Peace, On What Terms?

The whole world is longing for peace. Your neighbor, yourself, the person who gives you your coffee, and yes, even an ISIS leader in Syria. While that might not seem true, people do want peace. The catch is that people want it on their terms. Not on mine, not on yours, not necessarily on other people’s terms or their neighbors, but on theirs. The difference between your peace and their peace, makes it seem, that peace is not on everyone’s agenda.

What is peace? Peace is described as tranquil and free from disturbance. Most people would agree that this the definition of peace. However, what is peace? The peace just before a people start a revolution? The peace between fire and reload? Or the peace that is beneath a tyrant's boot.

Peace can be secured. However, people, sometimes the very people who long for it, when they realize the price, or who will be making peace on their terms, they back off. The very peace, that they thought they wanted, they now deny, because it is not on their terms.

Peace on who’s terms really is the key. This is why everyone is able to long for peace. But on who’s terms is why we fight, why we war, and why we are able to all long for it, because we all have different ideals.

An ISIS leader could want peace, but with his two wives, and his sex slaves, followed by a couch made out of dead infidels. It’s not that he doesn’t want peace, it’s just that most people wouldn’t really agree with that view. In a sense, is he the peaceful one and they are the warring ones?

 A hippy could yell for peace, but if he/she has to war for it, would they yell for it?

What if world peace looked like us all wearing covered clothing, or on the other spectrum, no clothing. If that was the price of peace, would you really keep that peace or would you say, “no, I like my clothing” or “I don’t like my clothing”. Either way would you stop the peace, because you didn’t like the peace?

If peace doesn’t look like what we want, is it really worth fighting to stop the peace? It’s all fine and dandy to talk about laying down arms and holding hands, but what if that peace is made because you are no longer there to enjoy the peace?

Peace, you may just want to rethink about it. You might just be surprised the peace that you get or reject, because it isn’t the peace that you had in mind. You might just find that you’re not that peaceful and the new way of saying peace is, peace on my terms, or I make peace with or without you.