To understand what peace is, we must first know why hate exists. What is hate? Where do we learn it from? We are not born with hate, we learn it. As we get older we slowly process what is happening in the world. Parents and the adults around us help us understand some of the harsh realities of the world and they do this in small doses. Some of us are very lucky. We have loving parents and adults around us who model acceptance, compassion, and kindness. I believe we all have a moral compass, but our experiences throughout life can bury that compass. Hate accumulates in layers. If we do not have an adult to peel the layers off and to show us how to respond, the layers harden, and we lose the ability to show compassion, love and respect to another. If children are surrounded by adults who hate, be it about another’s religion, color, race, or culture, children imitate these values, beliefs, and behaviors without truly understanding why.
When we reach middle school we slowly begin to see some of life's sad realities. When we move into high school, we learn more about why world conflicts occurred. Depending on how this is taught to us, our perceptions about others can be shaped. In my high school I have two wonderful history teachers who teach history in great detail and compare the events in the past to the events of today, but more importantly, help us understand why history played out the way it did from multiple perspectives.
Consider some of the significant wars that changed history. For instance, the Crusades in the 11th century launched a war for 200 years out of a belief to take the holy land. There were knights, civilians, and even a wave called the Children’s Crusade who were part of this war. However, the true purpose of the war was to get the Byzantine Emperor Alexios Comenous, some of his land back from the Turks. This is a great example of how one person’s persuasive words was able to convince a nation to hate and want to destroy their fellow humans who they knew little about.
Politics and religion can have the same agenda on some occasions. For example, The Spanish Armada was launched to invade England. Soldiers were told they were doing God’s will when they launched their ships to attack England. The main reason was religious tension. When Elisabeth came into power, the country turned protestant. This greatly upset the nations who were devout Catholics, including Philip II of Spain. With the assistance of Mary Queen of Scots, Philip plotted to invade England, kick out the protestant leader and restore Catholicism and place Mary on the throne to have an alliance between England and Spain. However, the Spanish Armada fell, and Mary was executed, but the cost of this religious war took the lives of 15,000 Spanish soldiers.
One man’s charismatic yet hate filled speech to a nation suffering from high inflation and despair turned many people against the Jews which led to a slaughter of unthinkable cruelty. In Hitler's reign of terror, thousands of Jews were killed. Hitler argued that the German people lost their wealth and happiness because of the Jewish people. As Hitler invaded the Soviet Union, that number tripled in size as more Jews were sent to die at the concentration camps. From 1941-1945 six million Jews were killed. During WW II 70-85 million people perished fighting a war to stop Nazi expansion.
Even now we face problems regarding religion. The World Economic Forum had published an article claiming that a 2018 minority rights group report had seen a rise in religious murders and killings in places that are in both war- torn and non- war torn places, with violent encounters happening in over 50 countries. Hostilities against Muslims and Jewish people have also increased, as well as Hindus in more than 18 countries. Some social scholars believe that rising attacks can be because of misinterpretation or being seen as a hero to the cause against the enemy.
Do the religions in this world actually advocate violence? Don’t all religions ask that we treat the other with respect, kindness, and compassion? Are there religions who say that because of a color, a race, or a culture that person must be treated differently? Christianity has its Ten Commandments, Islam has its 4 pillars, Buddhist have the noble eightfold path, and so do many other religions.
All religions believe in giving to the poor and needy and helping thy neighbor. In wars that caused the most devastation, it was fear of the other that moved the nations to act against people who were considered different and dangerous.
To say that every single man or woman who follows a belief is radical and dangerous is false. There are millions of people today who help the poor and condemn those who foster war. They come together through churches, mosques, temples, and synagogues. We criticize today that religious leaders are not doing enough. That is also not true. There have been many meetings and peace discussions on stopping religious violence from escalating. For example, Archbishop Desmond Tutu had helped to cool religious tensions from turning into a bloody massacre in Kenya in 2008. Religious groups had also tried to put a ban on nuclear weapons and the use of torture. Some are turning to science as a way to halt religious violence. The Oxford University is working on a program that monitors and creates simulations to help us understand what the human cost would be if two groups were to clash. The program is not ready yet, but when it is, it could possibly guide world leaders to make better decisions. As I mentioned above, hate is taught to us, but history teaches us that some of these clashes towards other groups happened because we believe there are more differences than similarities. So, who better than our religious leaders to come together and identify the similarities between religions, and teach the younger generations one fundamental truth about each religion: What do each of the religions believe about how we should treat another? I was always taught to never point out a problem without providing a solution. So, here’s me trying to do just that.
