Don't just prefer peace, oppose war.
Being pro-peace is as effective for the war machine as being pro-war is.
Being pro-peace means seeing all the wars happening around the world inflicting suffering on millions and doing nothing other than HOPING that they end. Being anti-war means seeing all the wars happening around the world inflicting suffering on millions and doing everything according to your ability to MAKE SURE that they end.
When a woman is being raped, you being pro-respect is NOT going to save the victim. You have to be anti-rape and oppose the crime happening in front of your eyes.
When a person of color is being prejudiced against, you being pro-equality isn’t going to do a damn thing to stop the racism. You have to be anti-racist and oppose each and every act of racism.
Similarly, aspiring for a peaceful world while not opposing the enemies of peace is as useless as chewing the water and as dangerous as trying to ingest water through the nose and ears. It’s useless because it doesn’t threaten the war machine, and it’s dangerous because it makes you think you’re threatening the war machine.
If you’re pro-peace and not anti-war, your contribution to bringing a war-less world is as much as that of the pro-war populace: ZERO.
War is the ugliest thing that can happen to anybody. It is a source of mountains of corpses and a river of blood. It destroys countries and turns them into dust. It inflicts psychological trauma on anybody it victimizes. It makes our beautiful planet suffocate. It creates chaos that leads to human trafficking and slavery. It makes a ground for extremist forces to rise to power and inflict unbearable suffering on the people. It is worse than anything you can possibly imagine.
As you look toward the sky with cheerful eyes, someone of almost your age somewhere in the world is scared of the sky. Oppose wars for him.
As you’re skimming your eyes over this text, someone of almost your age somewhere in the world is gazing over his destroyed house. Oppose wars for him.
As you’re scrolling down this text, someone of almost your age somewhere in the world lost his arm. Oppose wars for him.
When I say “oppose war,” I don’t only mean the ongoing war but also the conditions that may lead to a future war. Real anti-war activism is not about waiting until the war breaks out and then opposing it, but figuring out the policies of your government that may trigger that war and opposing those policies. I’m not saying that don’t oppose the wars which are already wreaking havoc on innocent people, but the best way to end a war is to make sure it never starts and that only happens by disapproving the escalatory policies. To exemplify this in today’s context, to oppose the nuclear war, you don’t have to wait until it breaks out because it would be too late then. Start resisting the policies that your elected officials announce on TV regarding the Ukraine war which may trigger a nuclear war.
When you start opposing wars, you start noticing that the trees of politics and economics have their roots in a soil we call war, which the beneficiaries of the trees strengthen by the manure of propaganda. You, as an anti-war activist, are a threat to the political and economic systems they built for their benefit because the trees cease to exist if there is no soil.
It’s not something that only those in politics should do, in fact, it’s the responsibility of everyone who considers himself to be a good, just or authentic person. If you are privileged to live in a part of the world where you’re not under constant threat of war, use that privilege in such a manner that staying where there is no war is no longer a privilege i.e; do your bit to make every bit of this world a peaceful bit.
Make being an anti-war activist in a civilization ravaged by the endless wars on the planet that has no enemies your daily routine. Think of it as rent for living on a planet with many other beautiful species.
You’re a member of the dominant species on the only planet that, at least according to our knowledge, supports life. ACT LIKE IT.
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