George Ward, Pleasant Hill

Letter to the Editor

After more than eight decades on this planet, the primary disappointment of my life is the low rate of progress toward peace on Earth. By "peace on Earth" I mean no group would attempt nor desire to dominate another group based on membership. By "group" I am referring to religions, governments, nations, societies and far too many others to name, that affect our ability to make progress.

Every person I have talked to about this has told me I am wrong to think there could ever be peace on Earth, many quoting scripture to support their conviction. In my opinion, before any real progress could be made, any group that believes if you are not a supporter of our group you should be shunned, chastised or killed in this life or tortured in an afterlife, must disappear from the Earth. If one such group remains, it is unlikely there could be peace on Earth.

Since it is nearly impossible for most adults to change a position once it is ingrained, this effort must begin with what we teach and model to our children. Perhaps a good starting point would be a daily ethics and behavior class.

It would likely take many centuries to change the hearts and minds of the world's population. But if the people who research such things are correct, we have around five billion years before the "sun is done," so it seems a few centuries would be a small investment of time and effort in exchange for the benefits of a peaceful world.

I can imagine creating a world at peace being the greatest challenge humans will ever face, but I believe we are up to the challenge.

— George Ward, Pleasant Hill