World Peace? o.O;

[Miyu-chan]

Okay - is world peace possible? o.o; I was writing a poem for this poetry contest, and the theme was, "write your thoughts on world peace". I'm afraid that my thoughts on world peace are too pessimestic. Frankly...

I think that world peace is impossible.

Oh, it's a tempting dream, but the only way for that to happen is for everyone to set their selfishness, greed, nationalism, etc. aside - To stop thinking about your own benefit. That's impossible. o.O; I mean from what I've heard of in past news, the US was using some events to their own benefit, not to get world peace. <<:

So, what are your thoughts on world peace?

And who knows, I may get some inspration. xD

 

[Cherrim]

I'm normally an optimist, but I can't be with something like world peace.

I too think it's impossible. If you think about it, people are just too different. There will always be conflicts and not everyone is strong enough to overcome these conflicts. With the vast stereotyping everyone does today, most of the time without even realizing it, it's hard to see truth and this lack of truth really hinders any moving forward we could potentially do. These lies we latch on to just... kill any chance of peace. We're now in the midst of the "video game" generation. As much as people want to argue, we do believe things when we see it and the media is now so good at manipulation they can feed us anything and we'll follow it rather mindlessly. x_X At this rate, it's hard to have peace within our own cities, provinces/states, and countries... let alone bringing the entire world harmoniously to peace.

Rather negative but... I just don't see it happening. If it did, there would always be someone waiting to overthrow it and take advantage of peaceful times.

 

[Merzbau]

I can't see world peace ever happening, there are too many evil people in the world for that to happen, I think. Cuz no matter what it is, there's always gonna be someone there that can screw it up for you. lol Peace is possible, of course, just not completely. At least that's what I think.

 

[Kipkip]

World Peace is possible. To gain world peace, you must elimate stuff. Here's an example, as along as there is science and religon in the same world, world peace is impossible. If you elimate religon or science, you get peace.

 

[Ryoutarou]

I've never thought it would happen really.

There will always, always be someone who doesn't agree with the views of a country's leader. That will usually be the cause of a spark of distrust, and depening on the person, they can take it to ridiculous extremes or they can live with it. If they live with it or are too afraid to do anything about it, someone else would do something about it. And money drives everything, so even if a person like that starts out with a just cause, chances are they'll end up corrupt or changing their ideas slowly to take the masses with them...bringing more people who don't agree with him.


Edit- Well, you can get rid of one or the other, but then what about the people wanting the one that's gone? World peace is only possible once EVERY SINGLE person on earth is happy, healthy, and not in danger of war or sickness...and that's never going to happen, at least not in our lifetimes.
So yeah...never gonna happen.

 

[Miyu-chan]

Eek, looks like I'm not the only one with a negative outlook. o.O;

Maybe world peace will happen when everyone is eliminated from the face of the Earth... ;-;

 

[Dark Penguin]

no, because of different views and different cultural backgrounds, and different goals world peace is not possible, and if it was achieved, it would be for a very short time.

 

[drunk_vader]

there will never be a world peace
because everything needs balance
without evil there cant be good

 

[Chairman Kaga]

For one thing, world peace is not possible because everyone in this topic will define world peace differently--there would have to be a universal idea of what the concept would mean, and debating the means through which it would be achieved and what would happen afterward would cause even more turmoil. Think of Karl Marx, for instance--he had a vision for world peace, but over the past 150+ years it's caused nothing but misery for billions. Plans of this magnitude can and will go horribly wrong, and in the case of Karl Marx, the plan can be twisted and destructive from the start.

World Peace is possible. To gain world peace, you must elimate stuff. Here's an example, as along as there is science and religon in the same world, world peace is impossible. If you elimate religon or science, you get peace.

It's so easy to blame the world's problems on religion...most people do it and never give it a second thought, because the popular stance this day in age is that religion is evil. A few extremeists (and the populace's increasing hatred of anything resembling a moral code) have tainted the minds of billions against institutions which, in their true forms, have always seeked to end the problems of the world.

But people thinking that we're useless, evil, dectructive; a cancer on the world that must be exterminated at all costs will never change. The lie will persist until extermination of religion is a reality.

Science and religion can exist in harmony and compliment each other, but that's another topic.

