War and Peace: A Short History of Peace

1. War and Peace: A Short History of Peace War & peace, you’re dying in war, but you even can’t live in peace! –Running Wild-

2. BELL-RINGER • Some have defined peace as the absence of warfare, while others say it is the absence of warfare but also the presence of decent standards of living and social justice (equal rights and opportunities in all aspects of society) for all people. Moreover, they believe that this “true peace” can only exist with the presence of a world government. What do you think?

3. Many believe that our modern ideas of peace derive from the work of the philosophers of the Enlightenment (Locke, Hume, Descartes, Voltaire, etc). • Their ideas of common sense and tolerance leading to a perfect society were around well before the 18th century. Rather, the Enlightenment reorganized those ideas. • In Chinese Confucianism, violence was strongly opposed because it removed the pillars of society: seniority, submission, good faith, and decorum (dignity).

4. Before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves. Confucius. He also famously said to be nice to teachers named Mr. Williams!

5. And, yes, even in the societies of ancient Greece and Rome where famous epics like Homer’s Iliad and Virgil’s Aeneidspoke of the glory of combat, there was a longing for peace and the good life. • What is true of these ancient societies passed down to early Christianity and the idea of “turning the other cheek.” • So, the ideas of the Enlightenment were not wholly new. From then on, pacifism was supposed to be based on the “benevolence” and “philanthropy” that the Supreme Being had allegedly inserted in His creatures, not necessarily following in Christ’s footsteps.

6. How many of you can say that you practice the idea of “turning the other cheek”?

7. Though there were peace movements in this country dating back to the mid-1800s, the earliest organized movements explicitly aimed at abolishing war worldwide appeared during the second half of the nineteenth century. • The Austrian-born Baroness Bertha Suttner’s famous novel Die WaffenNieder (Lay Down Your Arms) led the charge for the growth of these worldwide movements for peace.

8. “No blossoms of flowers are to be seen on wayside or meadow; but sabres, bayonets, knapsacks, cloaks, overturned ammunition wagons, powder wagons blown into the air, cannon with broken carriages.”

9. During the period between the Great War and World War II, the League of Nations was formed with the idea of making a hasty retreat from war. • Most of the member states of the League began to subscribe to the idea that war should no longer serve as a method for settling international disputes. • The Kellogg-Briand Pact of 1928 aimed at abolishing war as an instrument of politics and was signed by most of the then-existing states.

10. Years later, the Geneva Disarmament Conferences of 1931-1932 tried to seek the abolishment of “aggressive” or “offensive” weapons. • As the future proved, these movements did not put an end to war, but their very existence was significant. • After World War II, the United Nations was founded as an organization to preserve and promote peace. Though wars have taken place since, it is pretty clear that most parts of the world have become immune to war, especially war waged by major states against one another.

11. Manhattan, baby! Inside view of the UN General Assembly Hall. Composed of all United Nations member states, the assembly meets in regular yearly sessions under a president elected from among the member states.

12. Why do you think that, despite courageous campaigns against war throughout history, ordinary people are fascinated by war and, too often, desire war, clamor for it, and rejoice in it?