Disrupting the Pattern

"The solution to adult problems tomorrow depends on large measure upon the how our children grow up today. There is no greater insight into the future than recognizing when we save our children, we save ourselves."
Margaret Mead

When I first started Peace Pandemic, I was wrapped up in college literature, my existential thinking and questions about religion, politics, life....and women. Through all of my trials and tribulations I quickly learned that the world generally accepts Wisdom, Credibility and "BIG Ideas" if you're older and more distinguished in your field. No one wants to hear the young high school/college kid speak about peace in the world, violence in the Congo, border issues worldwide and especially not about what the older population did wrong.

The world is structured to immediately equate age with wisdom and youth with naivety. This is why we have the established education system to develop, or conform, the young minds of tomorrow yet we are taught meaningless, often superficial things. Our education is believed to be priming us to get jobs when we "grow up." The only issue is that these jobs are not the jobs that are going to be there in the future. If we know anything about recent history, it's that advances in technology are happening so rapidly that the future jobs that will be in demand are completely uncertain.

This essentially means we are teaching the youth what they could be had they lived 20-30 years earlier. The institutions of PEACE and human advancement however, will never go out of style and are constantly evolving. If we see what is happening in Libya, Syria, Israel/Palestine and many many others we can see that educating the youth about solving conflict nonviolently and the value of human life is not such a bad idea. It's no question that War means many suffer and few prosper. By creating a paradigm shift in the respect and value we place on the youth, those "few"that prosper may not be there in the future. Is it UTOPIAN of me to speak of such nonsense? Label me as Utopian or maniacal then for believing that future generations can look forward to a nonviolent, harmonic world to live in.

Jumping back to the education issue...Yes, the education system is important for children to learn to read, write and express themselves. However, this education should be more focused on solving human conflict, becoming social leaders and looking to better humanity. The cycle of violence, injustice and wars will continue to happen if we don't radically look at the way we teach our children. Instead of dousing their creative, outgoing tendencies we should encourage them to share their passions/ideas and not discount the simple brilliance they bring to the table.

Peace Pandemic listens to the youth in the world. If the children of today are going to be in charge of the world tomorrow, doesn't it make sense that we should empower them to become the peaceful leaders we so desperately need? In the end, aren't we all just children of this world...?

One Love,
JEB