Wednesday, March 25, 2009

De-Politicizing Peace

The NY Times headline read, "Peace Conference in South Africa Is Canceled," as journalist Celia Dugger wrote, "Organizers of a peace conference that was to have been attended by five Nobel Peace Prize winners in Johannesburg said Tuesday that they had canceled the conference after the South African government denied entry to The Dalai Lama , Tibet’s spiritual leader and one of the Nobel laureates."

I just couldn't help but wonder to myself, "Are they for real?" I mean, please don't call me naive, but is it really possible that a country purporting to support a peace conference would deny The Dalai Lama - probably the world's most renown peace advocate and Nobel Peace Laureate - from attending the conference due to political pressures from China. And even more ridiculous, did they really think they could pull it off and not have a backlash?

When will we begin de-politicizing peace? Is it possible? I personally believe it is, but it takes each and every one of us to wake up and stand up and speak out against these ridiculous actions.

All it takes is one of us to make a difference...look at Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, Desmond Tutu, Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr., and so many others.

As MLK said, "Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter."

What are you speaking up for in your lives, your community and your world? May we all de-politicize peace by starting with living peace within and standing up and speaking out against injustices against others.

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