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Do You Make War for Peace?
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Peace is born of compassion. To work for peace means to work on developing compassion. Peace is not the only thing born of compassion. The cultivation of compassion bears many fruits. To be seriously pursuing peace means also seriously pursuing other goals at the same time.
A compassionate person cares about more than a specific group of people. A compassionate person cares about all people regardless of apparent differences. A compassionate person cares about animals, all animals. A compassionate person cares about our planet. Because a compassionate person knows all things are connected a compassionate person cares about all things. Compassion is pervasive caring.
This is why when you find people working for peace it is not unusual to find them also working for human rights, animal rights and protecting the environment. It is compassion that provides the unity between these issues.
Compassion unifies.
Lack of compassion is revealed in the individual arguments against individual issues. It is not unusual to hear that peace must be sacrificed for human rights. It is not unusual to hear that human rights must be sacrificed for peace.
We hear that animal rights and the environment must be sacrificed for human rights. We hear that animal rights must be sacrificed for the environment and the environment must be sacrificed for animal rights. We even hear that human rights must sometimes be sacrificed for animal rights and the environment.
Calls to justify division demonstrate lack of compassion. Only uncompassionate people attempt to justify division. They just don’t care about anything else other than their own narrow interests. They don’t understand how the well being of their interests is dependent upon the well being of others. The development of the understanding that their narrow interests are dependent upon others is the beginning of the development of compassion.
No one is born compassionate. The lack of compassion among children is universally evident. Compassion is earned through maturation. But growing older does not by itself guarantee the development of compassion. The lack of compassion displayed by many adults is also universally evident. They have yet to understand that their interests are directly dependent upon other interests.
They just don’t get it.
Compassionate people care about those who just don’t get it. And being divisive displays a lack of compassion. So what is to be done? What is the process to teach compassion without being divisive? How can people be helped along the path of getting it with compassion?
In the first place, an uncompassionate person cannot be pushed or otherwise coerced towards compassion. That would not be compassionate. That would be hypocrisy. And the technique doesn’t work. All it results in is resistance, uncompassionate resistance.
Patience is the key. Sooner or later events and circumstances will convince an uncompassionate person to broaden their horizons. At that moment they will have questions and if the answers come with compassion then the light will begin to dawn. But if the answers come without compassion then they will be confirmed in their lack of compassion.
And there is no telling what the questions will concern. They might concern peace, human rights, animal rights, the environment or a related issue. But it is important to be prepared with a compassionate answer. This is why being anti-war will not stop war. Being anti-anything will never stop anything.
Look for positive answers.
Better ways to do things must be found. There are always better ways. And when something isn’t working, stop it. One definition of insanity is to keep doing the same thing while expecting different results. Different results depend on different ways.
So the Willie Nelson Peace Research Institute is really about compassion. And it is about stopping what isn’t working and finding positive answers. The occupation of Iraq must be stopped because it isn’t working. Let’s find a compassionate way of integrating them into the world community.
Dependence upon non-renewable energy sources must be stopped. Let’s find alternatives that also express our kindness and caring for the environment. Let’s find compassionate alternatives to slaughtering horses. This list can be extended indefinitely. And as long as this website is up we will continue to do so.
What’s your idea?
Tags: Appropriate Technology, Environment, Horses, Peace
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