As for science, it's neutral. It can be used to both create and destroy, and so it can be used equally by good and evil forces. The source of science is that which causes the world's turmoil--humanity. Not Christians, Athesits, Americans, Iraqis, Men, Women, Kings, or Peasants. All of humanity. It is in our nature to control, oppose control, and settle differences through death. There is no way to reshape the minds of men after millenia of the same old story. World peace is a fantasy because there will always be those who refuse to give up their claim to power. There will always be those who take pleasure in perverse things like killing and torturing, and not enough people with enough strength and resources to stand up to the world and decide to change it for the better.

But one could spend their entire lives researching world peace, so it's a topic that is above the understanding of us all and can't be defined in a two-paragraph post on a pokemon forum.

 

[DarkPegasus]

Ok,the world peace is only possible if we all have a common enemy. For example if we get so advanced that we go on exploring other galaxies and start a intergalactic war, all of humanity will fight together. Ok now my pinion how world peace can be achieved without wars:

The USA needs to withdraw form the UN, so that they no longer have a veto. Cuz all the past wars(after WW2) that US lead were not aproved by the UN.

 

[Chairman Kaga]

The USA needs to withdraw form the UN, so that they no longer have a veto. Cuz all the past wars(after WW2) that US lead were not aproved by the UN.

You want to talk about common enemies? That statement proves the world has a common enemy already: The United States of America, or as the rest of the world says, The Great Satan. Anti-Americanism is so rampant around the globe that if there is one thing that foreign governments can agree on, it's that the USA is "evil". You just watch--Europe and the Middle East and the rest of the world will all probably get their wish one day, unite, and wipe us from the earth just because they don't like us. If you ask any person you meet on the streets of Paris, Berlin, Beijing, or Riyadh, odds are they'll say that the world would be a better place without Americans...

But we all know this already. I don't know why I'm repeating what's so apparent. The world has bought into the lie and calls for the death of America =/

 

[Cherrim]

It's just because America seems like the "bad guy" right now. I doubt that everyone who claims to hate Americans really does--they're just saying it to fit in because that's what everyone else is doing. Honestly, I bet a lot of the people who say it don't even know very many Americans. They just think they know everything from watching a few biased documentaries and whatnot. (And again, I bring up the incredible influence of the media...)

I also have to agree with Kaga when he says it's impossible simply because everyone defines it differently. I mean, if we can't get past our differences over something as miniscule as a definitions, you'd get the same differences on a larger scale at a larger magnitude when you try to apply world peace. x_X

 

[Chairman Kaga]

It's just because America seems like the "bad guy" right now. I doubt that everyone who claims to hate Americans really does--they're just saying it to fit in because that's what everyone else is doing. Honestly, I bet a lot of the people who say it don't even know very many Americans. They just think they know everything from watching a few biased documentaries and whatnot. (And again, I bring up the incredible influence of the media...)

I'm glad you realize the dangerous power of the global media. It's true that the majority of the hatred of Americans in other countries comes from being misinformed...I truly pity the people who only have BBC or Al-Jazeera or any various state-run news agencies that work merely as propaganda engines. At least in North America most of us have access to tens of thousands of different sources of news from television to the radio to magazines to blogs, and from this we can filter the truth out for ourselves. The global media as a whole has been decidedly against America for a long time now, first in the more extreme areas of the world that hate the west merely for being western, but as we've become more of a lone wolf (which isn't necessarially a bad thing) the animosity has become more mainstream to the point where advocacy of America in the foreign media is the very rare exception to the rule.

Basically, as America can attest to right now and as the saying goes, the road to Hell is paved with good intentions. The problem is that the world focuses less on the good intentions and more on the road to Hell as far as America is concerned. The saddest thing of all is that we can't do anything about it.

You're right about people hating America because it's trendy. Nowadays you're not a "true" European or a "true" Arab if you think any differently. We had exchange students from Germany, Sweeden, and Jordan at my school this past year, and they seemed to love America after they became situated, but I'm sure that now that they're back in their own countries, they're forced to curse it wherever they go. They're probably going to be treated poorly for ever wanting to visit our country in the first place. It's a terrible shame.

