Wednesday, December 30, 2009

The Possibility of Peace

Peace is possible when individuals reject the notion -- perpetuated by leaders on all sides -- that if other people are different, they are therefore evil. Peace can prevail when we realize that even if citizens of other countries don't look like us or talk like us, they are not necessarily our enemies. Consider how the face of our enemy has changed with nearly every war. We were required to hate the Germans for a while, but now we've taken a break from that. Of course there have been many others along the way. For example, we had to hate the Japanese during WWII, and the Russians were the bad guys for a long time, but now our leaders have given us permission to be best friends with those countries. Our current enemy has dark skin and wears a turban.

Sounds kind of ridiculous, doesn't it? Especially given the fact that God loved the world so he sent his son...that would be the whole world he loves, not just a few -- he loves Americans, but guess what? He loves Arabs, too and Africans and Afghanis and everyone else from every corner of the world. We are not called to hate anyone or to make war with any country; we are called to love one another beyond all reason.

As the new year approaches, let us resolve to realize that we're not so different. Except for a handful of power-hungry, ruthless people who have something to gain by continuing to fight -- some who are far away and some who are very near -- peace is what we all desire, no matter where we live.

Jim Wallis happens to be a hero of mine. He is the founding editor-in-chief of "Sojourners" magazine, has written several marvelous books and is immersed in making progress on many social justice issues. Following is what he posted on December 23, 2009 in the magazine's weekly email newsletter, SojoMail. (I encourage you to sign up for the newsletter; great perspectives on so many things.) It's a prime example of what individuals can do to change the course of history.

"'Silent Night' by Stanley Weintraub, is the story of Christmas Eve, 1914, on the World War I battlefield in Flanders. As the German, British, and French troops facing each other were settling in for the night, a young German soldier began to sing “Stille Nacht, Heilige Nacht.” Others joined in. When they had finished, the British and French responded with other Christmas carols.

"Eventually, the men from both sides left their trenches and met in the middle. They shook hands, exchanged gifts, and shared pictures of their families. Informal soccer games began in what had been 'no-man’s-land.' And a joint service was held to bury the dead of both sides.

"The generals, of course, were not pleased with these events. Men who have come to know each other’s names and see each other’s families are much less likely to want to kill each other. War seems to require a nameless, faceless enemy. So, following that magical night the men on both sides spent a few days simply firing aimlessly into the sky. Then the war was back in earnest and continued for three more bloody years. Yet the story of that Christmas Eve lingered – a night when the angels really did sing of peace on earth."