There are conflicts in the world. And conflicts need solutions. What are the solutions?
Upon careful rumination, I have looked into my own past to find examples of conflict and how they were resolved. I came up with these questions that I asked myself. Why do people fight? What stops or ends fighting? Why is there conflict? And what causes it? How should conflicts be resolved? Why is aggression wrong? How important is peace in the world?
When I think and talk about fighting, I equate it with violence, whether physical or verbal. I think that violence occurs when humans are controlled by the wrong side of human nature, the side that is not spiritual, the side that forgets to think things through. I believe that violence is spurred by sudden anger and the attempt to gain power and control over others.
It is so easy to hate and be hostile to another, especially when they are very different from you, than to love and respect them. It is so easy to get angry and to start fighting over problems. Fighting also further marginalizes those who are marginalized and widens the gap between people when we should have solidarity and support each other.
Living as a minority in the U.S., I have felt the need to stop injustice and marginalization, which is spread by fighting. I am really thankful for attending Radnor Friends Meeting. When I grew up, even though I disliked violence, I gave the questions I asked above very little thought. Not many people taught me about conflict and conflict resolution. Once I started to attend Radnor Friends Meeting, I read about blogs by members of the meeting, which pushed me to think even more about the importance of peace and virtue, and the importance of stopping fighting and conflict. Many friends I know from the meeting are kind, loving, and caring. They follow the spirit and path of peace and not a path of fighting. In a world with much fighting and turmoil, the importance of peace and love is even more profound.
And as a conscientious objector, I try my best to support a good cause for myself and others, to stop the bigger fights from occurring.
I was taught by my mother that war is sinful in nature, as people were created equal in spiritual nature, and that harming and taking the life of another is a heinous act. Even Chinese martial arts, 武, were created to stop fighting rather than cause it, as 武 can be separated into “止” and “戈”, which mean stop and conflict, respectively.
Further reading, research, and personal experience provided more reasons for me to take my current stance that I have today, on viewing peace as a solution to conflict.
I dislike and try to avoid people who cause conflicts and show aggression. I have caused and escalated conflicts in the past and when I come to think of it, I regret what I have done. Aggression causes us to act like buffoons, and lose power and influence. I think that even though this world we live in will never be absolutely perfect, we can always try to make the best of it, and leave it better than it was, rather than think that since it will never be perfect, we should let it fall and deteriorate, then indulge ourselves in personal matters and continue to create conflict and waste.
So before choosing aggression, I think people should think things through and try to resolve conflict peacefully and spiritually. I support peace as a solution to conflict.
When we support each other and our differences, we can accomplish great things.
Written by Shangwen, Attender of Radnor Friends Meeting.
__