Debunking Myths - There is no such thing as World Peace!

Myth:  At a recent convention, fellow psychodramatist, Dr. Adam Blatner tasked me with writing an article, “Twenty Ways To World Peace.”  As I considered his challenge, I realized that if I had the answer to that, I would have, most certainly, shared it with the world by now and that peace would be breaking out all over.  So, I tried to reduce the scope of the question to be less ambitious than including all of mankind, and perhaps just focus on my own humble household, which currently consists of only myself and my Lovely Husband and Office Manager, Jon Archer.  When I thought about that “world,” I realized that it is not even peaceful 100% of the time in that world, and the two of us chose each other.  How on earth is peace to be created amongst all of mankind, including groups that very much did not choose each other?

Fact:  I thought again of the definition of peace and decided that the Jon & Marlo Archer “world” was basically peaceful overall, and that periods of difficulty are rare, repairable, and are surrounded by periods of contentment.  So, can that be my hope for all of mankind?  That we experience periods of difficulty that are repairable, and that are surrounded by periods of contentment?  I do think that is possible and that it also currently exists.

Human beings will always have periods of difficulty with each other, followed by periods of contentment, if they are willing to do the repair work that follows the periods of difficulty and if they behave reasonably during the periods of difficulty.  Further, the periods of difficulty can be fewer and farther between if people focus on being cooperative rather than being competitive, so as much as groups of people on the planet can cooperate, rather than compete, the more peaceful our existence will be overall.

Thus, I believe we already have world peace.  Those that are currently suffering under difficult conditions can eventually expect reparation and contentment and those who are currently experiencing contentment can eventually expect suffering under difficult conditions.  The cycles are just so lengthy that they can easily exceed several human lifespans, such that it seems some people always suffer, while others always experience lives of luxury.  Any study of history that looks more than 300 years in any direction will reveal that this is simply not the case.

Therefore, you already have world peace.  If you are not feeling overly peaceful, then try to resolve the difficulties you are involved in by cooperating with those who are causing the difficulties.  If cooperation is not possible, do what you can to tolerate your suffering with grace and dignity without turning violent.  Protect yourself, as you must, but do not attack if it can be prevented.  If, on the other hand, you already have a reasonably content lifestyle, you might seriously consider working hard to relieve the suffering of others before they figure out how to trade places with you, violently.

I would propose that we already have as much world peace as we’re ever going to get and that it’s up to each and every human on the planet to do his or her fair share to negotiate difficulties non-violently wherever possible, suffer some atrocities with dignity, be open to making amends and forgiving when the difficulty has passed, and to work hard during periods of prosperity to share the wealth with the less fortunate.  Those who neglect that final step are generally slated to become the next group that will suffer.

Marlo Archer, Ph.D.
Down to Earth Enterprises
1250 E. Baseline Rd., Suite 102
Tempe, AZ 85283
(480) 705-5007