IN SEARCH OF PEACE!

Celebrating International Peace Day 2018 with my International Relations Students!

Imagine a world at peace! A world where everyone loved not just their neighbor but the stranger too. Imagine a world where states/nations interacted on the basis of love; no trade wars or military alliances or peacekeeping missions or strict immigration laws or terrorist or all that... a world indeed at peace! Far from reality right? Well, on the contrary, Bible believers will disagree and argue that the hope of the reality of such a world at peace is indeed their motivation for life. 

In the meantime though, away from ‘hope’ and back to reality. Our world is in desperate search for peace. The International Day of Peace (September 21st) is one of such dates set aside to re-emphasizes some of the very key issues that challenge our world. Since the last ‘Day of Peace’ many more thousands have died in ‘peaceful’ protests in Venezuela, HongKong, Egypt, Sudan, Zimbabwe, Nigeria, just to mention a few; brothers have risen up in arms against their fellow African brothers in South Africa, the trade war between China and the United States appears to have lasted 365 whole days (having repel effects on many other individual lives and homes in several other countries and continents). My point? The more in search of Peace we are, the further from us Peace appears. 

While international, regional and national commemorations and reminders are essential, the search for peace MUST begin on the inside, and not externally. Come to think of it, the situations that make peace appear evasive first originate on the inside. Violence and unrest and insecurity and death all originate from the inside; how we choose to act or react are what make or mar peace. So rather than externally, let’s all look inward and see how much of Ambassadors of peace or ‘war’ we are. Also, we must collectively begin to pay a lot more, or at least equal attention to peace as we do to war. How do I mean? Peace Education is an imperative! Defense and Strategic Studies, Art of War, Conflict Studies and Management are all essential, but Peace Studies, Science of Peace and any other related studies on Peace are more essential.

As we look forward to the next International Day of Peace (September 21st 2020) let’s all individually decide to actively reduce the casualties of violence nearest to us. Let’s also take a minute to say a prayer for the families of those we have lost in the last year and ask for courage on behalf of the families of those we are going to loose in the next 365 days, unfortunately.

Back to the perspective of Bible believers, real and lasting peace can only come from outside of this world, and am sorry, with all of these happenings, I agree with them! Until then, as much as possible, as far as it depends on you, live peaceably with EVERYONE!

#myrandomweeklythought

@dr_mykk