 

[Miyu-chan]

Meh, the US tries so hard to be the 'good guys' to countries of their own benefit. THey keep trying to get involved in global affairs. -_-; They should just govern their own land instead of barging into others. <<;

I've heard alot of people say that the US is the 'annoying big brother' in politics. <<;

Ok,the world peace is only possible if we all have a common enemy. For example if we get so advanced that we go on exploring other galaxies and start a intergalactic war, all of humanity will fight together. Ok now my pinion how world peace can be achieved without wars:

I still don't think that's possible. <<; After the war, countries/people will still fight for their own benefit, and in doing so... disrupting the peace.

It's all human nature... <<; *goes off to write poem*

 

[Cherrim]

Oh yeah, good luck with that poem, Miyu. ^^; Post it up when you're done, too! :D

You're right about people hating America because it's trendy. Nowadays you're not a "true" European or a "true" Arab if you think any differently. We had exchange students from Germany, Sweeden, and Jordan at my school this past year, and they seemed to love America after they became situated, but I'm sure that now that they're back in their own countries, they're forced to curse it wherever they go. They're probably going to be treated poorly for ever wanting to visit our country in the first place. It's a terrible shame.

The saddest thing is how none of them realize how hypocritical they sound. They go around badmouthing the USA, yet almost all of them are probably wearing American-brand clothing or using items imported from the US, etc. If one really hated America, they should personally boycott everything that comes from the country, yet people are so sheltered and ignorant that they don't even realize it.

My uncle owns a farm out in Western Canada. As I'm sure many people don't know, the US still won't allow any cattle or beef from Canada over their borders because of the BSE scare. Since the US was Canada's main trading partner in that area, many, many farms are going under or failing miserably. So, in that respect, my uncle does to some degree have a very good reason to hate America (and that he does... if anyone around him so much as says one good thing about the country, you can be sure he'll find a way to put it down). Now, the worst part about all this, as it will likely be evident in many years, this hatred and utmost dislike for America and the people from that country is going to--no, already has--passed on to his children who, in turn, will likely pass that on to theirs, even if the whole situation is resolved. It's this eternal cycle of hatred, regardless of the original igniting spark that fuels the fires of wars and discrimination. So, where I'm going with this is to say even if we were to somehow find a way to solve every problem and conflict in the world, some people are so deadset in their hatred that the resolution of everything wouldn't even be enough to drop grudges and the like. Thus giving yet another reason world peace can never be attained.

 

[Ryoutarou]

Oh yeah, good luck with that poem, Miyu. ^^; Post it up when you're done, too! :D


The saddest thing is how none of them realize how hypocritical they sound. They go around badmouthing the USA, yet almost all of them are probably wearing American-brand clothing or using items imported from the US, etc. If one really hated America, they should personally boycott everything that comes from the country, yet people are so sheltered and ignorant that they don't even realize it.

My uncle owns a farm out in Western Canada. As I'm sure many people don't know, the US still won't allow any cattle or beef from Canada over their borders because of the BSE scare. Since the US was Canada's main trading partner in that area, many, many farms are going under or failing miserably. So, in that respect, my uncle does to some degree have a very good reason to hate America (and that he does... if anyone around him so much as says one good thing about the country, you can be sure he'll find a way to put it down). Now, the worst part about all this, as it will likely be evident in many years, this hatred and utmost dislike for America and the people from that country is going to--no, already has--passed on to his children who, in turn, will likely pass that on to theirs, even if the whole situation is resolved. It's this eternal cycle of hatred, regardless of the original igniting spark that fuels the fires of wars and discrimination. So, where I'm going with this is to say even if we were to somehow find a way to solve every problem and conflict in the world, some people are so deadset in their hatred that the resolution of everything wouldn't even be enough to drop grudges and the like. Thus giving yet another reason world peace can never be attained.

Even if things are passed on to younger children, as long as the media and other people don't display biased reports or tell kids to hate a country for no reason, then children will be fine. But we all know that's never going to happen, so many people are dead set that they're right and everyone else is wrong. If the media wasn't like that, then children would grow up with a fair view on different countries, but since it is like that, they think what the media tells them to think. In many countries everything media wise is rulled by the government and only what the government wants the people to hear is what's going to get through. Like the protest in China, those were all allowed to happen because the government gains some form of support from it.

