Working for global peace: Together we can save our planet

Venkat
Indus International School
India

In 1962, President Kennedy said, 'Never have the nations of the world had so much to lose or so much to gain. Together we can save our planet, or together perish in its flames. Save it we can and save it we must.' Even after 45 years we are still struggling for peace. The two main causes for conflict are illiteracy and poverty.

Today most countries spend billions on making weapons for war. Had even half this money been spent on ways to eradicate poverty and educate the masses, we would be in a much better world today. We could then focus our efforts on preserving our planet and its people.

Many organisations and individuals are doing their best to end conflict and provide a better life for people. But most of us commoners are unaware of these programs, as the mass media, which strongly influences public opinion, features only violence and conflict. The media focuses attention on violence, rather than on how to stop the violence.

One way to promote global peace is to get the media, such as the internet, TV and radio, to mainly focus on solutions to a crisis. They should also headline cases of peaceful actions that happen around the world. Attention should be given to projects that eliminate poverty and those that help take care of the Earth.

Peace loving leaders, like the Dalai Lama, Pope Benedict XVI, and the UN Secretary General, should emphasise more on spreading peace around the world.

As a sixth grader, I would like to spread the importance of education for peace. I believe that an uneducated mind is empty and an easy target for bad influences, like mass rioting and other violent behaviour. Our literacy rate for youth in this country is about 73 per cent. Our school funds the local village schools around our campus, and we, as students, contribute to this endeavour.

I think if each of us takes it upon ourselves to promote education among the youth we, as individuals, would have made some small impact on our world. We need to turn ideas into actions and actions into service.

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