2009 Peace Essay Contest
Middle School Winning Entries
First Place
Sarah Austen Holzgrefe, 8th Grade, Orchard House School:
The African Proverb, "Peace is costly but it is worth the expense," is filled with wisdom and truth. The cost of peace is worth the expense. Some people are not willing to make the sacrifice for such a precious thing, like peace. But others are willing to change their entire lives for the benefit of peace.
An example of when peace was quite costly was during the Civil Rights movement. During that time many people had to suffer and give up what was comfortable in order to get what they wanted: their rights and peace. They couldn't go into restaurants without being yelled at and thrown out; they couldn't sit where they wanted in movie theaters or on public transportation without being thrown in jail or chased down the streets with fire hoses. They knew that this treatment was not right. Inside they knew that one day these tough times would be over. So they sat peacefully in restaurants where they weren't allowed, they marched peacefully down the streets .filled with angry people, and they risked their lives for a vision of peacefulness that they saw in their future somewhere. These people sacrificed there lives for the peace that they deserved.
Some people dedicate there whole lives to living peacefully, by living simply. One of my favorite quotes, by Mahatma Gandhi, is "Live simply so others my simply live."
Living the simple life includes not consuming more natural resources than is necessary. I have heard that the United States consumes more resources per capita than any other country in the world. Over-consumption and greed leads to violence. If people with power use more resources than needed, the powerless suffer and there is no peace. Some of the happiest and most peaceful people in the world are monks and nuns who consume very little at all. Living simply is one of the keys to living peacefully.
Today, it is up to the younger generation to create peace throughout the world, by consuming fewer resources, and being willing to step out of our comfort zone and do what is right. Doing small things like taking shorter showers, riding your bike instead of driving, turning off the lights when not needed, or serving your community are all examples of creating a lifestyle of non-greed.
Willingness to sacrifice comfort, like the people in the Civil Rights movement, will lead to peace. If we each bring- peace to our own little corner of the world, by performing small gestures of kindness and living simply, we can make a difference.
The cost of peace is worth the expense.
Second Place
Emily Burke, 7th Grade, Richmond Montessori School
:
Simple? Or Complicated?
Is it worth it to sacrifice a little bit for personal or world peace? What are the costs? What are the consequences? You can look at it in two ways. You could think, why would I sacrifice my time effort or money for someone else? If I do one small task it's not going to change anything else around me. Or you can sacrifice a little bit of time, effort, or money to make someone else's day a little more peaceful. You could think, if I do one random act of kindness, I could inspire someone else, and I could change the world. But maybe it's not that simple. Maybe some people have more money and have more opportunities to create peace. So you decide. Simple? Or complicated?
If you look beyond finances, you could realize that there is no real cost to building a more peaceful life, community, or world. I mean sure, there are plenty of people that just can't afford doing any big projects to change the world. But is that what makes something peaceful? Maybe someone with a lot of money taking the initiative and donating money, or recycling, is just as equal to a child, or someone less fortunate, doing something as small as picking up a piece of trash on their way to work, or visiting a hospital or homeless shelter once a month. Maybe the small things in life are just as peaceful, if not more peaceful, than some grand lifetime project or idea. Maybe if someone absolutely unaware of anything they can do to help their community or life or world just put aside their personal comfort and effort for one day, a single moment even, then they would inspire others to do the same thing.
A young person thinking they can't change the world is a great example of what our society has become. It is shocking knowing that children just like me are at home thinking that they can't change the world, so they are better off watching TV. Last month I donated just $120 dollars to the SPCA that I made from a bake-sale. Logically, I know I can't change the world with that small amount of money. But maybe, just maybe, logic is something we need to forget for just a moment. Possibly I inspired one of my friends to donate to another organization. Then slowly, but surely we change our personal lives, our society, and our world, into a more peaceful one. So for one special contribution that I made, it is completely worthwhile for me knowing I paid the cost of 30 minutes selling cookies. Because I know that I might have saved an animal, and possibly affected someone I know to do the same thing.
What I did that day was extremely simple. There was nothing complex about it. So is sacrificing 30 minutes of my time worthwhile? Completely.
Something I love about America is that even if we are not perceived as the people that give, I think we're one of the most giving countries in the world, or I'd like to think that. I think it is sad that people are thinking more and more about their personal luxuries, and giving up what is truly important, giving. I think, or at least surely hope, that I can speak for most of the country when I say, if there was more giving in this world, there would be way more peace on earth, and that's about as straightforward, and simple as it can get.
So in my final words, I challenge the question- is making your personal life, community, or world simple, or complicated. If you look at it the way I do, in that- no matter rich or poor, younger or older, I think it is always- maybe not the easiest choice, but simplest and best choice to do that one small, or large act of random kindness to make our world better. And that in it of itself is what I call: peace.
Third Place
Alaina Wibberly, 7th Grade, Richmond Montessori School :
In this world, with these situations, in these times, peace can seem impossible. Sometimes I find myself thinking that maybe there is no way to have a peaceful life in a peaceful world. Conflict is everywhere, and people are naturally drawn to it. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that peace is everywhere, too. Peace is when the sun rises in the morning, and half the sky is bursting with golden colors while the other half is sprinkled with stars. Peace is scratching a dog's ears, or sitting outside on a sunny day watching the birds in the trees. But what is the cost of this? Is it when the sun has risen and burns down on us with shriveling heat? Or when the dog is startled and snaps at your hand? Or when one of the birds swoops down and grabs a squirrel for its lunch?
