Average people sustain peaace

Sustainable peace is best secured when the average person is involved in the process. That sentiment is the root ideology of democracy. However we have been witness to certain democratic countries acting with complete disregard of how their action lead to violent chaos. Such moments have been framed in moralistic terms as freedom fighters, securing weapons of mass destruction and ending brutal regimes. When the choice is made to act violently, the justification often is that the ends justify the means. In such reasoning the calculation of future retaliation is rarely factored in. What takes place is the blissful rhetoric of democracy. Violent wars have long term impacts that must be made aware of. The physical damage is easily repaired, such as buildings, roads and infrastructure. The wounded soldiers are rarely thought of and if they are it is an afterthought. The pain felt by those who lost will last for generations. Then there are the weapons that stay behind - unexploded bombs, mines and bullets. Rarely are the external costs of war factored into the budget of how much war costs. Far beyond the monetary expenses we neglect the spiritual, mental and generational costs. Such wounds are still be healed from wars that have been waged thousands of years ago. Religious wars are an example of such realities. More recently we have wars such as are taking place in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Afghanistan, India, Columbia and elsewhere. Each place has been engaged in war and retaliation even in the face of knowing that killing will only prolong the fight. At some point there has to be the resolve to know that enough destruction has taken place and peace will only happen when the violence ends. This is a choice that needs to be made and it is a very difficult choice. Such a choice is rooted in the understanding that your children deserve to play in safety, peace, love and understanding. Places such as Syria have let go of that reality. Now the people must live with the scars of war for eternity. There will always be the memory of war and there will always be a loser and a winner in some minds. For those who know the complete impact of war understand there is no winner, just a pile of misery, loss and destruction. Peace is the most difficult path to take and yet it is all too often branded as the weakest path. The mentality of peace being the weakest path is one that needs to stop. It will only stop when the individual begins to see the benefits of peace rather than the rhetoric of war glory. Each of us has a responsibility to be peaceful. When each of us works to be peaceful then we will all understand the glory of peace instead of war. Peace is a choice and each of us has their part to make peace sustainable.