The eJustice Network

I stopped off at Starbucks for coffee this morning and ran into some friends. An interesting discussion ensued.

One observed that 90% of all wars were over religion. It was a conclusion I didn't share, but there was no need to argue the point. It served a greater purpose.

So I asked him a simple question.

If I would give up my beliefs, would he give up his? After all, his premise was that religion was at the root of all war. Therefore without those beliefs we would have no reason to fight.

He wouldn't go there. He kept saying the problem wasn't about his beliefs, but the other guy who refused to co-exist. Tolerance was the key, he said. Of course, he was right.

But isn't that the way human beings are -- always trying to impose their will or beliefs on someone else, or resist the efforts of others to do it to them?

My point was it hasn't worked in the last few thousand years. Why should we expect it to work now if it's a solution that no one is willing to buy into?


How Much Do We Want Peace?

If we truly want peace, wouldn't it be easier to get them to give up the reason we're fighting in the first place, rather than force the extremists to get along? Even when we do, inevitably their conflict breaks out again somewhere down the road.

I've seen it time and again through the years. People fight over things they believe are important to them. When they eventually get tired of fighting (or its costs grow too high), a funny thing happens. The attraction of those beliefs begins to wane and is replaced by a desire for peace, or at least the benefits they think it will bring them (less cost, risk, etc.).

They didn't have to fight and suffer the attendant consequences. But they did.

They could have strengthened their desire for peace and allowed it to override whatever beliefs or desires they used to justify the fight. But they didn't. They wanted to fight.

Unfortunately, it didn't only affect them, but everyone around them. It bled over into their jobs, their families, their friends, their opponents, their lawyers, the courts, and to a limited extend, even the economy. That's not to mention all those on the outside looking in who would shake their heads but couldn't turn away, like we can't turn off the OJ sagas on the tube.

War. Violence. Fighting. Conflict. It doesn't matter what name we assign. The result is the same. People are hurt. Lives are turned upside down. And it takes a long while to restore a sense of normalcy.

Worse, it is a self-perpetuating situation that poisons the well of human interaction, conditioning us to believe it is an acceptable way to move through the places where our fears and desires intersect.


Do You Really Want Peace?

If we really want peace, it's right there staring us in the face. We only have to let go of the things we're fighting over to have it. You know, the same things we'll eventually let go of anyway one way or another.

I'll let go of my beliefs if you'll let go of yours. Will you?