It's not so much children growing up with hate as it's more of a problem when elders pass down hate. Even if an elder hated a country and told someone younger that they hate that country, it would be okay as long as no opinions are forced onto kids. But in places like North and South Korea, that's not the case, kids are forced to hate for no reason.

 

[Chairman Kaga]

We're portrayed as bullies and the pushy older brother on the global scale because most countries have no idea what it's like to stand for anything. They have the mindset of isolationism and appeasment that caused Europe to allow World War II to begin right under their noses.

That's a perfect example, Lightning. It seems that any action the US takes--any action whatsoever--will somehow become a catalyst for anti-American sentiment. Your uncle has a right to be angry; I think we're taking the BSE (a friendlier term than 'mad cow disease'...that is until you hear it called bovine spongeoform encephalitis =p ) scare much too far by banning all beef imports from Canada. We ruined a lot of livelihoods that way (I bet he wouldn't stop gloating when Japan banned all US beef imports), and in those cases when we're inconsiderate in those ways it's very wrong. We're actually having similar problems here with our own workers because businessess are shipping all their jobs to India and China where they can pay people thirty cents an hour, which isn't exactly creating anti-American sentiment, but is creating a gigantic amount of anti-government sentiment. For all his good qualities, W is quite soft on big business, unfortunately =/

But back to the main point--this generation, the first truly anti-American generation, can usually come up with some reason that they despise the great satan. The problem is, when these people have children, they're going to neglect to tell them why to hate America, and merely to hate us, and when that happens, it is no longer a poltical aspect but a cultural one, forever ingrained in the minds of humans. I think we've created a monster that we'll never be able to tame; not until we adopt neo-european values or someone in the Tehran or Pyongyang war room pushes the big red button with the mushroom cloud on it; both options which are terrible to think about.

 

[22sa]

World peace, if you mean nation-nation war, is possible. But peace itself is not possible because evil will always exist, and there will always be people suffering. Just observe the crime rate. The war between people keep change forms--from violent nationalism to criminal activity to habitual contempt. They always believe that their offenses can achieve something. It's a sort of insanity people don't care to do anything about.

Observe that in Nazi Germany when Hitler inspired the Germans against the Jews and Communists, and murdered many, other internal corruptions were not high at all--the Nazis treated other types of people with special distinction. The U.S. at the time had lots of internal crime--and was only behind the Nazis in organised murder rate.

The saddest thing is how none of them realize how hypocritical they sound. They go around badmouthing the USA, yet almost all of them are probably wearing American-brand clothing or using items imported from the US, etc. If one really hated America, they should personally boycott everything that comes from the country, yet people are so sheltered and ignorant that they don't even realize it.

100% true. I think the people responsible for spreading the hatred are just doing it for their own entertainment though, and are not really serious. It appears too inmistakable the amount of goods they enjoy from American trade.

 

[Cherrim]

Even if things are passed on to younger children, as long as the media and other people don't display biased reports or tell kids to hate a country for no reason, then children will be fine. But we all know that's never going to happen, so many people are dead set that they're right and everyone else is wrong. If the media wasn't like that, then children would grow up with a fair view on different countries, but since it is like that, they think what the media tells them to think. In many countries everything media wise is rulled by the government and only what the government wants the people to hear is what's going to get through. Like the protest in China, those were all allowed to happen because the government gains some form of support from it.

Like Kaga said a few posts back, the people in North America tend to have it a little better off in terms of information. Most of us have so many news channels broadcasting different types of news in different ways that we don't need to worry about bias to such an extent as, say, a country under a dictatorship in which there likely IS only one source of information which acts as propoganda. Anyway, regardless of how one gets their information, it will always be biased. I don't think there is a true way to tell information unbiasedly; to obtain it that way you would need several different sources telling the same story, and even then there will always be discrepancies among them. So... even in countries where free speech is tolerated, that still doesn't necessarily make it true. x_x;

Besides, children don't know any better. It doesn't matter what the reason is or even if they aren't told directly--if their parents hate a certain thing, then they too will hate that thing. This doesn't happen all the time, but often if your parents say a certain thing is bad, you'll believe them. Or at least, you'll certainly believe them until you're old enough to start finding things out for yourself. o_o Kids are so gullible... they'll really believe anything at a young age and most of the time, if something is engraved so deeply in your morals, so to speak, even if you find something that contradicts it, you'll just ignore that and go on hating, etc. Really, because of this, valid information won't help to the extent that it should.

