Peace, is it really in our hands?

Hello once again comrades. Does that sound too forced? I'm trying to devise some sort of new introduction, but I'm not getting very far in my attempt. If anyone has suggestions, they would be most welcome. This is a sort of on-the-spot/inspiration-based post. I just watched the speeches given by Michelle and Barack Obama to kids/teenagers in Belfast, ahead of 39th G8 summit, which was held at the Lough Erne Resort. They were both speaking to students and teachers in a large assembly hall. I think the speech was actually held on the 17th of June, I was just late to watch it (on the BBC, if anyone wanted to know). I'm not going to discuss the main theme which revolved around achieving peace in Northern Ireland and the way in which the US were promising to work with the people of Northern Ireland, in order to retain the peace. Instead I'm going to discuss the main 'topics' of the speech. They discussed peace in great detail, and how our generation can contribute to enable people of all races and religions to experience the freedom that comes with it.

One important factor that the President touched on was the fragility of peace. The historical stereotype of peace is an angel clad in white, to represent its metaphorical purity, often trapped by those who are oppressing it in reality. It's a difficult and even more controversial topic for me to discuss, but it's important and even more pertinent to this day and age. You and I are all living in a different age (if that's an appropriate word for it) than our ancestors. And with that comes great advantages and disadvantages. The advances we are making daily in the fields of medicine, engineering and climate science are ensuring a safer world for all of us, where we have the ability to enjoy comforts that would seem almost alien to our ancestors. But, we are also making advances in weapons and various other technologies of mass destruction? Why?

Surely if there were no wars to fight, then what would be the point in weapons? If there was no need for countries to defend themselves against their fellow species, then what would be the use of weapons? But, you and I both know, that our people have not reached such a stage... yet. Mr and Mrs. Obama stressed the importance of the younger generation in forging the way to achieve such a status. They reiterated that we play a key role in the future of not only our people, but our planet. The experiences of their childhood were described as very different from that of their daughters, Sasha and Malia. I agree wholeheartedly. Not only does life change as generations advance, but it changes rapidly. The segregation between ethnic minorities has decreased so much so that the world feels as free as it ever has been. But is that actually true? Are we all free, or is it just those that are born in a developed country, to a stable family? Do we all have the same human rights? If not, then, why not? These are all difficult questions, that all have an answer, which you and I tend to overlook because those are politician's problems. Or are they?

For most of us, we have our own more personal problems to deal with. I'll admit it myself, I write this, but I'm no devoted humanitarian. But it's not a case of whether we should, or shouldn't or whether we can or can't. More importantly, we have a duty to contribute to our society. There is no need to move mountains, the occasional stone will add up to mean so much more. It's the age-old proverb; 'two heads are better than one'. I suppose it has been entrusted to us, to maintain the peace that has already been achieved. You might be sitting there wondering how on earth such a thing may be executed, but don't fret, people are at it as we speak. They are trying to achieve the seemingly impossible because they believe in what the future will hold, their capability and the responsibility that they have been awarded. But, let's be honest, do we really hold such a power in our hands? Here I am typing this into a laptop, in order to upload it onto a blog, which can be viewed by people all over the world. Strange as it may seem, even that was a brilliant breakthrough at some point in history. People achieved the seemingly impossible. There have been great people with great minds and a great belief that have been beating the word 'impossible' throughout history. What makes us different from any one of them?

Well, there's one thing that I can think of. We have the power to accumulate the discoveries and breakthroughs of history to our advantage. We can use the successes of those before us, to shape the lives of those that are to come after us. Now that's a cool superpower. Don't you think?

Adios. xxx