Everyday Canvas

Peace and Good Will--Really?

Prompt: Do you believe there will ever be peace and good will to all men and women in our world?

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I can only wish for that, but when it comes to believing that will happen...maybe after some conditions are met, such as when just about every single human being goes through several kinds of psychological therapies with quite a number of them being kept in straitjackets probably for good.

The idea of peace and goodwill is noble and good, even magically good, for it conveys an embedded hope, a spirit of generosity, and a compassionate outlook toward others. Regrettably, this only surfaces around Christmas time, as if we do not live during the rest of the year. Once we cast off the glitzy tinsel and the fanciful ornaments, all the words of security and optimism seem empty as simple platitudes.

Still, if someone came to me and said, if I could forego all my wishes, I could get one big wish, I would immediately accept and say, “World Peace” without even blinking an eye, and I am sure many of us would do that, too. Yet, sadly, armed conflict and strife in varied degrees have always been present in our world.

Just a while ago, I was listening to the historian Anthony Beevor on CSpan 2 talking about his latest book Ardennes 1944. He offered not only the history but the tiny details of the war that I had no inkling of and neither did my husband, and we both think we know a bit about World War II. The intrigue and the backstabbing among the Allies were especially surprising, and the Axis? I won't even go there. If this had been so when the opposing sides were well established, imagine how complicated the next big thing will be, Heaven forbid!

I can only attribute this lack of good will and the quest for peace to the last place mankind gives to TRUTH. Everyone talks about the truth, yet no one painstakingly searches for it. We forego the truth even in our personal lives, such as when we take--or rather mis-take--someone else’s words or actions for their worst meaning. The same is true with the relationships on larger scales because other outwardly elements and benefits weigh more on the estimations of the groups and nations just as it does in people’s minds. I think reaching a lasting peace is impossible until the truth becomes more valuable to humankind than popularity, money, or power.

“Happiness is at times a blessing – but usually, it’s a conquest,” says Paulo Coelho in his blog. So is peace and good will. Unfortunately, except for talking about it in big words, I don’t see any one group or nation going after such a conquest.