<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<HTML><HEAD>
<META http-equiv=Content-Type content=text/html;charset=ISO-8859-1>
<META content="MSHTML 6.00.2800.1476" name=GENERATOR>
<STYLE></STYLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY text=#000000 bgColor=#ffffff>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Alex, i happily read your mail....i had similar
questions in my mind yesterday night......will write later what i thought about
that.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>thanks, funda</FONT><FONT face=Arial
size=2> </FONT></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=alexander@kjerulf.com href="mailto:alexander@kjerulf.com">Alexander
Kjerulf</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A
title=OSLIST@LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
href="mailto:OSLIST@LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU">OSLIST@LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU</A>
</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Tuesday, December 14, 2004 11:59
PM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: Practice of Peace in
Sweden--A reflection on the Issue</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>Hi<BR><BR>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.<BR><BR>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!<BR><BR>Existentialist philosophy has something to say on this topic.
From the (excellent) book "<A
href="http://www.positivesharing.com/journal/00000173.htm">Freedom and
accountability at work</A>" comes this overview:<BR><I>Freedom is a fact of
our existing world<BR>...<BR>As inevitably as the existence of our freedom, we
are forced to experience and confront:<BR>* Death of others, first, and the
anticipation of our own, next<BR>* Evil which exists because all persons are
free, and it will not go away; it is not solvable<BR>...<BR>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.<BR><BR></I>And later the book states
that:<BR>
<UL>
<LI><I>Evil is completely unacceptable</I>
<LI><I>Evil is completely real</I>
<LI><I>To be human is to struggle against evil</I>
<LI><I>The struggle against evil gives meaning to life</I>
<LI><I>Our posture towards evil is freely chosen and we are fully
responsible for it</I> </LI></UL>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.<BR><BR>Cheers<BR><BR>Alex<BR><PRE class=moz-signature cols="72">Alexander Kjerulf
<A class=moz-txt-link-abbreviated href="mailto:alexander@kjerulf.com">alexander@kjerulf.com</A>
<A class=moz-txt-link-freetext href="http://www.positivesharing.com">http://www.positivesharing.com</A>
<A class=moz-txt-link-freetext href="http://www.projektarbejdsglaede.dk">http://www.projektarbejdsglaede.dk</A>
+45 2688 2373
Tagensvej 126, lejl. 613
2200 København N
</PRE><BR><BR>Chris Corrigan wrote:
<BLOCKQUOTE cite=mid5a91755f04121412523fe5ec9@mail.gmail.com type="cite"><PRE wrap="">Judy wrote:
</PRE>
<BLOCKQUOTE type="cite"><PRE wrap="">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.
</PRE></BLOCKQUOTE><PRE wrap=""><!---->
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: <A class=moz-txt-link-freetext href="http://www.chriscorrigan.com/parkinglot">http://www.chriscorrigan.com/parkinglot</A>
Site: <A class=moz-txt-link-freetext href="http://www.chriscorrigan.com">http://www.chriscorrigan.com</A>
*
*
==========================================================
<A class=moz-txt-link-abbreviated href="mailto:OSLIST@LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU">OSLIST@LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU</A>
------------------------------
To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options,
view the archives of <A class=moz-txt-link-abbreviated href="mailto:oslist@listserv.boisestate.edu:">oslist@listserv.boisestate.edu:</A>
<A class=moz-txt-link-freetext href="http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html">http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html</A>
To learn about OpenSpaceEmailLists and OSLIST FAQs:
<A class=moz-txt-link-freetext href="http://www.openspaceworld.org/oslist">http://www.openspaceworld.org/oslist</A>
</PRE></BLOCKQUOTE>* *
==========================================================
OSLIST@LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU ------------------------------ To subscribe,
unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives of
oslist@listserv.boisestate.edu:
http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html To learn about
OpenSpaceEmailLists and OSLIST FAQs: http://www.openspaceworld.org/oslist
</BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>
*
*
==========================================================
OSLIST@LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
------------------------------
To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options,
view the archives of oslist@listserv.boisestate.edu:
http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html
To learn about OpenSpaceEmailLists and OSLIST FAQs:
http://www.openspaceworld.org/oslist