World Peace
World Peace
With the end of the Cold War it was hoped that peace will thrive in our planet. A cursory glance at the conflict spots across the glob shows conflict is spreading out of control. Violent conflicts are not contained within states boundaries. Rather they are engulfing many states and regions.
As the aftermath of 9-11 has made it clear, the conflict has become global in nature. The main root of these conflicts is the spread of wealth, power and opportunities within a state and globally. The poorer are getting poorer while the rich are getting richer.
According to Wikipedia
• 2.8 billion people — 46% of humanity — live below the World Bank’s $2/day poverty line.
• A study found that the richest 2% own more than half of global household assets.
• The living condition of the people in the poorest states is worse now than it was three or four decades ago.
All this foments conflicts within a state as well as between regions. Some of these conflicts are strung together by terrorist groups such as Al Qaida and targeted at undermining the global status quo. The world response to this intractable problem is to spend more on defense.
Again According to Wikipedia
• In 2003 the world’s total military spending was US$956 billion.
• United States spent approximately 47% of this.
• The United States and its close allies are responsible for approximately two-thirds of all military spending on Earth
• Military spending accounts for more than half of the United States’ discretionary spending.
The Bush’s administration effort to preemptively nub these terrorist menace has proven unjustifiably expensive as well as ineffective. Over $360 billion has been spent on Iraq alone as of January 22, 2007 not to mention the human lose and suffering to US and Iraqi citizens. A similar engagement by NATO in Afghanistan is also bogged down.
A non-violent yet equally intractable and menacing outcome of this distribution of wealth and opportunity is the human wave out of poor shattered states and regions into the affluent and stable states. Millions every day try to flee their lot by immigrating to the rich states.
Rich states spend billions to dam the human wave, while they try to cope with the problem of millions underclass illegal aliens within their borders. There are an estimated eleven to twelve million illegal emigrants within the US alone and their number is growing daily. President Bush’s 2006 budget for Home land Security is about $24.4 billion.
So what would happen if all the states of the world pooled five percent of their military expenditure and invested it in economic development programs in all the regions of the world to eliminate hunger and poverty, fight debilitating epidemics and build infrastructure.
• There will be more peace and stability hence less need to spend on defense.
• The less we spend in counter productive defense the more budget for productive investment
• More productive investment resulting in more wealth creation.
• As more wealth is created the rich will get richer and poor will also get richer..
If there was peace in the world and the resources now dedicated to buying arms and maintaining large armies, navies and air forces were spent on the many challenges and problems facing the human race, it would be the beginning of a GREAT NEW DAY!
The hundred of thousands who die or are wounded every year from wars would be able to live their lives more fully.
Millions would be able to live their lives without the overwhelming fears of being killed or maimed by war, guns and bombs.
Resources would be freed up to fight cancer, AIDS, hunger and many afflictions that presently reign over the human condition. Cures to diseases that are now incurable would be found and made available to millions.
WE would be able to devote more resources to fight things such as Global Warming that threaten our survival as a human race.
In short it would be a glorious NEW DAY!!!
Peace4TheWorld
March 19, 2007
I took the luxury of indulging in what is possible if as suggested 5% of the annual military spending of the world (which is 47.8 Billion dollars) is
Spent in one of the poorest countries on Earth, Ethiopia;
1, To Build a state of the art school (incorporating from KG to high school ) in every Wereda [There are 463 Weredas (which are administrative districts) in Ethiopia] ——— $1 billion
2, To build a State of the art hospital in every wereda ——— $10 billon
3, Build irrigation projects in “ Pawie” Benshangul Gumez state to irrigate 350,000 hectares of land & in Southern Ethiopia using Omo river to irrigate 250,000 hectares of land. These two projects can Produce around 40 million quintals of grains per year. We won’t be seeing hungry faces in Ethiopia any more ——— $5 billon
4, To connect every woreda main city/town with Asphalt paved road——— $20 billion
5, To build ten universities with a standard much much better than Addis Ababa university ——— 5 billon
6, To build hydro electric dams to increase the electric supply by four fold——— 4 billion
7, To build high speed internet network connecting all the woredas & major facilities in the country——— 1 billion
8, To increase the cell phone users in the nation by 20 fold ——— 1.8 billion
Bye Bye poverty!
