Give peace a chance - 1

1000: 

A New World – who doesn’t dream of this?  A world which is post holocaust, post atomic bomb and weaponry, post abattoir, factory farm and animal experimentation – that would be a good start.  It would reflect a shift in attitude, not only in compassion but in trust.  By making a major statement about violence and our need to move away from it, we’d be suggesting something very brave indeed.  To lay the emphasis on disarmament we, shall we say a nation, would be showing such courage that others would be ashamed not to follow suit.  That bravery would have to come out of a show of trust, that human nature is essentially peace-loving.  It’s the same with making a statement about climate change, by taking bold steps to reduce carbon emissions, that too would take a lot of courage, trusting that everyone wants a clean planet.  The people of that nation would have to trust the leadership of their government’s foresightedness.  But at the centre of any brave gesture is consistency, otherwise even the boldest gesture would look half-hearted, even hypocritical.

If the world’s greatest problems have stemmed from humans resorting to violence and greed to gain advantage, then a New World would need to address that; humans can’t advocate non-violence and good intention when abattoirs and animal enslavements still exist; all the time we are routinely attacking animals, then any other gesture of non-violence is a relatively empty gesture.

Up to now, such levels of trust-in-human nature have been difficult to believe in, because we always refer back to seeing humans as barbaric and cold hearted.  But in truth, we also know that humans can be gentle and peace-loving, and that image needs to be strengthened by bold decisions and a show of good faith.  On a personal level, the boldest thing we do is to make a show of non-violence, in what we eat and wear.  It has to start with grass roots change, and then government will respond to what they see is important to the people who elect them.