Has the world ever truly been at peace? Well, a quick Google search informed me that the first recorded war happened in 2700 BCE. That's before dirt was invented so, therefore, the answer to my original question is likely a resounding no. But is peace possible? Well, that's a much harder question to tackle, one that I took a whole international relations course on and still don't have the answer to (What do I pay tuition for?). That particular class focused on world peace and explained theories about how it could possibly be attained. These theories like the Feminist or Neoliberal perspectives, all proposed thoughts and ideas that could hypothetically bring positive change to the world.
One day, our professor asked us to align ourselves with one of these perspectives; the one we thought offered the best solution to the world's issues. I struggled with this assignment a lot and I ended up choosing a theory that I don't even remember, nor necessarily agree with. The reason why I struggled is because how is one supposed to believe world peace is possible, when coexistence in our own country has yet to be achieved?
This week for example, in my beautiful hometown of Baltimore, Maryland; Baltimore City Police Officer Edward Nero was acquitted of all criminal charges relating to his involvement in the death of Freddie Gray. Meanwhile, the other five officers involved await their trial. Gray suffered a spinal injury that lead to his death while being arrested for allegedly possessing an illegal switchblade. His death was ruled a homicide. Cases where Black Americans have been killed at the hands of police have made national headlines ever since Trayvon Martin was slain in 2012. In response to said killings, the #BlackLivesMatter movement began and started to take over the streets, college campuses, social networks, and even The White House, making the movement and it's message virtually inescapable. Some people believe that this movement is anti-police and encourages violence against them; they are wrong. Other people felt that #BlackLivesMatter should be changed to #AllLivesMatter, these people are also dead wrong. But regardless of your feelings toward the movement or race issues in our country, you cannot deny that there is, in fact, a flat out racial divide in our country still to this day. And let's not overlook the religious and economic divides as well by the way.
For some strange reason though, I still have faith in humanity. Maybe I'm naive and read too much on MLK, but I'm here to say coexistence is possible. I don't believe that all is lost, and deep down I think one day there will be a world where my great grandkids and your great grandkids can get arrested and neither of them will die, but rather have a fair trial like every American should.
I have faith because I've seen good people in all walks of life and it is my belief that these good people will one day outnumber the bad. These good people have inspired me to strive to be a better person, which is a positive change in the world already. So I guess ultimately, my theory that I should've told my professor I align with is optimism. It's just too bad because I took that class five semesters ago.