Giksa
Giksa
March 28, 2007
I’m of the opinion that the less money is allocated for war, the happier everyone will be.
My other opinion on the subject is that when people rally around positive things – like clean air, clean water, clean land – war is less likely to occur.
I think if the governments of the world put their fouceses on cleaning up pollution, preserving wildlife, developing green technology, etc. There will be benefits that outweigh just the environmental ones.
I think recreation and focusing on the environment are the two hurdles mankind must leap to find peace.
riverrunner
April 23, 2007
For peace to be real there should be understanding that regardless of race, religion or ideology our existence on this small rock in galaxy is interdependent. In order not to rock this rickety planet and prolong our existence on it, we should practice every thing we have been thought in kindergarten. In case you have forgotten them.
Respect each other,
Help each other
don’t leave mess behind
Selam
May 4, 2007
When we think of Peace the first thing that comes to our mind is the absence of war. The truth is it is a balance, a state of mind in which we feel good about ourselves, our lives, our families, our friends, our communities, and our future.
Peace is about how we handle problems through inner means and how we get along with others.
Peace is about community, working together, encouraging each other, helping each other to live better, more fulfilling lives. Most of all, peace is about respect for ourselves, each other, and the planet we share.
When we convince the people and the nations of the world to make peace on earth our priority and shared goal, we will create a culture of peace, and living peacefully will become the most natural way to live.
There are many ways to promote peace in the world. First and utmost, we must find it within ourselves. By sharing our inner peace with others, peace will spread.
Peace is a gradual and wonderful event that occurs because compassionate people are inspired to help others discover the joy of peace! Helping others also has the direct effect of increasing our personal peace and well-being, but this is merely one of the many bonuses that come from sharing our kindness with our fellow human beings
Not only can we teach others about peace but we can suggest alternatives that continue to advocate war as the main solution to civil and international conflict. One nation’s problems are problems for all of us. We must learn to see ourselves as one small planet and not be so concerned with our nationality, race or religion. When it comes right down to it we are all human
When we make the decision to work for peace on earth, we are making a decision to change our lives and become peacemakers. Peacemaking is a way of life, a way of thinking that is integrated into our daily lives. It is striving to use every interaction as a chance to spread peace and build bonds of friendship and community. If we want society to make working for a better world its priority, peacemaking must be our priority, too.
Some will decide to dedicate their lives completely to this goal. But for most of us, there are little things that we can do each day to make our lifestyles more in line with our wish for peace on earth. These little efforts will have a profound effect on our own lives. Our lifestyle as a peacemaker will be an important role model for those around us.
So many people are doing things to make a better world, but we don’t associate the acts of kindness and compassion that people share, with a wish for peace on earth.
The global economy is a runaway train that is causing more and more suffering in the world. The current ‘profit before people’ system is causing the gap between the very rich and the very poor to grow larger each year.
In order to create a culture of peace, we need to create a Peace Economy – an economic system that gives value to other commodities besides money so that we can create more sustainable local and global communities.
Think what we could accomplish if we all worked together to create a true world economy. We could end starvation, reduce poverty, create jobs and work towards common goals such as worldwide justice, peace education, pollution control and planet management.
If it keeps going the way it’s going, the global economy will eventually collapse. But there are many things we can do to reform and change the economic system.
On the other hand we need to restructure and redesign our education system globally. By raising our children properly and teaching them to respect and love their neighbors they will learn the joy of peace.
Modern education that we know is competitive, nationalistic and one sided. It has trained our children for generations to regard material values as a major goal, to believe that his nation is also superior to other nations and peoples. The general level of world information is high but usually biased, influenced by negative thinking and attitudes, serving to make us citizens of our nation but not of the world.
Without an integrated understanding of life, our individual and collective problems will only deepen and extend. The purpose of education is not to produce mere scholars, technicians and job hunters, but integrated men and women who are free of fear; For only between such human beings can there be enduring peace in the world.
Kadmas Bashager
June 6, 2007