| Peace and War: Polarizing the Nation
in the midst of a Wave of Love Peace -- from the Middle English pees, from Old French pais, from Latin pac-, pax; akin to Latin pacisci, to agree War -- from the Middle English werre, from Old North French, of Germanic origin; akin to Old High German werra strife; akin to Old High German werran, to confuse -- Merriam-Webster Dictionary From the Editor | by Tim Miejan The EDGE: Exploring the Evolution of Consciousness Whether to agree or to confuse. Whether to support peace or war. Whether to impose sanctions and weapons inspections or issue an order to blitzkrieg a dictatorial madman who may have weapons of mass destruction at his command. Such is life in the 21st century. How much have we really changed since the 12th century, when the definitions above originated? Scott Baldauf of The Christian Science Monitor visited Maruf, Afghanistan, in the Kandahar province, the spiritual birthplace of the Taliban, just weeks after the Taliban clerics lost control and tribal elders there resumed power. During his visit, the reporter explored the cave complexes that may have belonged to the Al Qaeda terrorist network. He wrote: "...Here in Maruf, there was no sign that the American war had turned into what Pakistani religious leaders pronounced a 'clash of civilizations' between America and the Islamic world. There was no hostility toward the five foreign journalists that had suddenly arrived in the isolated village -- two Americans, two Pakistanis, and an Australian. If there was any clash at all, it had less to do with religion or politics, than with time itself. Like much of Afghanistan, Maruf remains entrenched in the 12th century. The pace of life is slow. Time is measured by how fast crops grow, rather than modern concepts like hours and minutes. The silence is total. Even the goats herded into our compound each night were quiet." And in that silence, there is peace, a balance between mankind and his environment, and agreement to maintain that balance. · · · It's easy to get wrapped up in the debate, because the choices seem to be such polar opposites. Peace results in no harm to any human life. War results in guaranteed harm to human life. Is not preservation of the species built into our DNA? If so, what went wrong? · · · It's easy to get wrapped up in the emotions of the debate, because our tendency is to take sides, to want to convince others that our way of thinking is the correct way. So we put up our yard signs that urge neighbors and by-standers to "Liberate Iraq: Support our Troops." And we put on our bumper stickers that urge fellow motorists to "Attack Iraq? No!" And we read all the e-mails and forward them on to acquaintances of like mind, because we think they might appreciate seeing something written from our perspective. And more e-mails come in, further supporting our beliefs, and we pass them on too. Who's mind are we changing? Will the woman in the car behind me at the stoplight suddenly think about this issue in a totally different way after seeing the peace symbol on the back of my car? Aren't we merely reinforcing our own contention that the way we view the situation is the right way? · · · Bruce Sterling, a science fiction novelist and author of the non-fiction The Hacker Crackdown: Law And Disorder On The Electronic Frontier, writes about a number of possible scenarios stemming from 9/11 at SciFi.com [www.scifi.com/tribute] and at Edge.org [www.edge.org/documents/whatnow.html], a site unrelated to The EDGE newspaper, rather an intellectual, scientific and philosophical look at culture. Sterling, of Austin, Texas, says one possible scenario that may play out -- with 3 percent probability -- involves wild cards beyond our imagination: "This is neither an 'age of terror' nor an 'age of freedom.' This is an age of random calamities. It's a genuine end of history, in which the passage of time in human affairs no longer has any rules as we previously understood them. There is no great historical narrative at hand, nor is there any grand scheme by which a rational analyst can make useful sense of events. NYC 9/11 is quickly eclipsed by other, biggest factors even more untoward and shocking: perhaps dumber acts of terror by even smaller groups, plus some Greenhouse calamities, an asteroid strike, some brand-new plagues, or even free beer and five cent nano-genetic intelligent cigars. Humankind has lost all control of our destiny and nothing can restore it." Recall that the ancient Mayans more than 2,300 years ago established their 13-baktun cycle of their "long count" system of timekeeping. At that time, they determined that the calendar would end on the winter solstice on Dec. 21, 2012, "the end of a World Age." Perhaps Sterling's remarks are more prophetic than we know. · · · Mystics, spiritual leaders and sages are collectively calling for a shift in our individual being, rather than an outward emotional response, in these days. In the spirit of Mahatma Gandhi's advice, that "we must be the change we wish to see," they are asking us to be centered in our hearts and to walk in peace and radiate peace, so that like ripples in a pond, our expression of peace might ripple the collective consciousness. Two such examples include: Michael Lightweaver [www.n2012.com]: "It is critical...to stay focused in the highest frequency (Love) in order to stabilize the planet as we move through rough waters.... At a deep level I know that the only way we will ultimately be able to shift the energy 'out there' is by shifting the energy 'in here.' " Christiane Northrup, M.D. [www.drnorthrup.com]: "Because it is consciousness that creates reality, the kind of consciousness you hold -- your vibration -- actually creates the kind of life you're living. It's impossible to create peace and harmony if you're pushing up against a war.... The split in our nation right now about war is actually creating more of the energy of war. It's not possible to 'fight' for peace without creating war.... The only way to stop war is to start from within yourself. You must do personal disarmament. The only way to get and stay peaceful is to concentrate on what brings you peace and resist the downward spiral of negative emotions that blames others for your lack of peace." · · · Our world is shifting at quantum levels. Its vibrations are shaking us to our core. The old way no longer works. We've done war. It doesn't work. It's too costly, both economically and in terms of human bloodshed. We're now inventing new ways to resolve old problems. We're shifting paradigms with consciousness. And while grown men in high political office raise their fists and make threats against one another and call each other names like little boys, and then scramble to set up their G.I. Joes quicker than the other one, something else is going on behind the scenes. Men, women and children worldwide are envisioning a new world, and that vision is being created like a hologram, like a transparency of peace placed over the map of the world. Tim Miejan is editor of The EDGE. Contact him at toll-free 1 (888) 776-5687 or e-mail editor@edgenews.com Copyright © 2003 Tim Miejan |
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