Ever since I can remember, the first thing on my Christmas
list every year was “World Peace”. What
my parents never told me was that this isn’t something you can ask Santa for on
a wish list. It’s not something you can pray for and hope that God decides to sponsor
you with a parachute parcel of peace right before you’re going to bite it in
the Hunger Games.
Prayer without action is wishing. Hence, the only way to
obtain world peace is for the people of the world to actively work for it.
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| Sorry Jesus, better late than never! |
So this blog is me, trying to actively work for peace. And hopefully getting other people to do the same.
Many in our nation are living in a constant state of grief, anguish, fear, paranoia, fury, and/or anxiety. What’s worse, they think this is normal. This is NOT OK.
This world doesn’t need any more fear. It needs peace. So what can we do about it?
I am not so naïve as to think we can all sit around a
campfire holding hands and singing Kum Ba Yah (nobody likes that song anyway).
My solution is so simple, yet so profound. And it’s four simple words. Ready?
DON’T BE A DICK!
That’s it. That’s all. DON’T BE A DICK.
By now I’m sure my mother and grandmother are wincing at my
colorful language. But here’s the thing- there are people spewing hate at the
top of their lungs all around us. Being
soft-spoken and polite right now isn’t going to cut through that shit. What MIGHT cut through the noise, is
something abrupt; something “shocking”; something so surprisingly simple, it
makes you stop and think.
When we were children, we all were told “If you can’t say
anything nice, don’t say anything at all.” And, we probably learned about the
“Golden Rule” too. To refresh your memory, the Golden Rule is: “Do to others as you would have them do to
you.”
Pretty much a nicer way of saying “Don’t be a dick.”
This Golden Rule thing is really important. Many people
will tell you that it’s a Christian teaching, and that is true. HOWEVER- it may
surprise you to know that at least *17* religions all have some version of what
is known as the “Law of Reciprocity.” It goes all the way back to the
indigenous peoples from thousands and thousands of years ago, up through the
modern Wiccan religion. They all have
some kind of “Don’t be a dick” teaching. That’s
not an accident. You can check out the nifty graphic below, or learn more about it here: www.peacelabyrinthofquilts.com.
It doesn’t matter the teacher, they all said the same thing.
Even atheists can get into the game, because you don’t have to ascribe to any
particular religion to be a good person. And here we (the world) have been fighting
about religion all this time.
Why?
Because we’re dicks- and we need to stop it.
So how can we start transforming the world? Baby steps
friends, baby steps.
It’s important to point out- I’m NOT advocating being nice
to people if it’s not within your skill set to do so. I’m just saying don’t be nasty to them! No
random acts of kindness, no paying it forward is required. That’s too much of a
leap for some people and it’s really cliché besides. The key to any kind of behavior modification
is small, manageable goals. The only thing I’m asking is for people to restrain
themselves and curb the dickish behavior.
Need some suggestions on how to start? Ok- so maybe today you:
*don’t cut that person off in traffic
*do NOT go in the 12 items or less checkout lane when you know damn well you have 25 items (13 items I will forgive, maybe even 14, but anything more is a dick move...really really)
*refrain from yelling at your kid’s little
league coach
*don't park in a handicapped space if you're not legally allowed to do so
*refrain from participating in gossip at work
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I'll take crotchety fun-suckers who
like the word etcetera for $200, Alex
|
*Don't expect little children to act like grown ups just because you're a crotchety fun-sucker.... etcetera, etcetera, etcetera...
How can any of this possibly bring peace to the world? Well…
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Baby Hitler- Aw, look
at his little chili bowl
hair cut!
|
Though some scholars disagree, I believe everyone is born
with a blank slate- that good ol’ “tabula rasa” you may have learned about in
psych 101. No one is born inherently bad or good. People are a product of their experiences and
environments. I think we can all agree that the members of ISIS are dicks. But
they don’t exit the womb as baby Rambos with clips of ammunition strapped to
their chests. Likewise, Hitler is probably leading the polls to be Dick-A-Saurus
Rex. But I seriously doubt he was building models of concentration camps with
his Lincoln Logs in preschool.
If people started living by the law of reciprocity and
treating others as they would like to be treated, by way of a ripple effect,
eventually a shift would start to occur.
A lack of road rage one morning, may lead to you being in a better mood
at the office, which in turn puts someone else in a better mood, so they decide
to actually answer the phone instead of letting it go to voice mail, work gets
done, goals are met, paychecks get cashed and before you know it someone may
actually want to pay it forward at the coffee shop because they have a little
extra cash to burn.
On a bigger scale, someone might think, “no, I’m not going
to shoot that person, because I don’t want to be shot.”
“No, I’m not going to rob this bank, that’s a dick move- I wouldn’t like it if
someone stole my money.” “Nope, not gonna bomb that country- too many people
would die… I don’t want our people to die, because I’m not a dick.” It could all start with a person who decides not to slam the door in someone's face. You just never know.
Is this pie in the sky thinking? Is it really a stupid idea that will never work? Maybe. But what the hell, let’s try it and see. It’s not like it’s going to make things worse.
It really can be this simple. Just REFRAIN from doing something nasty….and see how life changes
for you and the people around you. I really do think you'll be surprised. Try it for a couple days and let me know in the comments how it goes!
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