Attaining global peace in our lifetime

Sanjana
Indus International School
India

What is peace? Merriam Webster Online describes 'peace' as 'a state of tranquility or quiet' or 'freedom from civil disturbance.' Global peace would mean an absence of wars and the presence of justice all around our world. The attainment of global peace seems impossible, though, when we look at all of the wars going on and all of the terrorists harming our beautiful Earth and the people on it. But people need to hope and believe: those are the two things that can get us through. If one says 'No, it's never going to happen. It doesn't matter: let's just leave the Earth like this' nobody will ever take any action at all. But if one believes that global peace may happen, people will take action and it just may happen: one just has to hope.

What wars are going on now? There are so many wars going on that one cannot name them all. Why is the world like this? Why do so many people feel that they have to destroy other people, their loved ones, and their land? Is it so hard to just be friends? In this current world, it seems so. People fight for so many reasons: for land, money, oil, gems, or for racial or religious reasons. People just do not seem to want to be fair and just. They only think of themselves and that they have to get what they want. Do they think of the ones that they are harming at all?

There are so many consequences of war. Homes need to be rebuilt and workplaces and schools are often completely destroyed. Loved ones are killed and relationships get damaged, especially in civil wars. Water facilities, sanitation facilities, and other amenities need to be replaced and rebuilt. There are so many consequences of war! So why would people even think of starting a war? That is what we citizens cannot understand about our government.

It seems so easy to bring peace to the world when you think about it as just bringing all the nations together and being friendly to each other. But that is not easy: that is one of the hardest things to do. Look at the wars going on now. How will we bring those to an end? How will we get the two rival countries to become friendly with each other? It seems impossible, yes, but if you believe it can change, then something will happen.

Take a look at India's independence. Gandhi believed in nonviolence and he kept hoping for India and that is how the country actually won. It was not because of the wars and it was not because of the violence taking place. It was because of Gandhi and his belief that nonviolence was correct. And it paid off: India got its independence.

Now, what about Martin Luther King Jr.? Did he use violence when trying to prove that blacks were no different from whites? No, he was nonviolent, and it, too, paid off. Blacks and whites are now treated equally in America. What would have happened if he had started a war between the blacks and whites? Life would be completely different now. But he was peaceful and nonviolent, and it paid off.

That is how the whole world should be. Everyone should be nonviolent when coming to disputes. They should settle disputes in a different way than with guns and swords. People have mouths, don't they? Can the two governments not talk to each other about it? No, they have to send their troops off to fight and get killed, killing many more innocent people along the way.

But we citizens of the world cannot just sit and think about it. We have to take some action. But what can one person do? We would think that we are just one small person in the whole world. Most people do not even know we exist! Well, it was the same for all those who were famous like Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. They all used to be like us, not known by anybody except their friends and family. But they made a change in theirs, and other people's, lives and became known throughout the world for it.

So, if we want to be like these people who made a change in our lives, we have to stand up and do something. Write letters to the government and suggest changes. They may not listen to us, but it is definitely worth a try. One thing we can suggest is a vote in the country before going to war. That is a small change that may lead to something much bigger, and the person who suggested it, which may be you, would become known as someone in the world!

Global peace does seem impossible at times, but everything is possible if you give it a chance. And we citizens of the world need to stand up and request changes in the way countries are run. We need to make sure that there is no fighting in the world, and that everyone is nonviolent and peaceful. Loved ones will not be killed, homes will not need to be rebuilt, and the world will be a much better place.

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