What if?
What if we ask our respected religious leaders to meet again, but this time we will focus on just one question; What is the common thread that binds us on how to treat another? Perhaps this gathering can take place in a castle in Switzerland, like Tarasp Castle which is large enough to house a big circular table for the discussion and it is a neutral space.
Each religion can be represented by either the head of that religion or someone they appoint. All religions are welcome. The goal is not to discuss the differences but the similarities.
What if each representative brings a group of middle schoolers, high schoolers, and their parents to this gathering? Why middle and high schoolers? Their perceptions about the world and these religious groups are still developing.
What if the religious leaders after their discussion come together to address the school children and discuss the similarities between the religions on how we should treat each other? The school children will then have the opportunity to ask any questions they want for any of the religious leaders. Misconceptions can be solved, and worries can be calmed. I believe this will be a productive discussion because outside, there are school children waiting to hear them. One final though perhaps for the religious leaders, a moderator might be helpful. A few come to mind. Archbishop Desmond Tutu is respected, loved, and has done this once before. For the schoolchildren to help facilitate this discussion I can think of no one better than Malala Yousafzai, who had experienced the worst kind of hate but rose above it.
The purpose of religion is to guide people to have a peaceful life; to hold on to their moral compass. If I help a stranger, the strangers’ beliefs do not matter. If it is either God, Yahweh, or Allah looking down, they see our actions, and that is all that matters, is it not?
We don’t need to focus on whose god is right, or who is our savior. From what I know about the different religions we all have a common goal towards humanity. That is what our religious leaders can discuss. Humans fear what they do not understand. The moment we understand what we fear and understand why we fear it, the path to accepting others who are different than us becomes clear.
Compassion for me is understanding why a person behaves the way they do and not letting their hate change me. Peace can be achieved when we don't let race, religion, culture, or color, separate us, but rather look at somebody in the eye and understand that they have similar needs; Peace in their mind and peace for their children. So, let's talk about how to treat each other with compassion in our heart. All of us have a creation story, and an end story, but what we all need is a unity story.
I want to leave you with a quote: “We are each made for goodness, love and compassion. Our lives are transformed as much as the world is, when we live with these truths.” - Desmond Tutu
Resources:
https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/invasion-of-the-soviet...
https://peoplesunderthreat.org/
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/02/how-should-faith-communities-halt...
When we reach middle school we slowly begin to see some of life's sad realities. When we move into high school, we learn more about why world conflicts occurred. Depending on how this is taught to us, our perceptions about others can be shaped. In my high school I have two wonderful history teachers who teach history in great detail and compare the events in the past to the events of today, but more importantly, help us understand why history played out the way it did from multiple perspectives.
Consider some of the significant wars that changed history. For instance, the Crusades in the 11th century launched a war for 200 years out of a belief to take the holy land. There were knights, civilians, and even a wave called the Children’s Crusade who were part of this war. However, the true purpose of the war was to get the Byzantine Emperor Alexios Comenous, some of his land back from the Turks. This is a great example of how one person’s persuasive words was able to convince a nation to hate and want to destroy their fellow humans who they knew little about.
Politics and religion can have the same agenda on some occasions. For example, The Spanish Armada was launched to invade England. Soldiers were told they were doing God’s will when they launched their ships to attack England. The main reason was religious tension. When Elisabeth came into power, the country turned protestant. This greatly upset the nations who were devout Catholics, including Philip II of Spain. With the assistance of Mary Queen of Scots, Philip plotted to invade England, kick out the protestant leader and restore Catholicism and place Mary on the throne to have an alliance between England and Spain. However, the Spanish Armada fell, and Mary was executed, but the cost of this religious war took the lives of 15,000 Spanish soldiers.
One man’s charismatic yet hate filled speech to a nation suffering from high inflation and despair turned many people against the Jews which led to a slaughter of unthinkable cruelty. In Hitler's reign of terror, thousands of Jews were killed. Hitler argued that the German people lost their wealth and happiness because of the Jewish people. As Hitler invaded the Soviet Union, that number tripled in size as more Jews were sent to die at the concentration camps. From 1941-1945 six million Jews were killed. During WW II 70-85 million people perished fighting a war to stop Nazi expansion.