But back to the main point--this generation, the first truly anti-American generation, can usually come up with some reason that they despise the great satan. The problem is, when these people have children, they're going to neglect to tell them why to hate America, and merely to hate us, and when that happens, it is no longer a poltical aspect but a cultural one, forever ingrained in the minds of humans. I think we've created a monster that we'll never be able to tame; not until we adopt neo-european values or someone in the Tehran or Pyongyang war room pushes the big red button with the mushroom cloud on it; both options which are terrible to think about.

Well, anti-Americanism is starting to decline, albeit slowly. It's not as bad as it was last year. Falling back on the BSE example, since it's the easiest one for me to refer to, when the US first banned it, and for the months following that action, Canadian newspapers and news broadcasts never actually told us directly to "hate America," but it was heavily implied. Everything focused only on how ridiculous it was for them to cancel their trades, etc. I'm not quite sure what the entire story was on the USA's side, but I do know that I'm now biased against that country because of all that. o_o I know I likely don't know all the details, but that doesn't stop me from feeling deep-down that it was a stupid thing to do. (I mean, I understand the immediate action, but prolonging it like this...? Ugh, it could almost merit another thread entirely. <_<) I can't help how I feel; I know I've been, to some extent, tainted by the media here (even though there are so many outlets for it). Also, media has to appeal to the people. It has to say it in the way the people want to hear it. So even if someone DOES try to tell the exact truth, from all sides, people may not want to hear it that way. o_o They hear what they want to hear and it will always be that way.

100% true. I think the people responsible for spreading the hatred are just be doing it for their own entertainment though, and are not really serious. It appears to inmistakable the amount of goods they enjoy from American trade.

Yeah, I'd have to agree there. I know several people who say it just because it's cool, but honestly have no good reason for it. x_X It's gross. And hey... welcome back! ^^; Long time no see.

 

[Chairman Kaga]

Well, anti-Americanism is starting to decline, albeit slowly. It's not as bad as it was last year. Falling back on the BSE example, since it's the easiest one for me to refer to, when the US first banned it, and for the months following that action, Canadian newspapers and news broadcasts never actually told us directly to "hate America," but it was heavily implied. Everything focused only on how ridiculous it was for them to cancel their trades, etc. I'm not quite sure what the entire story was on the USA's side, but I do know that I'm now biased against that country because of all that. o_o I know I likely don't know all the details, but that doesn't stop me from feeling deep-down that it was a stupid thing to do. (I mean, I understand the immediate action, but prolonging it like this...? Ugh, it could almost merit another thread entirely. <_<) I can't help how I feel; I know I've been, to some extent, tainted by the media here (even though there are so many outlets for it). Also, media has to appeal to the people. It has to say it in the way the people want to hear it. So even if someone DOES try to tell the exact truth, from all sides, people may not want to hear it that way. o_o They hear what they want to hear and it will always be that way.

I know how it is to be conditioned by the media and society to hate a certain group--we're always told about how evil the people in Cuba, Iran, Russia, Korea, etc. are, but I'm glad I at least have enough intelligence to know that an entire nationality of people cannot be completely evil, and that it is usually the government of a nation that paints peoples' perceptions of the people of that nation as a whole. Just think--the only footage we ever see of North Korea are pictures of people in protective clothing in a nuclear testing lab and others of Kim Jong-Il surveying troops and tanks and missiles on flatbed trucks parading past him. From that, any person would automatically make the assumption that all North Koreans must be like those we see on television. The hidden truth is that most North Koreans are genuinely good people; starving and miserable farmers who daily feel the oppressive yolk of Totalitarianism on their shoulders. It's the same way with foreign medias and America--the only footage they ever show is that of explosions and carnage in Iraq, people doing disgusting things and living decadently, industry and sweatshops, things like that, and people have assumed that we are a stupid, fat, warlike race, whereas any person on this planet with any sense of discernment knows that the average American is a moral, peace-loving, hardworking person.

It's very tough to find news in America that isn't slanted, especially to the left, sometimes, but rarely, to the right. I greatly prefer my news given by a group with some modicum of journalistic integrity, someone who gives out the facts without their own politics getting in the way, but as of yet I've found no such group.