On Peace

We set a date to celebrate peace.

We build monuments to celebrate peace.

We place bronze plaques everywhere to celebrate peace.

We deposit floral tributes in marble memorials and statues to celebrate peace.

We utter moving speeches to celebrate peace

We solemnly pledge to sustain and maintain peace.

We do all the above and more.

And so, as soon as the appointed date comes, we dutifully perform what we are supposed to perform in front of the Monument to Peace: polish the bronze plaques, utter the usual empty speeches and pledges, spiced with military presence and shows of arms. And we polish the bronze plaques and let the floral tributes wither in the marble memorials.

We feel satisfied for having accomplished our mission to honour peace, but as soon as we turn around, we forget peace and everything done and said, and quickly we go on to set our mind, heart and soul focusing on the next war.

Therefore, the first things a bomb or a missile demolishes at the beginning of a war are not army barracks, weaponry, or cities, but those memorials to peace we have built with so many hopes of eternal peace.

And with the first explosion, not only are lives gone, but also gone in seconds are our hopes, the floral tributes, the bronze, the marble monuments, the speeches, and the pledges sworn before God to keep the peace, the freedom, and democracy alive.

Doesn't it all sound pathetic?

Oh yes, it sounds pathetic, but we are humans after all.

Is being human an excuse for the inhumane things we do?