Even now we face problems regarding religion. The World Economic Forum had published an article claiming that a 2018 minority rights group report had seen a rise in religious murders and killings in places that are in both war- torn and non- war torn places, with violent encounters happening in over 50 countries. Hostilities against Muslims and Jewish people have also increased, as well as Hindus in more than 18 countries. Some social scholars believe that rising attacks can be because of misinterpretation or being seen as a hero to the cause against the enemy.
Do the religions in this world actually advocate violence? Don’t all religions ask that we treat the other with respect, kindness, and compassion? Are there religions who say that because of a color, a race, or a culture that person must be treated differently? Christianity has its Ten Commandments, Islam has its 4 pillars, Buddhist have the noble eightfold path, and so do many other religions.
All religions believe in giving to the poor and needy and helping thy neighbor. In wars that caused the most devastation, it was fear of the other that moved the nations to act against people who were considered different and dangerous.
To say that every single man or woman who follows a belief is radical and dangerous is false. There are millions of people today who help the poor and condemn those who foster war. They come together through churches, mosques, temples, and synagogues. We criticize today that religious leaders are not doing enough. That is also not true. There have been many meetings and peace discussions on stopping religious violence from escalating. For example, Archbishop Desmond Tutu had helped to cool religious tensions from turning into a bloody massacre in Kenya in 2008. Religious groups had also tried to put a ban on nuclear weapons and the use of torture. Some are turning to science as a way to halt religious violence. The Oxford University is working on a program that monitors and creates simulations to help us understand what the human cost would be if two groups were to clash. The program is not ready yet, but when it is, it could possibly guide world leaders to make better decisions. As I mentioned above, hate is taught to us, but history teaches us that some of these clashes towards other groups happened because we believe there are more differences than similarities. So, who better than our religious leaders to come together and identify the similarities between religions, and teach the younger generations one fundamental truth about each religion: What do each of the religions believe about how we should treat another? I was always taught to never point out a problem without providing a solution. So, here’s me trying to do just that.
What if?
What if we ask our respected religious leaders to meet again, but this time we will focus on just one question; What is the common thread that binds us on how to treat another? Perhaps this gathering can take place in a castle in Switzerland, like Tarasp Castle which is large enough to house a big circular table for the discussion and it is a neutral space.
Each religion can be represented by either the head of that religion or someone they appoint. All religions are welcome. The goal is not to discuss the differences but the similarities.
What if each representative brings a group of middle schoolers, high schoolers, and their parents to this gathering? Why middle and high schoolers? Their perceptions about the world and these religious groups are still developing.
What if the religious leaders after their discussion come together to address the school children and discuss the similarities between the religions on how we should treat each other? The school children will then have the opportunity to ask any questions they want for any of the religious leaders. Misconceptions can be solved, and worries can be calmed. I believe this will be a productive discussion because outside, there are school children waiting to hear them. One final though perhaps for the religious leaders, a moderator might be helpful. A few come to mind. Archbishop Desmond Tutu is respected, loved, and has done this once before. For the schoolchildren to help facilitate this discussion I can think of no one better than Malala Yousafzai, who had experienced the worst kind of hate but rose above it.
The purpose of religion is to guide people to have a peaceful life; to hold on to their moral compass. If I help a stranger, the strangers’ beliefs do not matter. If it is either God, Yahweh, or Allah looking down, they see our actions, and that is all that matters, is it not?
We don’t need to focus on whose god is right, or who is our savior. From what I know about the different religions we all have a common goal towards humanity. That is what our religious leaders can discuss. Humans fear what they do not understand. The moment we understand what we fear and understand why we fear it, the path to accepting others who are different than us becomes clear.
Compassion for me is understanding why a person behaves the way they do and not letting their hate change me. Peace can be achieved when we don't let race, religion, culture, or color, separate us, but rather look at somebody in the eye and understand that they have similar needs; Peace in their mind and peace for their children. So, let's talk about how to treat each other with compassion in our heart. All of us have a creation story, and an end story, but what we all need is a unity story.
I want to leave you with a quote: “We are each made for goodness, love and compassion. Our lives are transformed as much as the world is, when we live with these truths.” - Desmond Tutu
Resources:
https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/invasion-of-the-soviet...
https://peoplesunderthreat.org/
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/02/how-should-faith-communities-halt...
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