We have the ability to live in peace
What Can We Do For Peace's Sake?
What should we be doing for peace?
I try to post on peace sites and talk about the issues. I want to help educate and motivate other people to be active for peace.
I think the people we have in leadership positions is really important so I try to be informed about politics.
One thing I have noticed is that things can change really fast if something becomes mainstream. For example, I know a lot of us have been trying for decades to get people to realize that we need to respect our environment. One good movie by Al Gore and some well funded environmental messages and things seemed to move along much faster. Maybe there is something fun we can do on a site like this to attract more people and get more people involved? Recycling was an odd (and some said tedious) activity until lots of people started doing it and it just became an obvious and sensical part of our lives.
I also think it would help if we show the world to the world. So many people have no idea about what is going on beyond their immediate surroundings. I think it would help us get closer to the goal of peace on Earth if we use sites like this one to connect with each other. We could talk to each other, show each other pictures of our surroundings, tell stories about what is happening in our areas, and share success stories about how we are moving toward the goal of peace. In addition to these positive communications, I think it also would help if we could see the conditions of people in Darfur, Iraq, Palestine, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Chinese factories, American factories, Detroit, etc... A lot of these images are important, but we rarely see them on our monopoly television stations. It actually is illegal for us to be shown the coffins of returning soldiers.
Does anyone else have ideas for what we can do for peace's sake?
I try to post on peace sites and talk about the issues. I want to help educate and motivate other people to be active for peace.
I think the people we have in leadership positions is really important so I try to be informed about politics.
One thing I have noticed is that things can change really fast if something becomes mainstream. For example, I know a lot of us have been trying for decades to get people to realize that we need to respect our environment. One good movie by Al Gore and some well funded environmental messages and things seemed to move along much faster. Maybe there is something fun we can do on a site like this to attract more people and get more people involved? Recycling was an odd (and some said tedious) activity until lots of people started doing it and it just became an obvious and sensical part of our lives.
I also think it would help if we show the world to the world. So many people have no idea about what is going on beyond their immediate surroundings. I think it would help us get closer to the goal of peace on Earth if we use sites like this one to connect with each other. We could talk to each other, show each other pictures of our surroundings, tell stories about what is happening in our areas, and share success stories about how we are moving toward the goal of peace. In addition to these positive communications, I think it also would help if we could see the conditions of people in Darfur, Iraq, Palestine, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Chinese factories, American factories, Detroit, etc... A lot of these images are important, but we rarely see them on our monopoly television stations. It actually is illegal for us to be shown the coffins of returning soldiers.
Does anyone else have ideas for what we can do for peace's sake?
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Willie on
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Personally, my goal is to work toward more democratic media systems. I think the monopoly ownership of most things we read, see, and hear is the biggest problem standing in the way of democracy and the prospects for peace.
The internet is allowing many more democratic media outlets to be created.
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Permalink Reply by Nathan Andover on -
I agree. We need more democratic outlets for information and communication.
The drumbeat of war before we invaded Iraq was deafening.
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Permalink Reply by jason on -
The monopoly media is losing market share to the internet everyday.
This is a good thing.
Takes us from a passive media system to an active media system.
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There are no "peace" channels on cable television, but there are hndreds if not thousands of peace sites on the internet.
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Permalink Reply by Len on -
Why is that? Why do we have hundreds, if not thousands of programs, movies, media, that highlight and show violence, yet not one outlet for nonviolence. Why? The simple reason is that we don't teach nonviolence.
One of the most profound readings was from Coleman McCarthy who reported on a student in his class - the student turned in a term paper on the subject of nonviolence. His paper simply asked (and I'm paraphrasing from memory) - Q. Why are we violent but not illiterate? A. Because we teach children to read.
When do we start making nonviolence a part of classroom curriculum? When do we start showing movies and programs that show peaceful resolution to conflict? When we, the people, start asking for it, when we, the people, stop supporting the violence-laden programming. Thing is, violence is so ingrained in our culture, unless you actively make an effort to point it out, it is considered 'normal'.
