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The Auguries of Peace (Topic: Peace.)

The document discusses the complex nature of peace. It argues that peace is often pursued through violent means like war, and that true peace requires mutual understanding and sharing between all groups. The story of a young boy who grew up in a war-torn area illustrates how learning to share resources with others can help avoid conflict. The document concludes by advocating for reconciling differences and sacrificing personal interests to work towards common goals of peace that benefit everyone.

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Jiadong Ye
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67 views4 pages

The Auguries of Peace (Topic: Peace.)

The document discusses the complex nature of peace. It argues that peace is often pursued through violent means like war, and that true peace requires mutual understanding and sharing between all groups. The story of a young boy who grew up in a war-torn area illustrates how learning to share resources with others can help avoid conflict. The document concludes by advocating for reconciling differences and sacrificing personal interests to work towards common goals of peace that benefit everyone.

Uploaded by

Jiadong Ye
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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The

Auguries of Peace (Topic: Peace.)

The price of peace is too easily repaid. Every page of our blood soaked history book reveals
the identity of a new individual who gave his life fighting for that sacred peace. Mothers name
their sons and daughters Peace in the very passionate hope that their aspirations will one
day epitomize the countries they inherit. Far in the distance, church bells ring in tandem
signalizing the passing of the day, bringing along with it the soon to be forgotten prayers of
the peace yearners.

We like to measure peace by the value of its dollar-some say millions, others claim trillions,
but what is all this money compared to the faces of despair etched onto the futures of many
children born into bloodshed and violence. He cries and nobody is there to hear him. He
yearns for love, but his mother has sacrificed her last bit of love to die so he can live. He picks
up the textbook once used by his brother in primary school, but nobody is there to teach him.
His brother is dead. He wanders out of the small rickety brick house his mother hid him in and
immediately a bullet lands in front of his feet. He enters the world alone searching for the
meaning of his life, lost and forlorn, growing up only to the bright flashes of rifle muzzles and
that of a bloody stream of water constantly flowing down the river creeks. War is ongoing.

Sometimes, even peace itself is a destructive concept. When we fight for peace, sometimes
we take part in the very process that destroys it. Peace becomes the elixir of empowerment
with which we take up weapons to fight. Disguised under the dark veils of the Peace
Warriors, we begin to wield our peace swords for the pursuit of personal interests. In South
Sudan, the elites often see peace talks as opportunities to get rich. Even after peace was
achieved through independence, the elites took advantage of it to fight over control of the
government and resources.

In the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombings, two nuclear bombs were dropped in order
to put an end to the war and ensure peace. But in the process, we took away the peace of a
group of innocent people in exchange for the peace of others. Similarly, countries like to
claim that stockpiling nuclear arsenal and ballistic missiles are for the defense of their own
peace. What they fail to realize is that peace is built upon mutuality and trust. If one party is
unable to trust the other and purchases weapons as insurance, then that peace is very fragile.

The word peace appears so many times in conflicts. But why is it only after we have butchered
and robbed so many people of their dignity do we then question ourselves why peace was
not considered? We only demand for peace when we realize we are on the losing end, that
our own people are dying. Peace then becomes just a means to an end and a better
alternative to defeat.

That young boy grew up, managed to escape and finally got to understand the true meaning
of his name. It wasnt about fighting for peace, but it was about something else.

I dared to live and I dared to dream
But dashed they were by the crooked minds of people
In the land of democracy, a wild flower bloomed
The seeds were scattered
The flower wilted

The Auguries of Peace (Topic: Peace.)

It was a new beginning


People fought
For their lives beyond that of others
Some for the seeds and others to stop the greed

Blood everywhere
Some claim they drew blood for the notion of peace
But mind you after peace they will want the seeds
For something so precious
Greed is voracious

Too narrow-minded we are
To view peace as a punching bag
Back and forth we punch and crunch
So desperate we are to breathe fresh air

That we forget that peace is never infinity
The aura of compassion absent
That we finally realized
After signing cheques of despair

Too late!

The young boy realized that if we learn to share then we dont have to fight anymore.
Everyone gets a fair share of the pie and everyone gets to enjoy a portion of the benefits. If
we manage to put aside our differences and begin to try understanding the interests of others
and compromise, then there is no need to fight, and no need to fight for peace. His mother
once taught him not to share the small chunks of cocoa at home with his neighbors. His
mother also once taught him to keep all the staples for themselves, because they need the
food to feed themselves. He finally realized that if he had shared them with his neighbors and
fellow villagers, there would have been no need to fight and they will all be friends. Yes,
friends.

In Singapore, we have managed to achieve a level of social cohesion whereby the different
minority races and religions are able to bond with one another. With all the racial riots that
Singapore went through, we all understand the price of peace is a heavy price to pay.
Activities were organized for different races to work towards common goals and different
cultural activities are often celebrated for us to gain an in depth appreciation of them. Schools
also inculcate a habit of sharing in students for them to always remember those of the less
fortunate.

If one day, our world can come together to reconcile all of our differences, then peace isnt
an overly distant concept. While I type this, millions of people are drawn into conflicts and
paying the price with their lives while we continue to enjoy the peace and tranquility in front
of our computer tables. We all need to be part of the process to change the way we view
peace. Fighting to gain the upper hand or to restore peace does not make us better people
The Auguries of Peace (Topic: Peace.)

when we rob others of their peace. Peace has to be shared and the sole price we all have to
contribute is for us to sacrifice our own personal interests to work towards common goals.

I believe that day will come and we can give the peace boys and girls the hope they need and
the chance they deserve for a better life and future.


[Word Count: 1063]

Figure 1 On an educational exchange in Chiang Rai, where we conducted lessons for many of the kids who are
ethnic minorities and have little access to education







The Auguries of Peace (Topic: Peace.)

Figure 2 Cultural exchange with the Thais to forge peace and understanding through the sharing of different
traditions

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