All individuals can contribute to global peace

By Kim Yoon

Several weeks ago, my brother asked me what “war” meant. Trying to hide the gruesome nature of wars, I told him it meant groups of people fighting against each other. His next question was, “Why?” And to my surprise, I couldn’t answer.

My brother is now barely four. Yet he has already begun to wonder about war. Though to some people war might only be stories that happen to appear in newspapers, it’s actually an everyday part of our lives. No country, no society, and no citizen is not affected by war. For instance, World War II is an infamous conflict that affected hundreds of countries and thousands of people.

There are several different arguments about the cause of World War II. One of the most widely accepted causes is the tension in the developed parts of the world, namely, Europe and Northeast Asia. Although World War II happened over fifty years ago and is now a part of history, the tensions still remain.

During the war, Korea was a mere colony of Japan and therefore had no direct influence on history. Although Korea declared its independence from Japan after the war, it was soon made victim of the Cold War.

Due to the tension between the United States and Russia, the newborn nation broke into two groups, now known as South and North Korea. Over the years the “hatred” between the North and the South increased dramatically, mostly from the Korean War. Now the tension between the two countries is extremely unstable.

People shout slogans as they hold banners during an anti-government rally in front of the National Diet in Tokyo on Aug. 30 to protest against Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s controversial security bills which would expand the remit of the country’s armed forces. Tens of thousands of people took part in the rallies held around the Diet. / AFP-Yonhap

Only five communist countries remain in the world today. Out of these countries two are in Northeast Asia - China and North Korea. The long and complicated relationships among the countries of Northeast Asia cannot guarantee complete peace. Though the truth is troubling, the possibility of war between these countries — China against North Korea, North Korea against the South, or perhaps China against Japan — is rather high.

Northeast Asia is the most developed region in Asia, and yet, it is a highly risky place to reside in.

Humans have a tendency of ignoring certain problems until that problem causes a huge disaster.

World War II happened from this logic. It happened in order to show the humankind that wars are deadly. Of course, people were aware of this fact before this war, but none thought to take big actions in the area. Only the massacre World War II brought awakened the governments to working together to prevent such happenings.

But we know now how deadly wars can be. Our countries have experienced war, and suffered from it as well. But because the status quo is unstable, we can’t solve these problems on our own.

We have to come together not just for the peace of our own countries, but for the peace of the world. We humans all need to realize that each of us is only a part of mankind, that we are just one big group of people.

In the past, when technology and transportation was not as developed as today, people lived in isolated groups. Each region had its own unique culture and tradition. But now things have changed. Although the mindset of people may still differ from region to region, our generation is now experiencing a new concept called globalization.

We no longer live in isolated groups, unaware of the happenings outside of our borders. History has woven us into a situation where we cannot survive on our own.

No matter how small, every happening on this Earth affects everything else: The well-known butterfly effect. Thus we are all responsible for global issues, no matter our citizenships or residence.

True, wars are the world’s responsibility. But who specifically is responsible? Most people think of governments, or the United Nations. But the world is made out of individuals. We are each a global citizen of this world and can, no must contribute to the cause in our own way.

The one thing individuals can do is to become aware of the situation. Most people don’t realize how important the public’s understanding is. But how it often determines the flow of history.

In a democracy, the public’s opinion and the media play a big role in the choices the society makes. In order to form reasonable opinions, the opinions must be based on facts. Therefore, by grasping accurate knowledge and spreading it, individuals too can contribute to the greater cause of global peace.

Though its definition is simple, peace is not a simple concept. Thousands of years of conflicts cannot be solved overnight. Because these conflicts consisted of billions of people, it will take billions of people to solve them.

World War II was a lesson to mankind, and I believe the lesson was heard loud and clear. Now is the time to follow the lesson history gives us. Now is the time to come together and actually work together. Now is the time to achieve peace.