Building peace through tolerance

10th Anniversary 9-11 attacks

Sunday, September 11, 2011 marked the 10^th anniversary of the 9-11 attacks.  Every year, in the days leading up to the anniversary, there is prolonged reflection of that terrible day on television, radio, and in the press.

At the risk of being politically incorrect, it’s time to stop the obsessive yearly commemoration of the 9-11 attacks.  The unveiling of the memorial monument at Ground Zero was a fitting commemoration of the 10^th anniversary.  Perhaps the beautiful and peaceful memorial will help the collective American consciousness achieve a measure of closure.

Reviewing footage of the attacks on a yearly basis feeds fear and nurtures animosity towards Muslims and Islamic countries. Looking back on that day has the effect of entrenching isolationism, which encourages an “us versus them” attitude that is not helpful for building peace in today’s world.

2nd Global Conference on World's Religions

Coinciding with the 10^th anniversary, McGill University and the University of Montreal organized the 2^nd Global Conference on World’s Religions. The conference is a grassroots effort to promote inter-faith dialogue between believers and non-believers.  The role of the world’s religions in building peace was the topic for discussion this year. 

(Link to conference home page: http://gcwr2011.org/)

The conference culminated in a debate on articles for inclusion in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the World’s Religions, a document that builds on the 1948 United Nations Universal Declaration on Human Rights. The conference hopes to extend the declaration’s influence so that the declaration will be “the common standard of achievement for the followers of all religions or none.”  The additional articles are intended to promote religious tolerance, presumably with the aim of building peace.

(Link to Declaration:  http://gcwr2011.org/Universal_Declaration_of_Human_Rights_by_the_World's_Religions_2011.htm)

Given the historical legacy of religious intolerance, achieving world peace through religion has a dream-like quality. Dialogue between moderate people of different faiths will never eliminate the fanatics. There will always be extremists who twist the teachings of their religion, and misuse its sacred scriptures to further their own sinful agendas.  Still, dialogue is essential to creating a climate of tolerance and understanding that will help nations overcome the “us versus them” mindset.

Dalai Lama: people misuse religion

In his remarks at the conference, the Dalia Lama spoke about the relationship between religion and people. Religions are not the problem; “it’s the person who uses (religion), who makes it wrong.” Religions, he said, share the common values of love, compassion, tolerance, self-discipline and forgiveness.  It’s human beings that cause trouble because of the destructive emotions of fear, anger, distrust, jealousy, and hatred.

Restless for peace

Our humanness interferes with peace. The human condition is such that we are always restless. Even within our own self, we are more accustomed to tension and struggle than to peace. On those occasions when we do experience inner peace, it is temporary and fleeting.

Within our closest relationships, we experience misunderstanding and conflict.  Even in small faith communities, which should be places of harmony, there is dissension. Human interactions - at home, at work, at play, at worship - are subject to harmony and disharmony.

Since we are incapable of sustaining peace at the personal level, we should not be surprised that world peace is as ephemeral as a dream.  Despite it’s elusiveness, peace is worth striving for in our hearts and in our world. If people were to stop dreaming about peace, the world would be even more of a muck.

Building peace 

http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/images/Love_g303-Love_World_p45917.html

Terrorist attacks and conflicts around the world remind us that it is insufficient to dream about peace. We need to cultivate the dream through acts of justice, through social policies that enable people to live with dignity, and through foreign policy that respects the rights of others and their environment, and that prefers diplomacy to military intervention in so far as possible.

The 9-11 attacks tell a horrific tale of intolerance and hatred, perpetrated in the name of religion. Intolerance flourishes when people refuse to see the manifestation of God in other faiths and in other people. There will be no peace in the world until people exchange intolerance and hatred for understanding and love.

The religions of the world can help build a more peaceful world by proclaiming the shared human values that the Dalai Lama enunciated. Properly understood and practiced, religion challenges individuals to become better versions of themselves, to become kinder, more compassionate, and more forgiving human beings.

Peace begins in the human heart, “Let there be peace on earth, and let it begin with me…Let me walk with my family in peace and harmony.”  We are all part of the human family, regardless of religious belief. There is no “us” and “them.”

(Link to information on, "Let there be peace":
http://www.janleemusic.com/Site/History.html)