Negative Peace, addressing conflict by way of use of arms, killing, threats simply further breeds a vicious cycle of unrepentant and unending war. Eventually, everything leads to the peace of the cemeteries. Everything is silent, because everyone is dead. Yet, the SOURCES of conflict remain to fester, endlessly haunting, wreaking havoc on everyone. That's what's happening in the case of Syria now. Ralph Summy, I think correctly surmises that the lynchpin that needs to be overcome by all parties concerned is MISTRUST/DISTRUST. Unless, mistrust/distrust is overcome by the stakeholders, Positive Peace won't be possible. Positive Peace entails an inherent goodwill, honesty, courage, and reasonableness from parties involved in a conflict. For such, Positive peace therefore isn't any less taxing than negative peace. Imagine, to be required to have the goodwill not to kill one who may want to kill you even if you have the capacity to do so. Imagine, to humbly listen to the complaints of the other about your mistakes and the sins you committed on the other, and for the other party/ies to also have the same humility as they listen to you when it's your time to enunciate. Imagine, to fearlessly and squarely face conflict and the people who are supposed to have caused, meant you harm while at the same time to have that calmness to unflinchingly engage with them in dialogue. Imagine, not to let your irascible propensities take over, but instead to have your reason guide and enlighten you, as you and the other parties navigate your multilateral way through the maze of long-held prejudices, biases, animosities, all because you all would want to eventually find consensus which you know won't be a once-and-for-all magic antidote; i.e., you know that such consensus is but one of those which will need to be continually, persistently nurtured, not only temporarily, but permanently. And, all these, with the overarching awareness that you and the others may not actually be able to enter the fabled land of milk and honey yourselves; that you're but just one of the many still to come series of baton bearers who won't actually be the ones crossing the finish line. Positive Peace, anyone?
No comments:
Post a Comment