Session 4 – Voyna i mir

“My foolish dream”

"Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for…

Imagine all the people
Living life in peace

You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you will join us
And the world will be as one"   

Imagine- John Lennon

I am rarely a staunch and active advocate of anything, but the one cause that I can see myself actively supporting is an anti war ideology. To me war is completely senseless on a micro scale (human), thus on a macro scale (state) as well.

History has shown that peace is a dream, perhaps a fool’s; war has existed since forever, it has continuously reshaped life on our planet and there are no signs of it ever being eliminated. Then how can one even phantom the possibility of peace, let alone attempt to somehow implement it? I have never really read prescriptions for such, so the introduction of  Kenneth Waltz’s“Man, the State and War” was extremely interesting for me especially how it is going into the root of the problem (war) to find its solution (peace). Is it state or man? Can peace somehow be implemented by use of scientific studies? Unfortunately since there is neither consensus nor a perfect solution, it left me with more questions than answers.

The most interesting passage for me was the following:

“War begins in the minds and emotions of men, as all acts do; but can minds and emotions be changed? And, if one agrees that they can be, how much and how fast can whose minds and feelings be changed? And, if other factors are relevant as well, how much difference would the changes make?”

As a Pakistani, the war and continual conflict between Pakistan and India has been the most relevant example for me on the topic of war and peace. Many of my countrymen believe in the pro war narrative that has been fed to us and perpetuated since our childhood through various channels such as media, education etc. Personally perhaps being a third generation Pakistani, my views are far less extreme towards India. I have also actively tired to look beyond this narrative and dig deeper into both sides. I even just recently visited India myself, met the people who always got excited when we told them we were Pakistanis. They were all normal people living their lives, doing their jobs and being with their families, not at all unlike us. In light of all of this, our bloody history made me sad, even disgusted in its tragic irony. I am completely against this narrative of hatred and war towards India that has seeped into our “minds and emotions” and want to actively change it. But like the passage asks how and whether it will work or not, I might be limited in my capacity to do so. A fool’s dream it might be indeed but I am willing to be a fool for peace.