Creating a Culture of Peace
“Still there is something missing for this strange bloom of chemicals on a small mottled planet at the edge of the Milky Way. Despite unprecedented material means, the truth still eludes us. Emptiness and depression abound. We are consumed by our own possessions. The purpose of our lives has become confused; the game of acquisition has become the purpose but even winning brings no relief.”
Pear-shaped: The Story of Truth
“In an increasingly interconnected world, more light is being cast on the social conditions of every people, giving greater visibility to their circumstances.
While there are developments that give hope, there is much that should weigh heavy on the conscience of the human race. Inequity, discrimination, and exploitation blight the life of humanity, seemingly immune to the treatments applied by political schemes of every hue. The economic impact of these afflictions has resulted in the prolonged suffering of so many, as well as in deep-seated, structural defects in society …
The welfare of any segment of humanity is inextricably bound up with the welfare of the whole. Humanity’s collective life suffers when any one group thinks of its own well-being in isolation from that of its neighbours’ or pursues economic gain without regard for how the natural environment, which provides sustenance for all, is affected. A stubborn obstruction, then, stands in the way of meaningful social progress: time and again, avarice and self-interest prevail at the expense of the common good. Unconscionable quantities of wealth are being amassed, and the instability this creates is made worse by how income and opportunity are spread so unevenly both between nations and within nations. But it need not be so. However
much such conditions are the outcome of history, they do not have to define the future …”
(Universal House of Justice message of 1st March 2017 to the Baha’i Communities of the World).
As an example of new thinking, Cesar Harada’s interesting TED talk captures the spirit of shared innovation and a new perspective on the priorities that might drive our economy (presented towards the end of his talk).
“The notion of race may be real, 
but the science is not.
We are all the same,
with no exceptions.”
“In 1950, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) issued a statement asserting that all humans belong to the same species and that “race” is not a biological reality but a myth.”
“A commonly used method to quantify the amount of within-group genetic diversity is through examining molecular data, using statistics measuring genetic differences within and between populations of a species. Using this method, biologists have set a minimal threshold for the amount of genetic differentiation that is required to recognize subspecies.”
“Compared to other large mammals with wide geographic distributions, human populations do not reach this threshold. In fact, even though humans have the widest distribution, the measure of human genetic diversity (based on sixteen populations from Europe, Africa, Asia, the Americas, and the Australia-Pacific region) falls well below the threshold used to recognize races for other species and is among the lowest value known for large mammalian species.”
The Myth of Race: The Troubling Persistence of an Unscientific Idea by Robert Wald Sussman.
What can we do to improve the culture in our schools? This is where future generations learn patterns of behaviour that they will carry forward into their adult lives.
If a child lives with criticism, he learns to condemn.
If a child lives with hostility, she learns to fight.
If a child lives with ridicule, he learns to be shy.
If a child lives with shame, she learns to feel guilty.
But… If a child lives with tolerance, he learns to be patient.
If a child lives with encouragement, she learns confidence.
If a child lives with praise, he learns to appreciate.
If a child lives with fairness, she learns justice.
If a child lives with security, he learns to have faith.
If a child lives with approval, she learns to like herself.
If a child lives with acceptance and friendship, he learns to find love in the world.
US Institute for Peace, Creating a Culture of Peace in Schools, April 2012