Peace will come only, as Peace Pilgrim said, when we get past our own self-centered perspectives and begin to get the vision of who we really are and what our mission is in life. I like the sign in front of our local middle school that says, "Service is the rent we pay for our space on this planet."

Ever been to Mexico? Cool, isn't it? Well, did you know that a Mexican man working full time in one of the American maquiladoras on the border makes about $60-65 a week, and that is before they take out money for his uniform and transportation. I went on a week-long mission to Rio Bravo, Mexico to help build little concrete block casitas to replace leaky, termite-infested huts damaged from previous storms. Some of us went to the local big store to buy supplies there. Baby diapers and formula are so much more expensive than in the U.S., it is shocking. Oh, did you say things are cheaper in Mexico, so their low-paying jobs are okay? Do the math.

With no running water or electricity and with outhouses for toilets, the women there struggle with the daily tasks of cooking on small two burner propane stoves and washing clothes and children in cold water in tubs and buckets. Children often go for days and weeks without baths. Their noses run green mucus and they sometimes get sores on their bodies from all the sick dogs around. Women who have no supporting men in their lives are often overwhelmed and give their bodies and sometimes their children's bodies just for food. Going to work at the maquiladora costs money; you have to know how to read to work there; going to school costs money. There's no welfare in Mexico. Did you say, "Well, they're use to it." No, it is heartbreaking! The Peace Corps, "America's Peace Ambassadors," doesn't even go to Mexico; it appears to be an eleventh finger of our government with very little support for its own volunteers. And there are other countries in the world where conditions are even worse.

When Peace Pilgrim was asked to go to India, she declined saying that she was called to America, the most powerful nation in the world. I'm sure she thought that if Americans would get the message of peace, it would impact the rest of the world in a natural flow of sharing resources and benefits for all, for this is the only way to reduce violence, and we have the power to do that. But, alas, our greed led us to an isolationist stance, and the main source of America's giving has come from sources with a guilt-gilded message.

Most Americans can't stand to look at the suffering in other countries, much less call it their own. But until the people of other countries begin to feel something other than guilt or greed from America, we will never know peace in this country--not anymore. We have turned our deaf ears and our blind eyes to their plight too long, and we have been all too ready to import cheap goods at the high cost of their health, lives and limbs. They need to feel the presence of Americans who love and care about them as we do for ourselves.

How soon we forget the need we once had for advocates to large corporations in the days of exploited labor in the mines and factories of America! At least we have a democracy and elect our officials. At different times in the not too distant past, when people in Chile and Guatemala had democratically elected leaders who stood against the exploitation of American enterprise in their countries, our operatives surreptitiously undermined that democracy "in order to protect U.S. interests." Is it possible that we are reaping what we have sown?

Americans still have the power to bring about changes. Apathy is a killer to all hope. We must stand up for the Peace bill Rep. Cucinich has introduced in Congress! We need to revisit Peace Pilgrim's simple, untainted message and promote it everywhere. The materials have been translated into many languages and are being sent upon request all over the world. But if we need community to help strengthen our own good paths, then others in other countries surely need them too. We have all the good in the world; isn't it time we begin to give back without thinking of it merely as "charity?" Isn't it time we start owning our part in making peace a reality with our brothers and sisters, their children and their old people? We all share the same planet, the same sun and the same life force. Compassion behooves us; it becomes us as conscious Human Beings.

John, thank you for your comments. I know that I have much to learn, which is why I continue to seek and to discuss. I choose to do this from a place of serenity and respect, as I have found that to be the most conducive place for learning. I like receiving input from others and reflecting on it, reflecting on how well it resonates with where I am on my life's path and on how well it fits with other lessons that I have learned on the journey. There is usually something to be learned from any input I receive from anyone.

I've been hopeless, depressed, in despair, empty. Looking back, I see how much I learned in such states, and I'm grateful for the experience of them and for the point of reference they provide. Emerging from that experience has shown me the immense power of perception, words and action. I have found that we do control what we perceive. I have found that right words heard, read, spoken or written in right ways can unlock doors. I have found that action carried out with pure intent can open those doors and create transformation in self, other and world.

There is so much available to us, including peaceful solutions. John, I think where you are is completely valid and appropriate. Where will you go next?

Peace to you,
Jason.

As I said, technology will enable the cure. I don't suggest that it is the cure. In fact, it is certainly the cause of many ills. However we can't stuff our technologies back into Pandora's box. As you and I are now communicating and working on problems, and could not have had this opportunity without information and communication technology, please recognize that technology can help us tremendously. It will be part of the solution because it is not going away and there is tremendous potential for good use.

Also, I'm not suggesting that we look for some panacea that cures all ills in one speedy, sweeping stroke. Transformation may take generations. I think nature will always challenge us with problems to solve. Nature has never indicated that life without adversity is available to us or any other species. I think we will always be on the cusp of inevitable transformation.

Which brings up another crucial point, which is that we humans, in fact all living things, are problem solvers at a very basic level. What we do for survival is to solve, adapt to or "route around" the problems with which we are confronted. In nature, optimistic problem solving is rewarded with the privilege of survival. Species that languish in pessimism, fatalism or simply laziness face extinction. Which side of that coin do you favor? That was a rhetorical question. While it is important to point out and study the problems, what do we accomplish by stopping there?

We will solve the problems that we face. We have to believe, or have faith, that we are capable of doing so. To believe otherwise is to be on the wrong side of the survival coin.

For a thorough treatment of this subject I recommend Barbara Marx Hubbard, a futurist and visionary thinker.