20-Peace on Earth

            What does that mean? What would peace on earth really look like?

            The immediate images of flowers and farmers, lovers and happy children, no wars, no fighting, only laughing, loving, and having fun…well, utopian is an understatement.

            Does that mean that peace on earth is impossible? Maybe not. We just have to get realistic about who we are as humans, what we define as peace, and most importantly, what we might actually achieve.

            I believe the reason the idyllic image of peace is impossible is simply because it’s not actually what we want. We, as individuals, want all kinds of different things but all of us want some kind of balance in life between risk and safety, adventure and familiarity, challenge and comfort. We want a home, but one of the things we do with a home is leave it. We want rest, but once we are rested, we want to use our reserves on something. We want to get tired again! We want to feel secure, but then we want to test ourselves in some situation of risk. We want to live, but as Churchill said once, “Nothing in life is so exhilarating as to be shot at without result.” We—at least some of us—also want to risk that life occasionally and not just by climbing mountains. Let’s face it, some of us are naturally warriors.

            Anyone who wants peace on earth must be realistic about human nature, which we are not going to change. Some of the aspects of what a true world peace means to me are security for children and their caregivers, basic needs met for everyone, freedom for individuals to pursue their goals beyond basic needs, and controlled means for the expression of human competitiveness—including violence—that doesn’t damage the lives of those who don’t choose to compete.

            This will certainly mean that violence has a place in a peaceful world. The key idea is a place. There must be designated circumstances for violence that are segregated from other parts of human society. We see a fantasy version of this in the “Hunger Games” franchise. We need things that are more realistic and not corrupt.

            Humans have always had versions of this, from the Roman gladiators to boxing to football and to some extent all sports. We have also set rules for civilized warfare which have at times not been a complete failure. We have been trying to solve this problem for millennia. We must keep working on it.

            What else is possible? What could grow out of our current society to fulfill this natural human expression of violence without injuring non-participants? How could we get there?

            I don’t have answers, but it’s important to keep asking the question. We must also remember that perfection is the enemy of success. If we just keep making progress, maybe one day people will wake up and think, “You know, the world today is a pretty peaceful place.” This can happen without an end to violence. That’s the only way it can happen, because we will never end violence.

Hugh Moffatt
Nashville, Tennessee
September 24, 2025