Define “peace." What emotion does that single word evoke in you? For me, it evokes happiness. With vicious attacks, violent rhetoric, and oppression all around us, it is hard to remember the word “peace”.
International Day of Peace was last week, September 21, 2016. I wanted to reflect upon an experience I had that day. The University of San Francisco held a vigil for peace and nonviolence. I have never willingly attended anything spiritual in this sense; I listened to stories, prayers, and music. That day I truly learned that every person has a story and every story matters. I felt heartbreak and hope. Heartbreak for the stories they shared and gained hope from the optimism they held for the future.
A good point was brought to my attention; can you really feel other people’s pain? That is what resonated with me the most because I was feeling sad for these people but what good does it do to sit and wallow away thinking of how sad their stories are- wishing that it didn’t happen to them. Instead, I was curious to know how to prevent them from happening again.
A few days later, I attended an annual Critical Diversity Forum held by the University of San Francisco’s Diversity Task Force. I heard a story of oppression experienced by Khairuldeen Makhzoomi, UC Berkeley student, and writer for the Huffington Post. In short, innocent Makhzoomi was kicked off a Southwest flight after speaking on the phone in Arabic to his uncle. He was returning home to Oakland after a dinner with the United Nations Secretary-General in Los Angeles. The police and FBI investigated him for the sole reason that he was speaking his native language on the phone. Makhzoomi describes this as a constant rising of Islamophobia, the fear of Islam or Muslims. This was just one example of oppression that happens daily to many ethnic groups in our society.
In the forum, we were broken off into smaller groups to discuss Makhzoomi’s experience. What I took away from it was this; our inherent fears drive us to believe that certain groups are evil. We are all guilty of holding negative biases against groups that we have been conditioned to believe are dangerous. Our families, communities and the media we are exposed to, have given us these preconceived notions.
My question arose again, how do we prevent acts of violence or oppression?
After a lot of reflection, I found a small but crucial start to achieving peace. I believe the only way to start preventing acts of oppression is to become more tolerant. To do so, we must accept that we are guilty of holding these beliefs. In starting to accept our own biases, we can move to a more tolerant society. I invite you to take this big step in achieving peace with me! Learn more about other cultures or ethnic groups. Truly listen and understand the differences between their stereotypes and their actualities. Begin to be less naïve and fearful of others who look different than you. Open your heart and your mind to every being that exists around you.
Peace out.
