Why Fighting for Peace is Impossible

Peace and prosperity can never be achieved by fighting and wars that crush and dispossess, because even the winners live in fear – fear that the defeated will eventually rise against them. Consequently, they spend both their time and their resources on strengthening their defenses, and joy and happiness totally elude them.

~Saul

To someone like me, the message above is an undeniable truth.  But when I posted the quote on my Facebook wall it garnered a couple detractors, to my surprise.  I initially attempted to respond using my mobile, but even with a qwerty I just can't type fast enough.  So I decided I would wait until I could use an actual keyboard and determined I had enough to say to warrant a blog post.  And now that I've had a chance to really ponder my response, I've decided to do so in two separate posts.  Part I will cover why I believe natural and universal laws make fighting for peace impossible.  In Part II I'll examine what I believe is a misperception about human nature. 

The first argument against Saul's position was as follows:

I have a beef here. It's actually a recurring theme of discussion in my house. Does peace not sometimes have to be created by force? At what point do we have a moral obligation to enforce peace? Flowers don't stop genocides.

The next friend to comment didn't dispute the quote by Saul, but expressed a pessimism about humanity's ability to achieve real peace:

Peace cannot be enforced, that defeats the purpose.
Unfortunately, I believe we're inherently selfish, selfishness breeds greed, which is in its very nature evil...

I agree with my second friend; peace cannot be enforced. We cannot fight for peace. Peace is the only path there is to peace. All other paths are doomed to fail eventually. 

Let's look again at Friend 1's question, "Does peace not sometimes have to be created by force?" The answer is no. Friend 2 is correct, peace cannot be enforced. It's not truly peace.  Peace must be chosen. Now, we could assist others in fighting for freedom and might successfully stop a genocide, but it will not result in lasting peace.

Newton's Third Law
Why is this?  Because of natural law.  Specifically, Newton's Third Law.  Every action has an equal and opposite reaction.  Like begets like.  Hatred inspires hatred.  Violence leads to more violence.  Therefor, a violent action undertaken for the purpose of creating peace will fail.  It may end violence temporarily, but it will instill a desire for retaliation that will simmer and smolder until it is expressed.  In the mean time, that smoldering might ignite an even deadlier fire if it comes into contact with the right sort of fuel.

Some might argue that this is a law of physics and doesn't apply to anything other than a direct materially physical situation.  I disagree.  As above, so below.  This isn't some quaint Hermetic platitude, it's a key to understanding the true fractal and holographic nature of all reality, not just the relatively minuscule portion of the spectrum we humans can perceive through our limited senses.  Extrapolated to our hypothetical use of violence to quash violence, we realize that while we may successfully stop Entity A from victimizing Entity B, we inspire Entity A to inflict future violence upon ourselves (Entity C?).  If you don't align with the term karma, perhaps you'll prefer "blow back".  Either way, it's a ticking time bomb that will find expression in physical reality.


The Law of One
All is One.  The Law is One.  I AM One.

As above, so below.

The Law of One, simply stated, is that all things are one.  All things are connected; separation is an illusion.  All perceivable individual "things" are microcosms of the macrocosm; fractals.  As above, so below!  All true natural laws are nothing more than expressions of the Law of One.  Newton's Third Law above is no exception.  Every action has an equal and opposite reaction because it's pushing on itself - or more accurately, within itself.

Ultimately, this means there is no true separation between you and anyone else.  You're simply fractals of the One interacting.  Now, because You are One and because there is no true separation, when you commit a violent act upon another - any other - you're actually just harming yourself.

"Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me."

~Jesus, Matthew 25:40

The quote above is but one biblical example where Yeshua expressed the Law of One . Growing up a "Christian", I was taught that this passage meant whatever you do to another, you do to Jesus...or God. Well, if Jesus can be accessed and acted upon through interaction with anyone...you get where I'm going. This was a thinly-veiled explanation of the Law of One. Incidentally, Jesus expressed the Law of One in other instances (Do you not know that ye are gods? That which I do, you can do; and greater things you will do)- but don't let an evangelical find out I told you there's no difference between you and God. The impossibility of God being separate from God or condemning Godself kinda turns the hellfire and damnation thing on its head for them. And they do not like that; it's hard to control folks unless you can scare them. But I digress...

So hopefully now you have a basic comprehension of why use of force to achieve any goal is ill-advised and counterproductive. In all instances. Logic then leads us to realize Free Will is paramount and must be allowed at all times. Outcomes must be chosen, not forced.

The Solution!
And in Free Will lies the solution to our conundrum.  We cannot force an end to genocide.  We cannot enforce peace.  It must be chosen.  And choosing peace is what our hypothetical despot will invariably do once he is convinced of the underlying truth behind the Law of One.  That is our work.  We cannot force him to be peaceful, but we can patiently and gently convince him he's only harming himself.  Thusly persuaded, he will choose peace of his own free will.

And then, my friends, there will be peace.  True peace.  Lasting peace.  No vendetta.  No unfinished business.  No score to settle.  Just peace, and a world leader working toward not just the good of their own populace but the good of all.

Once upon a time there was a man named Malcolm Little.  Malcolm didn't have a very pleasant early life.  He belonged to a race of people who held a minority power position in their home country and were treated horribly by the majority race.  This made Malcolm angry.  He changed his name to Malcolm X and began to preach a need for violent uprising to force change for his people.  That's the Malcolm X most people remember.  That's the hateful man kids are taught about in school to this day.  But that's not the man Malcolm Little was when he was brutally assassinated.

I'm for truth, no matter who tells it.  I'm for justice, no matter who it's for or against.  I'm a human being first and foremost, and as such I am for whoever and whatever benefits humanity as a whole."

Do those sound like the words of a hate-filled killer?  No.  Why?  Well, if you read his autobiography you'll learn not just the experiences that brought him to voice the things he's best remembered for saying, you'll also learn about his spiritual haj to Mecca and how it changed him to the very core of his being.  By the time he left Saudi Arabia, he loved all races and "humanity as a whole."  He understood the Law of One.  It was the danger of him helping other Americans to understand this Truth that actually got him murdered.

This is our next evolution. The human species on Earth will eventually grasp this truth and change their actions accordingly.  This is my firm belief, and I think we're slowly witnessing this evolution in our own lifetimes.  Humanity is turning away from war.  I believe our children will see the day when there's not a single armed conflict upon the Earth.  Incidentally, I believe we'll see it ourselves.  Swords into plowshares, my sisters and brothers.  Whatever benefits humanity as a whole...benefits you most of all.

Fighting for peace is impossible, because We are One.

Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that.  Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that.

~MLK