Editorial

People need to pick up peace(s) amid the ruins

"To encourage worldwide, 24-hour spiritual observations for peace and nonviolence on the International Day of Peace, 21 September in every house of worship and place of spiritual practice, by all religious and spiritually based groups and individuals, and by all men, women and children who seek peace in the world."
~The International Day of Peace Vigil


In 2001, the United Nations General Assembly declared Sept. 21 of each year as the International Day of Peace. A powerful activity on this day is the minute of silence at noon in every time zone. As this unified silence circles the globe, strangers and friends join hands and circle a peace pole, optimistic for a day that peace is not a myth.

The objective of this day is to put an end to events where students are tased and arrested for speaking against public icons; where strings of campus shootings make teachers and students cower under desks and against doors to stay alive. To end the fall of planes from blue skies into dust-covered cities and people. To make wars- where brothers, mothers, sisters, fathers, friends and strangers are blinded, by "them" versus "us"- a thing of the past.

Almost 12 hours prior to the group of students beginning to collect around the Fredonia peace pole two Friday's ago, 10 students walked out of a cafe on Delaware State University when an unknown gunman opened fire. Two students were shot and wounded, one remains in critical condition.

A couple hours before students, faculty and town members held hands as a symbol of world peace, a 19-year-old MIT student was held at gunpoint at Logan International Airport after she walked in wearing a mockup of a computer circuit board and wiring on her sweatshirt. Authorities called it a fake bomb; she called it art.

One hour before a uniting international chain of peace commenced at noon in Fredonia, students were let back onto campus after a fake bomb threat was called in to President Hefner's office.

Days after people around the world came together to announce the end of violence, pain and war, a 21-year-old football player was fatally shot at the University of Memphis. Police said that it was a targeted attack. Later they restated that it could have been random.

This declaration of peace on Sept. 21 is a moment in which people can mentally shift their understanding around world peace. It is the first step to making peace a reality. However, this gesture cannot stop here. People need to embody the vision they stand silent to honor.

Whether it is fundraising to bring money into areas of the world that reap the aftereffects of violence, voting and protesting against unethical acts of aggression, or performing daily acts of kindness for others, people must do more than stand silent for peace.

As people read these words, people fall over there and here, while people try to pick up the peace(s).