Practice of Peace in Sweden--A reflection on the Issue

[Funda Oral]

Alex, i happily read your mail....i had similar questions in my mind yesterday night......will write later what i thought about that.
thanks, funda 
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Alexander Kjerulf 
  To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU 
  Sent: Tuesday, December 14, 2004 11:59 PM
  Subject: Re: Practice of Peace in Sweden--A reflection on the Issue


  Hi

  As Chris wrote, we all carry peace in us - that's true. And as Judy wrote it's probably also true, that there won't be world peace any time soon. The thing I've been asking myself while I followed this discussion here is: Is a world entirely without war even desirable? This is at face value an outrageous proposition, so let me explain.

  We cause wars. Us people. Something in us, some desires, tendencies, needs, whatever, makes us do the things that start and perpetuate wars. If we didn't have those sides to our nature, there would be no wars. But here's the question: If we didn't have those sides to our natures, what else would we be losing? As Tom Waits sings it: "If I exorcise my devils, well my angels may leave too". Our drive for destruction also drives much in arts, science, music and life in general that would not otherwise be possible. Is it worth the price? I don't know!

  Existentialist philosophy has something to say on this topic. From the (excellent) book "Freedom and accountability at work" comes this overview:
  Freedom is a fact of our existing world
  ...
  As inevitably as the existence of our freedom, we are forced to experience and confront:
  * Death of others, first, and the anticipation of our own, next
  * Evil which exists because all persons are free, and it will not go away; it is not solvable
  ...
  And most importantly - and this is the unique insight of philosophy - these experiences are what give meaning and character; they are not negatives or failures that a healthy person should move beyond.

  And later the book states that:

    a.. Evil is completely unacceptable 
    b.. Evil is completely real 
    c.. To be human is to struggle against evil 
    d.. The struggle against evil gives meaning to life 
    e.. Our posture towards evil is freely chosen and we are fully responsible for it 
  There's a paradox here, in that we work against evil which is something that we can never rid ourselves of, and we must accept this paradox in order to work effectively for peace. Part of this acceptance means acknowledging - and even appreciating - those aspects of our selves that drive us to war.

  Cheers

  Alex

Alexander Kjerulf
alexander at kjerulf.com
http://www.positivesharing.com
http://www.projektarbejdsglaede.dk

+45 2688 2373
Tagensvej 126, lejl. 613
2200 København N


  Chris Corrigan wrote: 
Judy wrote:

  On the other hand, I am a realist and I do not believe that there will ever
be 'World Peace' because not everyone is willing to use those constructive
ways to deal with conflict.  I recognize that conflict isn't necessarily a
bad thing......it's how each party handles the conflict.

    
I'm a realist too.  When I look out at the world, I see a lot more
peace than war.  Even in war torn countries, there is a lot more peace
than war.

This doesn't diminsh the importance of poverty or illness or social
equality and all those other things.  I do think though, that in the
western world, the lens that the media provides into other places
gives us the impression that certain countries are living in a state
of utter and complete war all the time.  When was the last tim we saw
images from Iraq, Israel or Rwanda of people celebrating birthdays,
reading a book or painting their house?

I think in one way we ARE a long way from world peace, but in another
way we're not that far at all.  Almost everyone on earth carries a
little bit of peace with them everyday.  That's remarkable considering
what the world could become with all of the weapons of mass
destruction hidden away in silos on the American Great Plains, the
Russian steppe and the Chinese hinterland.  As long as each of us,
leaders and citizens of this planet holds that little bit of peace, I
think we are not likely to plunge into complete war.

Of course, whatever happens is the only thing that could have.  But we
CAN improve our chances by opening space.

Chris

-------------------------
CHRIS CORRIGAN
Consultation - Facilitation
Open Space Technology

Weblog: http://www.chriscorrigan.com/parkinglot
Site: http://www.chriscorrigan.com

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