We are surrounded by contradictions as they exist in everything and contribute to constant fluctuations in our lives. The presence of these contradictions is predictable, but what is essential is how we address them. These contradicting conditions make the question of a shared humanity crucial to attaining a JustPeace, and at its heart grapples with the question of whether a people can freely exercise their rights to determine the course of their own future.
How peace is attained is directly related to the idea of a shared humanity, for only a peaceful and dignified future can lead to a condition of a shared humanity. In other words, peace is not defined as or limited to the absence of war and violence. Rather, peace is designed intentionally and constructed as a dynamic and interdependent existential reality in which people live with dignity; and can freely determine and exercise their freedom. A shared humanity has a vibrant consciousness that is engaged with the process of defining and living in the present in which transformation is possible.
The existing dominant paradigms of peace have been obsessed with the ‘other.’ The more walls that it builds the more it will have to tear down, when it finally realizes that all of humanity actually needs each other. The monotheism of force has been at the center of state response to conflicting interests and historical experiences show that this lack of critical imagination and the arrogance of power perpetuate the assumption that the hammer is the only means available to deal with people who disagree with you.
Hence the endeavor to find out-of-the-box solutions to conflict is not about who the ‘others’ are, it really is about who we are and how we respond to issues of injustice. How we address injustice (of all forms) is central to whether we can build a peaceful context. By injustice it primarily implies state and structural violence and subsequently all other forms of violence that prevents the fullness of a dignified humanity.
To make peace a living reality, we need to recognize that it is impossible and undesirable to ‘eliminate the other.’ If our response to conflict is more violence, then, in the final analysis, we would end up being no better off, possibly even worse. We need to explore and create value-based approaches to address conflicting interests in more creative, imaginative and dignified ways in which domination, oppression and the use of force are relegated to the past.
Let’s envision a few decades ahead of where we are today to a time when humans would have already realized a shared humanity. Using this as the entry point, return to the present and in the process identify what it would mean and require to achieve a shared humanity. Such a shared humanity would stem from the values of interconnectivity and interdependence within which the security and well-being of any one community, nation or people are inseparable with the well-being of others, are mutually respected, understanding, cooperate, and invest in our mutual destiny that benefits everyone.
Let’s critically reflect on the direction that we find ourselves moving as it is a time for us to engage in self-criticism and to truthfully examine our present status and find concrete ways in which we can make the most of the present as we move to the future. The key is to develop a capacity to see and think strategically.
Peace is possible when we are committed to listening and reasoning together with clarity and foresight. Through honest dialogue we can explore together new and respectful approaches to address conflicting interests in more creative, imaginative and cooperative ways. Peace becomes meaningful when we are able to both address and uproot the core issues of conflict, not by avoiding them. By transforming injustice to justice, peace is possible.
We must be persuaded to move beyond what exists while still living in the present, not become immobilized by it. To create what does not exist is to recognize that we are part of a complex web of relationships, including those with whom we differ.
