"I can't understand why people are frightened of new ideas. I'm frightened of the old ones." -John Cage. The long decades of conflicts and destruction in Afghanistan are points of regret for all of us and no one want those bitter memories return to their lives. The most unfortunate part of the whole story is that the same kind of killings and bloodshed are still consistent. The national solidarity which is important for every nation to move ahead has been missing in Afghanistan. We have given importance to ‘I’ and ‘we’ but not to ‘you.’ It is 21st century and we are in a global village – we have to move ahead with new optimistic thoughts so that we can cope with this new era. Now, a new window is open to us. With positive thinking we can alter our fate and for that it is never too late. There is no doubt that the democratic process in Afghanistan has just initiated but we can strengthen by determination and bringing some necessary changes – our government has to work for that.
Democracy in a country is the foundation of development and prosperity – to which there are numerous hurdles in Afghanistan. The last presidential election in Afghanistan was marred with frauds in voting process – this is not what we want. The election defamed Afghanistan and politicians in Afghanistan on every ground. There were objections from Afghan themselves and from the international community. For a short time that people thought their valuable votes have all gone in vein. But ultimately we were successful to elect our president and this was welcomed by nations around the world. Knowing that almost every nation did face obstacles until they became a democratic nation, the Afghans are also hoping to see their country prosperous and their government ran on the principles of social justice and equality.
Peace can never be denied, peace itself is a precious commodity, necessary for any progress and prosperity. The problem of maintaining peace in the modern world is a baffling one. Wars and rumors of wars have cast black shadows on the people’s lives in 21st century. If wars become a permanent feature of international life, if we are to live in this tense atmosphere of constant dread and preparedness, civilization will suffer a permanent blackout. War does not offer solution to our wants. On the contrary, it brings its train unspeakable human tragedy and suffering.
As we are well cognizant with the fact that war by no means, is a natural disaster like a hurricane or earthquake. In the past centuries, in the beginning of civilization war was necessary to overcome the barbarians who came upon a nation like a horde of locust. Later on, in the middle Ages, it was fashionable for the knights to take up arms and to take part in war for the sake of prestige and chivalry. No doubt, war was the sport of kings and the game of the upper classes. Their objectives were wealth and honors. This love for excitement was deeply embedded in the social system.
More importantly, the modern war in the 21st century doesn’t settle any problem, except which side is the stronger. The values of justice and tolerance should not be subordinated to the power objective. Peace can be maintained when we shun war as a pestilence and resort to negotiation, discussion and arbitration. And thus, the most powerful and influential of all the agents of education is public opinion, the accepted stands of good and evil of right and wrong. If this perennial, motivating force was properly used, this world would be a much more pleasant place to live in.
The present conditions and circumstances we are living in, today are very much in need of reform. We cannot take the world on our shoulders and remodel it according to our desire; but we can help in creating a climate of peace which is so essential for the realization of our objectives. In order to produce this atmosphere among the people throughout the world, there must be a regular campaign of educating the masses. Mahatma Gandhi once said, “if we are to reach the real peace in this world and if we are to carry on a real war, we shall have to begin with children and if they grow up in their natural innocence, we won’t have to struggle, we won’t have to pass idle resolutions, but we shall go from love to love and peace to peace until at last all the corners of the world are covered with that peace for which, consciously or in consciously the whole world is hungering.” So we must undertake a regular campaign of bringing up children of a society in such a way as to instill a deep love for peace in them.
One of the greatest philosophers of the modern world, Dr. Radhakrishnan, in one of his speeches has considered, “if we want to secure enduring peace, pacts and treaties are not enough. Peace is not the result of an armed true or a cold war; it is possible only if the nations spontaneously accept the ideals of justice, freedom and decency.” The present troubles of the world will not disappear with patchwork agreements and compromise, unless the idea of violence is removed from the hearts of the people and they look for friendly cooperation. I have no doubt that the approach of affection and love brings out affection and love from the other country.
The problem of peace in the modern world is nothing less than the problem of creating a world community. It is only by an enlargement of the communal consciousness that durable peace can be attained but a higher rung in the ladder of man social cohesion from the family upwards, and as men have successfully outgrown the earlier stage of the tribal, the clan, and the race, the transition