Let there be peace for a day
“What if one day no gun was fired. What if one day we tried to get along Imagine what that could mean for us all… If we can live in peace for one day We can work together to make peace stay” From a passage in a Peace network I once read
ON January 25, 2015- The SAF, the Fallen 44 was a tremendous blow to our country; Filipinos fighting their own countrymen. What difference can one make in the phase of war or tribal conflicts? We seek to order our country in a way that we are in control, that we set boundaries among people. We find ways of excluding people or by simply maintaining our positions against others that we compete rather than cooperate. It is as if peace is just a commodity that can be negotiated or bargained or even bestowed to us if we only elect the right officials. We long for unity, harmony and peace yet “Peace making” seems like an overwhelming concept.
We want a social and relational unity, harmony and peace, yet at the same time we want to strive for our own place in the scheme of things. We are then caught in human dilemma, the conflict between our idealistic dreams and our basic self- centeredness. Without the basic knowledge of peace, our society cannot grow. If people are not taught what is right and wrong, they will never succeed. The absence of the elements such as discrimination or prejudice, harassment, pride and hatred that poison our society is the key to total peace and harmony. It does not start with the family; it does not start with money, education or religion. It starts within us by sharing and caring. The song “let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me” though sappy, it is right on target.
History shows that the toppling of the once great empires and civilizations of antiquity resulted from the loss of its capabilities to adjust to the times. The belief in absolutism and status coup had sealed their own doom. Our people have their illusions of utopia and the attainment of such, had pinned down their lives, hopes and existence. These dreams lead to tragedy for they fail to grasp the reality of imperfection. The march to greatness should be an exercise of the people’s will for the actions of man shall not break even a ripple in the water. The attainment of peace and unity among our ranks deserve more action than mere lip service.
Our nation is at present in a chaotic and unstable situation. News of kidnapping, bombings, hostage taking tribal wars, rebellions, corruption, apathy among political candidates and decimating each other’s integrity are raging situations in our country which soared high to reveal terrorism, military aggressions and political differences. Pronouncements were uttered on the Mamasapano incident where the massacred soldiers rode to their doom due to an erroneous order from a suspended commander. The poem Charge of the light Brigade by Alfred Lord Tennyson holds true to the Fallen 44 and to those who were able to escape the carnage. Not a single soldier was distressed by the command to charge forward although the men realized that the commander had made a terrible blunder. The role of the soldiers is to obey, not to make a reply, not to reason or to complain but to follow orders and marched into the cornfields of death. Keeping an eye for imperfections, misgivings and shortcomings is to wallow in a quagmire of vicious circle, in a quick sand of faultfinding, blaming and in a meaningless playground of social impotence. There is no way of judging by the past, there has been in the conduct of the people behind our system to justify those hopes with which these manipulators have pleased to solace themselves and the government which our aspirations and petitions have not been received with an insidious smile.
If called upon a period of rebellion, let it be a rebellion for heroism, peace and unity. Never again will it be a tinsel-piece of mockery. Work and unite to show the world in candor that the Filipinos are capable of the words of truth and virtue.
Let us forget the barriers, geographically or imaginary that has prevented to truly conglomerate into a nation pulsating with life, equipped with all the capabilities of reaching a glorious destiny. We must realize that one blood flows in our veins, that one spirit joins us all. We could not deny the importance of each other in the upbringing of a society we all cherish. The student studies well to the best of his talents and intellect, the teacher instills in his classes not only academic education, but the love of country and virtues as well. The doctor offers his medical knowledge in saving lives of those gripped by disease and the soldier offers his life to the altar of the nation in defense of the national patrimony. With the ongoing situation in Mindanao, where our Muslim brothers dare not listen to peaceful negotiations and to put an end to the barbaric treatment of our fellowmen, unless there is a promise of an exchange in return for their demands. Ask yourselves how this gracious reception of our petitions, comfort those warlike genocidal acts among the military, politicians, rebels and terrorists plaguing our land. Let us not deceive ourselves. These are the implements of war and subjugation; the last arguments to which plunderers and flaunters resort. While we live in an age of radical change, we cannot afford to stand by and watch. We have become the catalysts of a decadent national conscience in the process of making our nation escape instability of any sort as one national catastrophic paralysis.
Sharing and caring are massive concepts but strides can be made, one step at a time. Let us not forget the significance of rendering all our hard work to the Creator, Who has determined our destinies before we even had any idea of it. Offer it all to His greater glory that His will be done on earth.
Let me share a quotation from Robin Leach. “For one day a miracle… all hatred vanishes and all love, peace , harmony, sharing and caring exist. If we can do it for just one day, let us pray to keep on doing it one day at a time for eternity”