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Permalink Reply by Nathan Andover on
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I think educational funding is one issue.
There are great teachers and programs that teach peace, but they are underfunded because the "public" money for education is being reduced forcing schools to rely more on "private" money. This leads to an education system based on what programs can raise the most money. The business schools, athletic programs, research facilities, and any other form of education that leads to a profit or gain for the private donor is supported while the arts, music, history, environment, peace studies, etc... programs are underfunded.
Political science departments should be teaching peace and non-violence, but if they rely on wealthy Saudis for donations, then the result is a Middle East Studies Program that has a bias toward how great the Saudi Royal Family is.
I once applied to go to grad school only to see the funding for the program cut by the Bush Administration. When I went to see the professor I would have studied with, he was so dejected that he told me not to pursue grad school and to try to study and make a difference on my own. That is one reason I am on sites like this one.
In addition to the lack of focus on peace and non-violence in our schools, we face an even larger hurdle in that so many people spend so much time watching television, listening to the radio, and reading newspapers that all are owned and operated by a small amount of corporations who all have the same profitable interests at the top of their priorities lists.
The History Channel does not show a documentary about the non-violent success of Dr. King because they can get higher ratings and ad revenue by showing The Axemen or Ice Road Truckers. I'm not saying these programs are bad or lack entertainment value, but they shouldn't be occupying time on something called The History Channel.
I don't think the answer is to force The History Channel to show history related programming. I think the answer is to break the monopoly of information held by the cable monopolies so open competition can allow people to select the programs they are interested in.
The internet is doing this. Just as there are thousands of peace sites sprouting up, there are thousands of history sites also sprouting up. If I want to have a conversation about non-violent historical figures, there is a good chance I can find a discussion about it somewhere on the internet. In fact, I'm reading a book about non-violent political movements right now and will be starting a discussion in the peaceful book club group on this site.
Our job is to continue spending time on the internet while educating other people about the need to break the information monopolies in this country and throughout the world. There will come a time when the internet will be available more easily on our television sets. We need to make sure that people have access to all sites so people can choose what content and sites they want to acces instead of having cable monopolies that choose a small amount of channels for us.
Our goal as peace activists is to make sure that people no longer look for conversations and examples related to peace while coming up empty. People have been coming up empty for a long time due to the monopoly control of the media, but the internet is allowing people to find other people interested in peace in ways never before possible.
That is something I want to be a part of.
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Permalink Reply by Nathan Andover on
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I think we should lead by example. Both individually and as a nation.
I want the United States of America to set a great example of legitimate governments, fair markets, and healthy environments.
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Permalink Reply by elka on -
Such a shame that we have such a great opportunity to lead the world through example, but the Bush Administration has decided to lead with guns, torture, occupation, etc... so now instead of the whole world trying to follow our lead, most people of the world have a negative impression of the United States. I hope the citizens of the United States can step it up and recapture the greatness of America. So I think we need to be involved and active as the most important thing we can do for peace.
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Permalink Reply by Nathan Andover on
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The next election can change things in a major way. I think just the fact that Obama and Hillary are the top candidates is showing the world a positive side of American democracy - until Hillary got desparate and went negative.
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Permalink Reply by James Scott on -
I recently read a story about how the Obama nomination was seen in many parts of the world as surprising and encouraging.
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Permalink Reply by Nathan Andover on
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I hope we will continue to lead through example in November. Then I hope the "hope" turns into real political progress and not just a slogan. Either way, the election of Obama will send a positive message throughout the world.
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We need to elect Democrats for this to happen because Republicans don't support:
- legitimate governments (they don't want democracy getting in the way of their favored market and religious values),
- fair markets (they want free markets with no democracy required),
- or healthy environments (they deny global warming and other issues because they would rather make a profit instead of maintaining a sustainable environment for the human species).
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