Is world peace possible
18th September 2023 · 0 Comments
FBI Agent Gracie Hart went undercover in the Miss United States beauty pageant to prevent a group from bombing the event. After several contestants answered “world peace” when asked “What’s the one thing society needs?” When it was Gracie’s turn, she said, “Harsher penalties for parole violators,” but sensing the audience’s confusion, she blurted out, “world peace.”
Sandra Bullock won awards for her portrayal of Gracie in the blockbuster film Miss Congeniality, but the emphasis on “world peace” is the film’s most memorable line. World peace was needed before the film’s 2000 release and is required even more today.
The United Nations (UN) recognized the need for peace in the early 1980s, established the International Day of Peace (IDP) in 1981, and first observed the day in September 1982.
The UN General Assembly designated September 21 as a day devoted to strengthening the ideals of peace through observing 24 hours of non-violence and cease-fire. Never has our world needed peace more.
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres and the president of the General Assembly will celebrate the International Day of Peace in the Peace Garden at United Nations Headquarters by ringing the Peace Bell and observing a minute of silence.
The UN Chief pointed to global unrest before last week’s G20 Summit. “If we are indeed one global family – we resemble a somewhat dysfunctional one today,” Guterres told reporters. “Divisions are growing, tensions are flaring up, and trust is eroding – which together raise the specter of fragmentation, and ultimately, confrontation.”
About peace, Guterres said, “Peace is needed today more than ever. War and conflict are unleashing devastations, poverty, and hunger, and driving tens of millions of people from their homes. Climate chaos is all around. And even peaceful countries are gripped by gaping inequalities and political polarization.”
Indeed, Guterres believes peace is a job that belongs to each and every one of us.
However, looking around the world today, there are few places, if any, where peace is paramount. And it’s more than just geographic locations that lack stability. Guterres said it best, “Peace is under assault within the hearts and minds of people by the dark forces of disinformation and hate speech.”
That is certainly true in the United States and other countries where extremists are trying to extinguish democracy.
Wisevoter.com is a global marketing organization providing citizens, voters, and elected officials with the information, insights and tools to amplify democracy in the modern age. Wisevoter was founded by Ben Kaplan, author, journalist, digital content publisher and TV pundit, after the global pandemic, economic shutdown, and widespread political unrest due to sociocultural movements like #blacklivesmatter.
Wisevoter provides reports and data on states, countries, and populations and covers various societal issues.
However, Wisevoter’s data on wars and conflicts is scary and ominous and presents a humongous challenge to efforts to secure world peace.
Countries such as Afghanistan, the Central African Republic, Ethiopia, Libya, Mali, Somalia, South Sudan, and Syria are experiencing civil wars, resulting in significant casualties and displacement. And Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, writ large, has been going on for 18 months with a shocking toll of death and destruction.
Some countries, such as Colombia and Mexico, are experiencing drug wars. And some terrorist extremists are engaging in violence to achieve their political goals.
Such groups have turned Africa into a seething continent of unrest. Extremists operate all over Africa. Algeria, Burkina Faso, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Mauritania, Mozambique, Niger, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, and Yemen are all currently experiencing some form of terrorist extremist insurgency.
This year’s IDP theme is Actions for Peace: Our Ambition for the #GlobalGoals. It is a call to action recognizing our individual and collective responsibility to foster peace.
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said, “Peace is needed today more than ever. War and conflict are unleashing devastation, poverty, and hunger and driving tens of millions of people from their homes. Climate chaos is all around. Even peaceful countries are gripped by gaping inequalities and political polarization.”
World peace may someday be achieved if humanitarians unify and commit to reaching the UN’s 17 sustainable development goals. The goals require action to eliminate poverty and hunger and promote peace, justice, good health, quality education, gender equality, clean water, clean energy, living wages, economic growth, innovative industry and infrastructure, and climate action, among other efforts to sustain a good quality of life.
There have been songs about peace throughout the decades. In 1967, Mahalia Jackson sang “Let There Be Peace on Earth” at her concert in Berlin. Sy Miller and Jill Jackson, a husband-and-wife songwriting team, wrote the song about their dream of peace in 1955. John Lennon’s “Give Peace A Chance” in 1969 was a direct call for peace.
Most recently, the UN supported the Peace Begins With Me multimedia poem showcasing a creative collaboration between Congolese peacekeeper and musician Pacifique Akilimali and Nigerian peace advocate and poet Maryam Bukar Hassan. Actors Michael Douglas, Nancy Ajram and others have joined UN Peacekeeping in the fight for peace and appear in the video.
The UN also annually celebrates its existence with aspirations for a better world. United Nations Day is celebrated worldwide on October 24. The United Nations Charter came into force on October 24, 1945.
The theme for United Nations Day 2023 is “Equality, Freedom and Justice for All.” This year’s theme focuses on the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR).
Most of us know that there is no peace if there is no justice. No fairness, no peace. No equality, no peace. But if each one shares peaceful speech, thoughts, and actions with another and encourages reciprocity, maybe there will come a day when worldwide peace is a reality.
This article originally published in the September 18, 2023 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.
