is a safe place to share and be different. Let's continue to do so in kindness, with compassion, and without judgement. Peace, Claudia
