I Need Peace
I don’t live in the Gaza Strip, Ukraine, Israel, Sudan, or other places where little babies have the gun of genocide shoved down their throat by those who command militaries and other agents of lethal human violence.
This isn’t a matter of I “want” peace, as if I can do without it or settle for something less.
I need peace just as much as those who are in imminent danger of genocide.
Anyone can tell you that when you pursue the godforsaken ideaology “eye for an eye” sooner or later everyone goes blind. This perversion expressed as “a life for a life” can and should be stopped in its tracks by the UN before all of us wind up dead.
I must have peace. I believe everyone else must have peace too, no matter who they are, what they believe, or where they live.
When “Queers for Palestine”, the Pope, and Putin all agree on a matter and call for a cease fire in the Gaza Strip, then it’s pretty obvious there’s something very wrong going on in Gaza, and it should not continue.
A cease fire would be a good thing, but it’s not enough. In order to have peace, the things that trigger human violence must be managed for the benefit of all. Therefore I propose the following, and request the UN make it happen:
Peace Requires Self Determination
To have peace, the Palestinian people and the Israeli people need their own territory – their own sovereign nations. These are unique and distinct cultures with their own values and destiny. The only way for them to evolve is if they have the peace and security of their own territory.
Peace Requires Education
For too long, stories of atrocities, school and religious programming have turned children into the next generation of human violence promoters and participants. I propose that both nations be occupied for 500 years by neutral UN personnel composed of educational and border enforcement teams. During this time, actively teach the children forgiveness, brotherhood and tolerance along with how to run a country responsibly and within a positive neighbourly context.
Peace Requires a Sanctuary
Sometimes it seems like the worst fighting and rhetoric revolves around the city of Jerusalem. When children fight over a toy, or engage in unsafe behavior, the best thing you can do is take that toy away.
In this case, we live in a world where, within seconds, we can chat with people of every religion under the sun. I propose it is time to have a sanctuary where scholars from all religions come together to live and study on a permanent basis. I believe Jerusualem makes the perfect place for this. Instead of a “Holy Land” broken by the misbehavior of a few, it will be a place of study and brotherhood for our entire species.
Peace Requires Restoration of Well Being
Trauma caused by human violence lasts more than a lifetime. Adults pass it along to children in everything from body language to programmed content such as movies, books, and even nursery rhymes. To have peace, these wounds must be addressed, and the teaching of conflict as inevitable must stop. Towards this end, I propose during the 500 years of occupation, a focus on de-escalation, mental, social, cultural and spiritual wellness based in the current and evolving cultural context of the people.
Peace Requires Cessation of Armament
To anyone with a shred of morality, it’s obvious you don’t grab children off the street, rape, and murder them, saying they deserved it because their government kills your people.
To anyone with a shred of morality, it’s equally obvious you don’t bomb and machine gun babies in a hospital and claim they had to die because weapons were being hidden in their teddy bears.
Even if there are these perversions, someone has to be the adult in the room and spare the children. If the party that was wronged doesn’t have the compassion and decency to do the job, then it’s up to the one seeking revenge.
If neither party can or will do that job, I propose that all external parties must stop sending weapons and monetary aide for purchase or manufacture of weapons or other militant goods.
I need peace. And I ask that everyone who reads this post to share it as an expression of needing peace too. I am also asking the UN to take up these ideas and put them into action in Israel and Palestine.