Piecing Together Peace

Pooja Krishna H A, reporting from the United Nations Economic and Social Council, ponders over the meaning of and efforts required to achieve peace.

One of the most brilliant dialogues from one of Marvel’s not-so-brilliant movies is, “Just because there is no war, it doesn’t mean we have peace” (remember the fabulous job Jennifer Lawrence did as Mystique?) No other quote by any author/director/orator can so accurately sum up the situation today.

Yes, the third World War has not begun. Yes, countries are gritting their teeth while tolerating America’s current President. Yes, India and Pakistan have not declared war. Even though all these are true, the question remains; do we truly have peace?

The first answer that comes to one’s mind is in the negative, because why else would ‘Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions’ be a part of a set of 17 universal goals that are to be achieved in the next 13 years, right? The answer is, in fact, no; we do not have peace.

So, what is this elusive thing that everyone is talking about all of a sudden, and how can it be achieved?

A lot of the countries of the world boast that they maintain ‘Peaceful relations’ with other countries, which they equate to have achieved peace. Most of us think that peace just refers to a situation in which no two countries are lauching nukes at each other. While that may also be true, that is not all.

Peace comes when women in Saudi Arabia are allowed to compete in swimming contests.

Peace is achieved when an Indian can go to Kashmir just for sight-seeing, without having to fear for his/her life.

Peace is achieved when a little boy of Palestinian origin can go to an Israeli school.

Peace comes when a human being can go out at night without fear of being kidnapped, killed, or raped. Peace comes when a monk in Tibet does not feel the need to draw up firearms to defend himself.

Of course, peace of mind is a whole other ball game.

The United Nations, after careful thought and deliberation by its intellectually advanced officials, has come up with this new Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) that refers to achieving peace and justice before the year 2030. Now, while it is a heart-warming and futuristic thought, let’s face it. It is not possible to fulfill that particular goal.

Why, you ask?

This particular goal cannot be achieved by increasing production, effort, or injecting more money into the economies, as the other SDGs (which are related to Energy and Environment and Education and whatnots) can.

An idea is the single most resilient parasite on the planet (Inception, anyone?), and peace can only be achieved when that particular parasite takes a hold of everyone’s mind, body, and soul. One little idea to effect change; that one little thought, will multiply and multiply until it becomes a global phenomenon. That is when peace will be achieved. A common misconception is that peace can be achieved individually. The word to remember, here, is ‘together’.

Together we are better. Together we are stronger, and it is together that we can achieve peace.