KUNTZ: Remember war but make a commitment to peace

Nov. 11 is the day we dedicate to remembering those individuals who died while engaged in armed conflict at the behest of our country’s leaders.

We might, however, consider using this day to remember something more. We might want to use this day as an opportunity to reflect on how it is we get ourselves into these conflicts.

We have poor memories when it comes to the justifications for war. With each new fight, we are asked to believe that this war is a just war, that this battle is a necessary battle, that this military incursion will bring peace.

But with the rare exception, we come to discover that the motives for war are not just and that the mass population had been deceived once again into the urgency and necessity of waging conflict.

Last week, I heard from a friend who lives in Saskatoon. She shared with me her experience with the arrival of former U.S. president George W. Bush for a paid speaking engagement. Following Mr. Bush’s speech, my friend mixed amongst the more than 2,000 citizens who saw fit to exchange their hard-earned dollars for a couple of hours of Mr. Bush’s wisdom. She heard comments like, “He’s such a nice man. Very down-to-earth, very friendly.”

It’s shocking that in less than 12 months, these individuals have forgotten that Mr. Bush invaded and occupied two foreign countries, violated numerous international laws and treaties, decimated environmental protections, insulated the While House from science-based knowledge and authorized the widespread use of torture, rendition and indefinite confinement without due process.

In his book Perpetual War for Perpetual Peace, author Gore Vidal documents the work of the Federation of American Scientists, which catalogued the number of military incursions where the United States had been the aggressor. Most Americans and Canadians will be dismayed by the knowledge that the U.S. has initiated nearly 200 invasions since 1945.

When the propaganda of war begins with its us-vs.-them rhetoric, with the “either you are for us or against us” positioning, it seems the fog of amnesia washes over us and we forget that there were no weapons of mass destruction found in Iraq, that the Afghan people were not responsible for the collapse of the World Trade Centers, and that no babies were tossed from their incubators by Saddam’s henchmen.

Ronald Wright, author of What is America?, comments on America’s free-fall into fear since Sept. 11, 2001. He is very clear that the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan weren’t caused by a handful of supposed hijackers; rather, the military invasions and the numerous violations of civil rights and freedoms, international laws and human decency were the result of our response to the events of 9/11. It’s the stories we told ourselves that created the disastrous after effects.

I heard many people insist following 9/11 that we had no choice but to retaliate. When we attribute our actions to the behaviour of others, we give away one of our most cherished attributes: the capacity for choice. When we make others responsible for our behaviours, then we act as if there is no space between stimulus and response, between life and our response to life. It will be impossible to create a peaceful world if we declare that we are not responsible.

If peace is to be achieved, it must begin with each individual making a commitment to being peaceful, regardless of what the world offers. The battlefield that needs to be won is the one that exists between the events of life and the meaning we assign to these events. Most of the terror and assaults we experience are created in our minds. The demons that need to be slain do not exist outside of us but rather inside of us. Our fear is largely the result of an imagination that regularly manufacturers its own nightmares.

Only when we develop mastery over our thoughts and related emotions will we make progress in our desire for a peaceful world.

Ronald Wright saves his most important comment for the last sentence of his book. He writes, “For civilization to continue, we must civilize ourselves.” It would be wise for us to remember this.

Ted Kuntz is a Coquitlam author and psychotherapist; his website is www.peacebeginswithme.ca.

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