I have lost so many friends due to violence and have witnessed it in front of my own eyes. As I have my own child now, I am always thinking of migrating somewhere else where he can grow up in peaceful environment.

Yet, I ask myself will I become part of Mindanao’s problem by turning my back on her? I love this place. This is my home. But, I have a child whom I wish nothing but the best and that tears me up.
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Ian’s reply

I can’t even begin to understand how this must be for you … all I can say is that my heart goes out to you.

“… so engrossed with the idea that the only way to settle our differences is thru violence” is a great summary of how I see many parts of our world. I really hope that those who currently see violence as the only way will learn that there are other ways that are much more fun and creative.

What I wish we, people, can do all the time is try not to judge too quickly, challenge our own conclusions before taking any side and remember that perception is reality and therefore there are soooo many realities in this world and not one of them worth killing or dying for…
And I would absolutely agree – regular people do not need war they do not benefit from it they just take the consequences.
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Ian’s reply:

Thanks Sanja!

Your comment has got me thinking that perhaps there are causes worth dying for – but they only appear when there are people who believe that there are some things worth killing for. So I’m left with the question ‘Is there anything that’s worth killing for?’. I can’t find anything.

I mean like right now, is it any of USA business to be in Iraq?
That is like me going to your house and ordering you out of your house, by point a gun in your face. And then taking your house.
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Ian’s reply:

I like that analogy! For sure, the people who actually benefit from wars are those who finance it, supply the weapons and then get the reconstruction contracts. Sometimes the politicians might gain due to the upsurge of nationalist sentiment. It is never the average citizen going about their day to lives that start wars … and it is always the average citizen who pays the price with their lives and their livelihood.

I’ve also visited Croatia, Slovenia and Serbia, have wonderful friends in several Balkan countries (which as you say is full of incredible beauty) and just adore this part of the world. This makes it even tougher to imagine what kind of hatred can drive people to wage war. I agree that teaching compassion over hatred and nonviolence over violence is the answer. I hope I manage to make some contribution with this blog.

TREY – I join you in a positive vision of the future where we can sideline war as something rare or non-existent. Not sure I agree that war is ‘normal’. I think we’ve got used to it, so in a sense we (as a species) have ‘normalised’ it … There’s very little evidence of war (or even much killing each other) before 10,000 years ago and in the scale of human existence on the planet that’s a very small period of time. I’m sure there are many reasons why we started – but it’s not because its ‘normal’ or part of our nature.

FLUFFY – As Sanja points out in her article, the seeds of potential conflict are planted early on and, in the case of her country, were partly the result of economic troubles and the population allowing nationalism to become a dominant force. I imagine it was far more complex than that … but in these times of economic crisis we shouldn’t be surprised if some people try to use the fear and uncertainty to follow their own power ambitions. But they can only take power if we – all of us – give it to them.

War will always exist, but maybe one day, we can all work together to make it a minor event, that doesn’t happen within leaders of the free world, but rather amongst smaller tribes who have shunned those who have embraced love and tolerance.