My entry in the West-Suburban Faith-Based Peace Initiative essay contest for 2019 was awarded the 2nd-place prize on 27 August, 2019, the 91st anniversary of the signing of the Kellogg-Briand Peace Pact. The essay contest theme was, “How can I obey the Kellogg-Briand Peace Pact against war?”
The Kellogg-Briand Peace Pact of 1928 recognized that war is the scourge of the ages. Though the pact was endorsement by many nations, war has unfortunately continued.
War has resulted in the death and maiming of untold millions, and leaves poverty and disease in its wake. Even when active conflict ends, the effects of war may linger for generations and leave combatants, families, and nations in rubble. This intentional destruction of life and property goes against the better human instincts of love, friendship, cooperation, and the building of societies.
War is usually caused by greed for riches or for domination over other societies. Avaricious or power-hungry political leaders often poison public opinion, branding their intended targets as “others,” as inferior people worthy of subjugation or extermination, to get popular support for their aggressive actions.
People of conscience can prevent a propaganda program from taking root in their society if they firmly believe that those branded as “outsiders” have physical, emotional, and spiritual needs similar to their own. The character Shylock, in Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice, a member of a despised economic and cultural class, reminds us of our common humanness:
“If you prick us, do we not bleed?…
“If you poison us, do we not die?”
US citizens believe, as stated in the Declaration of Independence, that “all men are created equal” in their worthiness to be given civil protections and friendship.
No child is born hating another because of differences. Children learn prejudice and discrimination—or inclusion and acceptance—from the world around them. As poignantly stated by Lt. Cable in Rodgers & Hammerstein’s musical, South Pacific,
“You’ve got to be taught before it’s too late,
“Before you are six or seven or eight,
“To hate all the people your relatives hate.
“You’ve got to be carefully taught.”
The recognition that all people have similar feelings, needs, and aspirations is empathy.
Jesus of Nazareth emphasized the need to consider others’ feelings and needs when he taught, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”
I believe that a pervasive failure in our society, perhaps reaching to the level of a subtle, unrecognized crime against humanity, is for parents, teachers, and nurturers to fail to teach empathy.
We cannot depend on educators, athletes or political leaders to teach empathy effectively. Empathy must be taught in the home, must begin at infancy, and must continue as children grow. Consistent examples of empathy from teachers and other adults through the child’s youth are essential to reinforce inclusive attitudes, habits and practices.
Empathy can be modeled through friendly interactions with people we meet, inclusion of people from other cultures in social and family activities, and demonstrating to those we teach that we do not attach negative implications or judgements to people who are different. We must carefully avoid criticizing other people in their absence or in front of children. When we see discriminatory behavior, we should gently remind those in our care that it is inappropriate to consider others as inferior, and then model proper behavior. Those we nurture can learn empathy only if these habits are unfailingly followed.
Our society must denounce the teaching or modeling of hatred and prejudice in the home, and encourage all adults to consistently show and actively teach all with whom they associate to practice empathy. Only when our society considers those who look, speak, or worship differently that we are all children of God and worthy of respect and inclusion can we expect to decrease our society’s appetite for war.
To bring the teaching of empathy to the foreground of attention, I propose general adoption of what I call the “Empathy Pledge”:
- I pledge to examine my inner feelings to discover any discriminatory attitudes toward other groups of people, and to strive to develop empathy, compassion, and acceptance of these people.
- I pledge to teach those within my sphere of influence, tirelessly and consistently, by example and by word, to consider other people as worthy of friendship and inclusion.
- I pledge to encourage others to practice and teach empathy.
If parents, teachers, and leaders actively teach and show empathy, our societies will produce a new generation that will favor mutual understanding and negotiation, rather than animosity and conflict. With determination and concentrated effort and a populace that rejects discrimination, we will be able to break the cycle of greed, hatred, and lust for domination.
It must become socially unacceptable to practice or to teach children discrimination. Building an accepting, including society must begin with children who are taught empathy by parents and nurturers. When empathetic societies reject war, the lofty goals of the Kellogg-Briand Peace Pact may finally be achieved.