“Peace through strength” is an illusion

Most adults living through the 1980s probably recalls former President Reagan’s statement of striving for “peace through strength“ during the Cold War Era. While this makes for a great tagline, does it really achieve what is being stated?

The problem with a statement like “peace through strength” is that uses the wrong methodology in an attempt to achieve a worthy goal. Peace and strength are virtually oxymorons, but worse yet, strength requires one to be constantly vigilant. It also subtly implies one must be a bully to achieve peace.

Does being wary, worried, and on-guard sound peaceful to you? Does being a bully sound peaceful? No, not to me either. Instead, it sounds stressful, if not debilitating. At what point does one actually know they have achieved peace when they behave this way?

What is missing from this Reagan quote are two of the most critical underlying factors for peace to be achievable in the first place: passion and compassion. True peace requires a constant passion for achieving it, not just a temporary feel-good slogan. Each and every action should be a step taken in furthering peace.

Furthermore, lasting peace requires sincere compassion, which in turn requires one to be empathetic to the suffering of others. One cannot talk down at others and dismiss their suffering, while claiming to be compassionate at the same time.

Every person, culture, nation, or society has their own sufferings. It might be a drought, a storm, an earthquake, a disease, a war, an illness, a personal problem, or some other affliction. To ignore that fact is to lack compassion and to utterly fail at working towards peaceful solutions and understanding.

Bombing the living daylights out of an entire subjugated population is hardly peaceful or compassionate. Killing unarmed aid workers is hardly peaceful or compassionate. Separating and deporting entire families is hardly peaceful or compassionate. Cutthroat policies that harm the poor, the unfortunate, and the disadvantaged is hardly peaceful or compassionate. To be an enlightened and compassionate society, we must not fall into the trappings of fear, wariness, and bullying for making our decisions.

Suffering is a global issue and we as individuals and as a nation must accept that fact before we can become truly compassionate. It doesn’t matter if those impacted by suffering are currently are friends or foes, true and honest compassion has no limitations. Most often, those who are suffering are innocent victims and have zero to do with broader decisions, actions, and policies.

This brings us back full circle to the topic of passion. Each of us must admit that we fail at being compassionate 100 percent of the time. To resolve that, we, me included, must become passionate to achieve compassion for peace to thrive. That means, also being in tune with the sufferings of those whose belief systems differ from ours. Admittedly, NOT AN EASY TASK. But, lasting peace through passion and compassion has to begin somewhere. And the easiest place for that to start is at home among our loved ones. From there, we can extend compassion to our friends, neighbors, fellow citizens, and the world as a whole.

To do otherwise, only increases suffering and lengthens the timeline for achieving true peace throughout the global community of beings occupying planet Earth.

Peace!