Saturday, February 11, 2012

How the world sees conflict

How the world sees conflict or situations of difficulties is in direct correlation as to the options it sees to solve those situations. If the world is stuck in the path of old grievances it will continue to have those as barriers to achieving peace.
The old events of injustice have to be acknowledged but they must also be understood as history which can not be changed. All that can be done is to work at the task of ensuring such events are no longer part of the future.
Take the past situations, look at them and see what should have been done to ensure a different outcome. As those situations arise again, the people involved will feel similar emotions swell in their hearts and minds. These are the moments where decisions of difference must be made. However, the task is to recognize these emotions during those moments.
As the moments present themselves it takes a great amount of energy to stop and think in the moment. The skill to do this only comes from experience. There will be setbacks but those have to be recognized as learning curves for success.
All of that seems great on paper. It is quite a different element when the set back is lives lost, homes destroyed and people injured. These are very difficult events to come to terms with. The fact remains that once such an event has taken place that is it. There has to be an element of resolve in the wake of such destruction.
Lamenting the loss is part of the process. In equal importance a focus on a future of peace must be kept in view. I am not saying that we forget or excuse events that cause injury. What I am saying is that these events have to be understood as part of a larger process. Mourn such events and point to the useless acts of creating more harm. If the reaction to such events is to seek revenge the cycle of chaos will cement itself in a spiral of annihilation.
To put that ideology in context, many weapons have been developed to cause such great destruction that the opponent would see the end result as complete annihilation.  In simple terms we are discussing the zero sum game theory.
The common belief that nuclear weapons would result in complete annihilation is a major factor in the global pursuit to have them banned. Albert Einstein is quoted as saying “I am not sure what world war three would be fought with but I know world war four will be fought with sticks”. With that we can see the show of force in Syria as a similar point where the complete destruction of the country is being gambled.
Power is not the use of force, it is the intelligent use of force. Furthermore power is also shown in the use of restraint. Being able to control emotions and understanding the impact of forceful actions. A true leader would understand the negative impact of shelling a city, shooting people all the while pointing blame at everyone but yourself. Especially when all that was needed was an intense/inclusive discussion. Yet that discussion was so feared that killing was seen as the better choice.
These are the events of insanity that wreak havoc daily around the world. People who call themselves leaders because they use fear and destruction to gain power are the biggest challenges to peace. In reality such people will always exist. All we can do is to work as hard as we can with such people to retrain them somehow.
Seeing these options before us is needed. The world could have pressured all the people in Syria to the negotiation table. Instead we allowed them to shoot each other. We must learn form this. Forcing the negotiation is not an act of breaking sovereingty, it is the act of strengthening it. For some reason we just do not see that in todays world.
How the world sees conflict or situations of difficulties is in direct correlation as to the options it sees to solve those situations. If the world is stuck in the path of old grievances it will continue to have those as barriers to achieving peace.

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