Peace can never be won.

Everyone wants world peace.  Peace is not an end-product but a by-product.  Peace between governments would be meaningless if the citizens of those governments continued to be violent.  Likewise peace wouldn’t quite have the effect you’d think it would without one thing (which I’ll get to later).  If there were all of a sudden no violence and war death rates would plummet.  It is said that there would also be fewer births, but I can’t imagine it being but so low.  This would lead to two major effects, overcrowding and lack of food.

Other things that a quickly expanding population in a violence free environment would create:  A huge decrease in the number of jobs.  No more armed forces.  No more handgun manufacturers.  No missiles being made, no war-planes, tanks, no information gathering on the enemies, fewer police officers.  Yet, more people would be looking for jobs.  Where as now the financially unstable tend to lean towards joining the military, what would they fall on now?

The population would swell faster than anyone could control the resources such as food and money.  This would lead to people starting to fight over what resources they have for the good of their family and loved ones.  Or, in a socialistic society attempting to gather enough resources for their family/loved ones in a society where no one has enough for anyone.  On top of that, the fast overcrowding would quickly lead to disease being able to tear apart a community because of the population density.

This can all be likened to the introduction of a new species with no natural predators in a given ecosystem to that ecosystem.  It runs rampant, destroys the ecosystem and it’s left to humans to thin out that population.  However, humanity has no-one besides humanity to prey upon it.

Now, am I saying that violence and war is the way to go?  Far from it.  Human-kind has fought wars or merely became violent with one another since the dawn of man.  Diplomacy has never worked, only the application of force.  This could be economic, political, social, or actual physical force.  But, to most people this is diplomacy.  "Stop what you’re doing and play nice or we won’t send you any more medicine."  That’s force.

How can humanity ever hope to achieve peace when it doesn’t understand what it entails, or the responsibilities of peace beyond the current benefits of it?

Peace can only be achieved through education of every human being on the planet, no person ever having to worry about their needs or lack of needs, no person feeling threatened.  Technology (and technological moral awareness) needs to rise to the point where we can grow enough food to feed 20 billion people without clearing any more land than we already have.  Buildings need to be both taller, stronger, and perhaps deeper as well.  Every nation needs to be converted to 100% non fossil fuels.  Every vehicle on the street needs to be electric.  Every person must be able to trust every other person with their life and livelihood.

Only then can the idea of peace begin to become reasonable.  Unfortunately this will never happen.  What seems far more likely is that we’ll start another huge World War, destroy half of the world’s population and the infrastructure of all the world’s nations letting it fall on those that remain to start the workings of peace from the start rather than waiting until there is no other choice.

How can violence be removed when every day on the news that’s all you see and your level of paranoia is on the rise?  How can you be non-violent when you see every neighbor as a potential threat?  Those that are "threats" feel so ashamed of their sicknesses or whatever causes them to be a threat that they don’t seek the help that they need and instead try to deal with it on their own.  And if they do get help they are ostricized and ridiculed often becoming black-listed such that it is more socially and financially feasible to not get help or direction!

We tell our children that they have to stand up for themselves (true), and if we are bullied fight back (eh?).  In school when I was bullied by the end of my junior year of high school every single bully was either friendly towards me or at least no longer picked on me or those I associated with.  I did this by giving them what they needed despite how they treated me.  How many did I tutor or help study so that they would pass?  Or stood my ground as they attempted to pummel me into submission and I didn’t?  By refusing to give into force and giving others what they need I created a peaceful existence for myself.  (At least towards the end.)

We want peace but we tell those that don’t have jobs and must beg to get jobs and stop being bums.  And then complain when they break into our houses.  We want peace but we don’t realize that we have to make peace.  Not this notion of "there would be peace if only this nation wasn’t fully of crazy people."  But we always create an "us versus them" mentality that will never create peace.  Unfortunately there will never be peace, at least not in our lifetimes and probably not in our children’s children’s lifetimes either.

–RK