My Act of Peace

About 5 years ago, I challenged the Nov. 11 day services at my daughters’ public elementary school. The principal was kind and gracious in listening to my concerns about an audio visual presentation that was filled with violent images - soldiers wielding weapons in aggressive war stances, triumphant soldiers riding atop tanks through some desert village, rows and rows of crosses in a cemetery - all set to dark, pulsating music. I questioned whether this was appropriate for this age - and whether this was appropriate in a school that has a very active and effective anti-bullying program, trains conflict mediators for the playground, and has school rules that help create conditions for peace. I couldn't rationalize all the active peace building programs in my kids' school with the might-is-right message of the presentation, and I wondered how many of the kids might be confused by the dual messaging.

Fast forward to 2009. Again I find myself at my daughter's school for the annual Remembrance Day service. What a delight it was to see and hear an age appropriate message directed to children that presented ways in which they could avoid and prevent conflict. School-wide, students sought inspiration from a book called What Does Peace Feel Like? and created visual art and accompanied by written messages around the theme of the five senses: What does peace feel like, look like, taste like, sound like, smell like. The words from the teacher presenter at the service gave kids all kinds of ideas about how they can practice peace in their homes, families, school and circles of friends. She quoted Gandhi, and admonished the students to “Do all the good you can to all the people you can in all the ways you can.”

This may sound overly simple for the complex world of conflict we live in, but I do think it is important to remember rightly by acknowledging what humanity wants - peace without violence - and to also remember those who made great, non-violent sacrifices for peace. It seems to me that encouraging the imagination of the youngest among us and equipping them with tools to avoid and prevent conflict will be more beneficial than presenting forceful or violent options as viable solutions. Too often, humanity resorts to violence as a short cut to resolving conflict, when in fact it normally affects the innocent, imposes solutions, and displaces and oppresses a population.

I mean no disrespect to those who choose to serve their countries through military service. I respect people who are convicted about their life choices and make sacrifices for what they believe in. Still, I've never heard a war veteran return home and say, "Gee, I can't wait to get back to the battle front." I wonder what the world would look like if we could make the same sacrifices in working toward non-violent solutions as we make for war. Nonviolent conflict resolution isn't easy either, but in the end, maybe a lot fewer women and children would die or suffer life altering wounds.

So my act of peace is to remember rightly, and not to glorify military solutions and honour war as if that were the only way to resolve conflict. I also need to remind myself that radical change often happens in small, almost indiscernible increments. And I need to remember to be grateful for people like my daughters’ school principal who took my concern seriously.