Rachelle
Tansley
When
discussing the Role of Civil Society in Promoting a Culture
of Peace we can us past stories to help us understand how we
should promote Peace in Society. For example agricultural
instruments in the local town, where the people used hem to
sew the seeds plough the fields, which made life enjoyable
and peaceful. Then when Cain started making violent
instruments such as spears and hammers. The people used to
them kill one another, to settle "old scores". Cain was very
distressed by the killing of the people that was taking
place in the society, which he thought within, the society,
that the people followed by example. If the produced
weapons, they become violent. So he began making the
agricultural instruments again, and the people became
peaceful. Working in the fields, becoming constructive and
creative, working together. Peace and tranquility within the
society. The moral of this story is that Peace is in our
hands, whether we want to promote peace or disturb. That the
kinds of examples we place within society effect the beliefs
in the society.
The story
by Oliver Goldsmith, about vicar wakefield, who taught
school children morals and good behaviour, is very
inspirational in the promotion of peace. Wakefield helped
the people to become responsible and good friends. The work
of one person and his own kindness to other promoted peace
within the society. The moral of this story is that in every
society, the role of each individual is of great
significance, whether being or small we can continue with
all our might for the welfare within our society.
There two
ways in which we can promote peace within our society:
-
Promoting Peace educationally, once people are educated,
they think about the world, other cultures and
religions. Peace co-existing in one world.
-
Awareness of peace within a society, as before once
people have become aware and educated about our world
they can co-exist peacefully.
As a
teenage girl, who has live her whole life within the Army, I
have seen one part of the hard work of people, individuals
who want Peace, although their reasons for war may not be
considered correct, the beliefs of each individual, that I
have known within the Army are the same. We want Peace
within our world. We hope democracy will go further, to
teach other toleration, respect for other people's opinions
and their way of life. We are all human beings and we should
live as equals and as friends. A very wise man once told me
"It is not the colour of the skin but the content of the
character that is important" in my opinion he couldn't be
more right.
Bringing change in society, education and civil
society play a key role in the promotion of Peace. Therefore
I have some suggestions to make in this context.
The awareness of Peace and Non-violent in
society, is a very important issue to discuss when trying to
promote Culture of Peace.
Peace is very hard to create in world where
there are so many wars and cultural disagreements. Human
beings are obviously the cause of violence, through our
variety of feeling (happy, sad, angry) we make our
decisions. These decisions have consequence.
To promote a Culture of Peace we need to promote
the idea and understanding that violence is wrong by:
To promote a Cultural of Peace we
need to promote the idea and understanding that violence is
wrong by:
-
Educating others about Peace.
-
Providing a peaceful environment in schools where children
will not suffer verbal and corporal punishment.
-
Teach
children that violence is wrong, at an early stage of life.
-
Provide advice to parents that abuse is wrong, may be giving
suggestions of other ways to discipline their children, when
they have done something wrong, instead of hitting them.
-
Promote Peace in communities; change the attitudes of the
community by allowing them to promote their understanding of
non-violence, allowing communities to deal with their own
issues peacefully.
-
Promote the idea that any kind of violence, whether it be
domestic or verbal, is unacceptable.
Promoting
Culture of peace in Society is very important; people need
to know that any kind of violence is unacceptable. We need
to provide help of victims of violence, abused children, and
victims of domestic violence. Violence should not be
accepted and kept quiet. Victims need to come forward for
help. We need to make people in society aware that if they
suffer violent acts, they should seek help, like a Woman's
Centre. Many victims of domestic abuse believe it is their
own fault. Victims need help to realize acts of violence are
unacceptable; there is no reason for violence.
The Government needs to provide stronger laws to protect
people stronger laws to protect people from the acts of
violence. These laws will influence the ideals that violence
is wrong, like the Domestic Violence Act, which provides
protective injunctions against violence, dispossession from
the matrimonial home and alternative residence. With
stronger laws, victims may feel more confident to come
forward to the police, accept that they shouldn't have to
hide away and suffer.
Peace and non-violent is very hard to accept when we live in
a world where punishing your children at home or at school,
is acceptable. These old-fashioned ideals need to be
stopped.
It has taken Britain years to reduce violence. We have
stopped the ideas that it is okay to hit your children that
it is okay to abuse your wife/husband, with laws and the
promotion of non-violence but even today people suffer
whether it be terrorist attacks on trains or people fighting
in the streets. But if you provide society with the
education, awareness and help that they need, then they will
realize that Peace is great thing.
By educating people and making them aware of Peace, they
will understand others. They will not fear the differences
but accept them. Fear is the main factor of violence, if
people fear one another; they become hostile and violent,
destroying society. By promoting the ideals of Peace, to
love one another, educating people and making them aware of
the world and the different cultures within our society,
then they will follow by the examples given to them.
Source:
International Seminar of Cultural Of Peace and Nonviolence
Wardha, October 7 – 9, 2005 |