(P1) Philosophical
Readers' Forum
"Is World Peace a Reasonable Goal For Mankind?"
(Please comment below and read the responses of others too)
I personally have times when I begin to despair. I was born during war. Served in Vietnam. Sought peace since. Listened to all who said we are in the Age of Aquarius. Now, observing my fellows around the world, I wonder whether it is in us to have peace. Help me with this. Please go back to the question above and write from your hearts. What is the human race all about anyway?
"Is World Peace a Reasonable Goal For Mankind?"
Comment Here on any of the above or below and read the comments of others too. Log in as "Other" if you like, but please be sure to sign some facsimile of your name. Or email me at edcoletti@sbcglobal.net.
(P2) Poetical
Denner and Bromige to Read at Copperfield's in Sebastopol.
My friend Richard Denner and his friend David Bromige will bring their roadshow to Copperfield's in Sebastopol Thursday May 25th. Attend to be entertained with humor, poetry, and even some wisdom.
Time: Thursday, May 25, 2006 7:00 PMLocation: SEBASTOPOL, 138 North Main Street, (707) 823-2618
Title of Event: David Bromige and Rychard Denner: Spade : The Poem as Healer
Two poets, who have time to converse and who delight in their view of how contemporary writing might proceed, engage in lively dialogue and sculpt their words into a long poem. One is a Buddhist monk and the other, a terminal atheist. They meet twice weekly in the Sufi garden of the innermost heart, and Spade: Cantos 1-33 is the result.
David Bromige is a professor emeritus at Sonoma State University and past poet laureate of Sonoma County. The author of forty books of poetry and prose, he worked on Spade while recuperating from a heart attack and two strokes. Rychard Denner (Jampa Dorje) is on loan from Tara Mandala Retreat Center. A Buddhist monk of the Vajrayana School, he is publisher of dPress books, www.dpress.net.
Here is a short excerpt from Canto 6 of Spade
Really, it's Coyote's story
needs to be told
messing with my brain
messing with my keyboard
my space bar
trouble tracking
stories within stories
Edith sd, "Some people need space.
Some need a space bar, and
in relation to you
thick and full
my wagging tongue will
insert not only more words
but more pages."
(P3) Political (?)
Following lamentably sparse response (except for Duncan's) to my "global warming" post last week,
I almost packed in the old P3. Friend Bob Fisher saved the day with the following graphic "proof" for global
warming
9 comments:
Is world peace a reasonable goal for Mankind? We must all make it our goal! The killings...the genocides must stop!
A few weeks ago, I stood on the Golden Gate Bridge holding hands with about 3,000 or 5,000 people(depending on who did the counting) on a spectacular golden morning protesting the atrocities in Darfur. Four weeks earlier, as a Board member of the Alliance for the Study of the Holocaust (ASH), I attended Sonoma State's Holocaust Lecture Series and heard Professor Jim Waller tell us the 21st Century may end with more genocides than ever in the history of the world. He documents that in his book, "Becoming Evil." How horrific is that?
When I was a youngster in 1948, my Jewish Orthodox Grandmother explained to me why the State of Israel was created. Yet Arabs and Jews were fighting and killing each other anyway. This amazing woman told me that when I grew up all of the killings would stop. Almost 60 years later so little has changed. The killings go on and on.
A week ago, my wife and I joined some members of my reform Synagogue to visit the Santa Rosa Islamic Society. We were welcomed with open arms and spent a very powerful evening hearing about the Muslim culture, and praying and eating with these caring people. We all know that this has little to do with what is happening in the Middle East. It's just a few baby steps. But we learned how similar we are to each other in so many ways. We hope to do it again and will certainly invite them to our services.
Some would argue that it is in the nature of mankind to commit war. To that, I say we must keep trying to alter that nature, to keep trying to stop the hatred. Let's look beyond our differences everywhere in the world to find our common humanity.
I keep thinking of that all too familiar and prosaic yet still meaningful quote from the English philosopher Edmund Burke: ‘The only thing necessary for the triumph [of evil] is for good men to do nothing.’
Is Peace a reasonable goal? We all must make it so because the alternative is monstrous!
