In quest of peace (New Year’s Hopes)

Peace on earth and good will toward men, and women of course and children and animals and fish, and birds…

Putting religion and politics aside for just a moment, deep down we all want peace in all its shapes and forms. War on the other hand is all we've had through out our bloody human history.

And I wonder, why? Why does war exist? When it's peace that all of us dream of having. Us --the simple people, the majority. Why do we fight? What can we do to bring peace to our troubled world?

Being cursed with an analytical and logical mind, I started to try and analyze. You know how it goes, givens, findings, requirements, solutions, etc. In short my mind wandered as usual in all the unusual paths.

Is it possible that if we know how and why wars are started, we could stop them? Wishful thinking I know. But logically and theoretically speaking it is a valid assumption. So, what is war? If you want to stop it you need to know what it really is. I'm not talking about dictionary definitions. I'm talking what war REALY is. It's destruction, rights violation, loss of loved ones, money going to waste. This is war.

Economy is the heart of the engine that runs our world, and most wars are fought to control the economy one way or the other. What baffles me (me and my simplistic thinking) if you spend all the money used to fight a war on your own development, you won't need to get it from someone else. I do not want to delve further into politics and other taboo matters that start wars such as, border conflict, chain reactions, religion, because in my opinion they all are just as silly reasons as power and economics.

I just have one question. What gives anyone the right to take a life just because they don't see eye to eye with them?

The interesting thing I have noticed is that all wars were started by one person (Hitler, Saddam, you can fill in the spaces) Why? Truly. Why do we as a human race allow one person to drag us into this? I remember reading once an article by Margaret Mead where she asked the question of whether war was a biological necessity or just a bad invention. She adopts the opinion that it is a bad invention, and I'd like to believe her. But unfortunately as societies not just as nations, I mean on the personal level as well, we just seem to have lost our capacity to tolerate. Violence has become the first resort. We're not blood thirsty creatures, we are not violent by nature, but that's all we see. Sometimes I think that many people do not know any other way to settle differences or conflicts except through violence, and by violence I mean physical, verbal and emotional. And we're not doing anything about unfortunately. So it will never end.

I think I'm right where I started with no answers what so ever. I have more questions though. What are * you* going to do to bring peace to our world next year? I'm not asking for anything major? No Noble prize efforts are required. Just create peace around you. If we each do this, it might spread.

Wishing everybody a peaceful New Year.