At our Montana international School for horseback riding and peace we are combining two things that you love, too. You are going to have a chance to ride your hearts out in all sorts of new disciplines of riding in addition to what you already love; plus, you are going to work on learning how to make peace in the world so that you can share what you have learned here with your family, friends, neighbors, and new people all over the planet. Who wouldn’t like to strive for peace and his personal passion? Let’s learn how and show them how!
Joy has enough feed and safety in this pasture to be enjoying her life without needing to make war. The only peacemaker necessary is a “society” for her that enables her to have her needs met.
You have to choose which do you want. War or Peace. You have to decide when is war an acceptable evil. How will you decide? What must you know to make that decision?
Let’s start with getting knowledgeable. Does it drive you crazy when people tell you their opinions with nothing to back it up?
Let’s try to know something before we start telling people we know what we don’t know.
It would be worthwhile to learn from a variety of sources, especially creditable ones. If you can’t tell what is creditable, go to sources that seem to have opposing interests and views. Maybe you will have to figure out for yourself what is true and what is false. What is reasonable and what is unreasonable.
READ
You can read printed magazines, newspapers, books, pamphlets.
You can read articles on the web, subscribe to blogs, search the web and find out what people “there” are saying about their situation.
You can go to the library.
You can take classes.
LISTEN
Talk to people and listen. Meet and talk to people who have been there. Create a circle of friends who are interested in international events and war and peace. Include people from those countries or other countries who will have a different view point.
Develop pen pals around the world. Develop friends through business of sports or art or any interest and ask them to tell you what they have experienced or learned.
Turn on the radio to the BBC. Get a short wave radio to listen to broadcasts from countries in question.
Learn a foreign language or two so that you can hear and understand for yourself.
Develop “experts/corespondents/contacts” who work on being familiar and knowledgeable on one nation. They could be at your school, your church, a social or sports group. Ask them to take responsibility for knowing the history, background and current events of that country. Ask them to give reports or speeches or talks or lead discussion gr9oups about what is happening there.
Meet foreigners. Become friends. Talk with them.
WATCH
Turn on the news. Listen to several different channels, different vantage points, political persuasions.
Go to movies or rent ones that pertain to the problems of the world. For example, Blood Diamonds.
Go outside and see what is happening. Go to local and country and state government meetings. See how we do it here. What works and doesn’t.
TRAVEL
If a foreign country interests you and you think you can be there safely, go. Go as a tourist or a volunteer with some social agency. Go as part of a “mission” team. It could be to develop water resources or vegetable gardens or energy or small business. Develop contacts before you go so that your visit can be more productive and meaningful. Overseas friends wil probably be grateful that you care enough about them to come, visit, meet, help, go back home and share what you have learned.
Invite some of the people you have met overseas or “on-line” to come visit you, possibly on your “dime.”
Get involved with “Couch swapping.” You sign up as a host for people coming to the USA who want to stay with locals. They sleep on your couch or on the floor or in an extra bedroom. You interact with them. Eventually you go abroad and can stay with other individuals who have been approved and are willing to welcome you to their home.
DISCUSS
Find people who know something about your country of interest or that area of the world and get together with them to share ideas and knowledge.
ACTION
Are we just curious or do we want to do something about what is going on? The topic of “What can we do?” is huge. Lets save that for a different part of PeaceHorse? There is so much we and others can do. A grain of sand hasn’t any power; a sand storm can move mountains.
You have spent some time together with a friend riding. How about thinking about something really important? War and peace. What have your learned that you can talk about that might move you to a useful action?