To the Parched, a Drink
Peace is a desert flower, lonely, hardy, eager. It is always ready. It has to be.
Not since World War II has there been so much violence in so many places on Earth. The total number of conflict-related deaths rose last year by a whopping 96%. That’s not only alarming but nearly unfathomable considering that in 2022 the United Nations counted more than 2 billion people living in war-torn regions and 110 million displaced by violence.
Today, there are at least 114 armed conflicts raging across the globe. Our United States is not counted among the places where conflicts are ongoing. That’s almost comical given the near-daily mass shootings in this country, the fresh memory of an attempted overthrow of the government by armed insurrection, the dismal reality that a third of the population now believes violence is justified to achieve political aims.
Oh, we have a violence problem alright. That much can be said with certainty. What’s much harder is seeing it for what it really is and understanding what’s behind it. One time it might be cowardice feigning courage. Fear attempting to wear a brave face. Powerlessness in search of fortitude. Another time, it could be insecurity desperately seeking safety. Hunger longing to be sated. The alienated wishing for acceptance, depleted of hope they’ll ever get it. The mistreated exhausted of ways to get a fair shake. Sometimes, it’s zealotry born of ignorance. Or just raw impulse prompted by unidentified rage.
Violence is crude. It’s also complicated. What’s seen is the symptom, not the disease.
Faith in humanity is shaken as horrors compound in Gaza, Ukraine, Sudan and dozens of other hotspots. Faith is restored in thousands of locales where people work diligently to get to the bottom of growing hate and violence. Efforts like those undertaken by We Are Many-United Against Hate, a Wisconsin-based group I’ve been involved with since it formed just over seven years ago. It now has a national following and a growing number of international chapters.
Former members of white supremacist organizations and other extremist groups, law enforcement officials, and family of victims of mass shootings and terrorist attacks have come together to dig down to the roots of hate and violence. Their excavation has been done in the presence of audiences of all ages, but especially young adults.
One shining example was a recent youth summit where more than 350 students from 20 high schools gathered to develop strategies for combating hate and violence in their schools, guided by two men who once preached and practiced it, a former Ku Klux Klan leader and an ex-Marine who plotted to blow up a mosque before drawing back from the brink.
Others are zeroing in on the social discord that is producing political dysfunction. In my home state, a longtime newspaper editor and a retired Republican office holder very recently teamed up to form the promising Wisconsin Alliance for Civic Trust in hopes of bridging partisan divides and rediscovering common ground. Similar citizen networks are springing up in other states, too. Godspeed to them all.
Every one of these explorers—from the newspaper editor and recovering politician to school kids with the help of a military veteran and a one-time Klansman—search for the same things. The keys to reducing if not ending violence. And preferably much more.
Every language has a word for it. Peace. Paz. Paix. Shalom. Salam. Frieden. Мир. Pace. Amani. Hɛɛrɛ. Vrede. Rauha. Mier. Anachemowegan. Darangilaü. Pokój. Béke. Ειρήνη. Barış. صلح. Wolakota. Kupia Kumi Laka. Amahoro. शांति. Amikekia. Mosojej. Koosi. Nye. Layeni. Khotso. 和平. Rahu. Fred. Kahusayan. Wo'okeyeh. Ñʌch'chocoya. Chibanda. Maxu. Achukma. Ukuthula. Tuktuquil usilal. Kiba-kiba. M'tendere. Bisaniwewin. Tlamatcanemiliztli. Bóoto. Nala. Taika. Goom-jigi. Тынчтык. Kayiroo. Paco. Udo. Lùmaanàà. Síocháin. Nanomonsetôtse. Машар. Emirembe. Pau. And a few hundred others.
Every language may have a word for it, every society may have a conception of it, but it proves elusive because it remains largely misunderstood. It is widely thought to be the absence of violence. It’s that, but not only that. Peace also requires the presence of justice.
You’ve heard it said, no justice, no peace. So very true. So devilishly difficult for we mortals to take to heart.