Larry
In order to have world peace, war must be successfully banned. To do that would require a world government with sovereignty over all nation states. Hopefully, such a government would be democratic, one person, one vote. That would mean that about 40% of the voting public would be Chinese or Indian. Are you ready for that? If not, then better arm yourself, for it's going to get a lot worse before it gets better.
Love and peace,
Willy Chaplin
Peace. No sane person would ever disagree with the desire for peace.
Where people seem to differ in their quest for peace is the recognition that there are people in the world that have no in interest, or stake, in peace at all. Ralph Peters once wrote something along the lines that some people fear peace because it will change their lives from a position of power (in this statement a position of abusive power) to an everyday person. This is unacceptable to them. Pick any terrorist/depot as an example.
If we consider the offer of a draw in chess the same as an offer of peace, we start to see that an offer of a draw, like peace, is only effective when both combatants agree. If one combatant wishes to carry on the fight, there is no draw or peace.
So the real question in the quest for peace is what is done with the people who do not want peace? Appeasement seemes to delay the inevidable bloodshed for a short time, but is not effective in the long term (World War II is a classic example). Simply killing them is another solution, but distasteful because we are supposed to be a civilized people (the victims of genocide in Rwanda would disagree with this in light of our inaction).
Did Hussien want peace? I doubt it. Does Al-Qaida want peace? Not on terms we would find acceptable. Do the Iranians want peace? Wanting to wipe Isreal of the map is not a good indicator for peace.
My two cents,
Paul
Hi Ed,
Is world peace possible? I think so. There's a lot of peace going on in the world as we speak. There is probably more peace than we think in many, many places, including in the areas we fear so much, like the Middle East. So I think we can pursue peace in ourselves, in our relationships, our families, in our immediate world. I think we can accomplish alot there and we are already doing that quite well, I think. The really big issues of global population growth, consumption of resources, poverty, the clash of civilizations in the Middle East, the horrific potentiality of nuclear or biological warfare...just to name a few biggies...may be outside of our influence. But I would go ahead and vote, especially for any Democrat who runs for President. We need moderation in our foreign policy; we need leadership that is informed and respects the complexity and diversity of the world. This is not a time for "carrying a big stick" and wielding it with impunity. But that's what Bush and his ilk are doing. They are also draining the state and national coffers at an astounding rate: Are these guys hypocrites or what? My attitude here is not very forgiving or peaceful. So be it. Love, Mike
Thanks all for your thoughtful responses.
and Mike
Great job! I especially like, "There's a lot of peace going on in the world as we speak. There is probably more peace than we think in many, many places..." Hadn't thought of it that way. There's room for hope!
Eddie C.
Eddie
Peace is certainly a reasonable goal for humankind. I don't know that it can be attained any more than truth can be attained, but we can approach it ever more nearly within us, between us.
There are so many paths to peace: personal, interpersonal, political. We can each choose what resonates for us. I have chosen tai chi, meditation, and reading as personal paths. Learning to listen and to practice non-violent communication are helping me toward peace in interpersonal relations. Helping to create support for a cabinet level United States Department of Peace is the political path that allows me to put all together as a means of creating peace and respect for all life and the planet.
I encourage you and interested readers to learn more about the Peace Alliance and exciting positive peace work at www.thepeacealliance.org.
Yes! Thank you, Kendra. Interestingly, right after doing this posting, I saw a DOP.org bumper sticker. That led me to go to the website where I learned about the Department of Peace Campaign and its truly concrete goals. I immediately signed up and also sent the link to many of my friends and families. I also intend to publish more about this in my next posting.
It gives me hope and opportunity for realistic action where, before opening my eyes and attention to the subject, I'd experienced little hope for peace.
Thank you all, as well as future, commentators, for your heartfelt contributions. This is a good start!
I have been recommending a book called "My Stroke of Insight - a Brain Scientist's Personal Journey" by Jill Bolte Taylor and also a TEDTalk Dr. Taylor gave on the TED dot com site. And you don't have to take my word for it - Dr. Taylor was named Time Magazine 100 Most Influential People, the New York Times wrote about her and her book is a NYTimes Bestseller), and Oprah did not 4 interviews with her.
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