I know that peace always has a cost. The soldiers fighting for peace are killing. This is ironic, but true. In the small details of an individual's life, peace might have a smaller cost than on a worldwide scale. One of the costs is effort. If I don't make an effort to strive for peace in my life, it won't happen. Whether this is good or bad depends on a person's perspective. If I look at effort as a nuisance, striving for something that is nearly impossible to achieve, I will become tired and frustrated when immediate results don't appear. I will give up and say to myself that my time was wasted chasing a silly dream. But was it really? What if I look at it as making progress every day? What if each peaceful moment is a small footstep? If I do that, every small bit of effort will count toward a bigger cause, and the hope of peace will always be strong in my mind.
Now here is one question that everyone asks. Can we have worldwide peace? As the scale gets bigger, the costs grow, and the more difficult it is. Every decision has to please everyone, because so many people are affected by the outcome. I think one of the major conflicts that eventually lead to wars is that everyone thinks they know what's best. Whether it's for themselves, or the people they are trying to lead, everyone has their own opinion. People say that if we took all the world's leaders and locked them in a room until they got things figured out, the world will be a better place. And I agree with them. But again, it all comes down to effort. If none of the world's leaders made an effort, they would be in that room for an awfully long time, and the results would be a group of angry, frustrated people. But, if we did get all the world's problems figured out, think of all the lives that would be saved. If all the nations formed a strong relationship, and cared what happened to one another, think about how many people would be cared for that aren't right now.
But sometimes adults can get tired; of the world, of the problems they encounter. And that is when it is the children's job to step in and help. Kids are full of effort and enthusiasm. Kids are inspiring to others, and so many times, kids have something valuable to contribute. If you hear about kids making a stand for peace, it is a big thing. Sometimes people get tired of hearing the same old thing from the same old people. They need something new and exciting to inspire them. And I plan to do just that.
Peace is an issue that so many think about, but so few actually do something to stand for. The cost of peace is effort and time, but the cost of war is so much greater: people's lives. Think about which one you would rather give up.
Honorable Mentions:
Kia Garrett, 6th Grade, Orchard House School:
Leave all hatred behind
Drop your guns
There were clouds passing by
Now just the sun
Love your enemies
Love your friends
Give the Earth time
For it to mend
Give a hug
Give a kiss
Or you'll never know
What you'd miss
Take a walk around
And look at planet Earth
It's refreshing
Like a new birth
Join up
In one face
See each other
The human race
Forget all evil
Forget all war
Have fun with each other
That is all you need and more
Everything else is irrelevant
As long as everything is good
People are people
And should do what they should
Pick up a piece of trash
Apologize and forgive
It makes the world better
A gift that you can give
Shake a hand
Hug a friend
Life is good
Don't let that end
Peace involves everyone
No one excluded
Be who you are
Don't make peace diluted
To have peace
People will have to give up
A life of happiness to a life of meaning
To put water in their cup
Their journey is long
Their time short
People need a good leader
A peacekeeper to support
Why can't we all hold hands
And forget the past
Differences don't matter
When people are having fun; a blast
Can we stop the bombs
It is the choices we make
That gets us peace
The Earth needs to wake
Pay the price
To get what is never on sale
Peace is costly
With an unclear trail
If everyone helped out
The young and the old
Life would be better
Like a new story untold
The world is dying
Right before our eyes
We don't even realize
We might not get a chance to say goodbye
Humans were not made to hurt
We're not made to sin
But if we try to do better
We may win
The prize will be great
But the cost big
But if everyone pays their share
If we will all dig
The world is now wondering
What will happen if this stays the same
We will be wiped out
Our heads held down in shame
This is the beginning
To a second chance
Get this one right
Let's all get up and dance
Thank you for listening
To a young girl like me
Thank you for looking
To see what you can see
Ciera Hawkins. 7th Grade, Orchard House School:
My Peace Essay
In my mind there are many simple ways to create peace. We all can pitch in and help one another create it. Peace can happen personally or out in public. It can surprise you in so many ways and it often can be very contagious.
One day I saw an old woman walking across the street and she was half-way across but she passed by this man. He was blind. He didn't have a walking stick and he almost went out into the bustling traffic. She started to walk by him but I saw that she had a second thought about it. She turned around and laid her hand on his back and guided him to the side walk. As we drove by, she was still walking with him to where he needed to go. That to me was so amazing.
I knew that if a boy or girl scout would know to walk an old lady across the street but I didn't think that an old lady would walk someone who was younger than her across the street. When I saw that all I thought was that there are not that many people in this world who are that nice and caring. I saw that man smiling while he was walking with her and the vibe that I was feeling was brilliant and bright. After, I felt good inside like that little scene gave me a little bit of hope. That wag a small way of creating peace and something that I would also call peaceful.
My idea of peace is niceness, manners, no wars, no killers, no murderers, and a better world in general. ~~ person could start off small like that old lady and then get bigger and bigger. Peace I think can be spread from person to person and maybe if someone did something nice for someone else, maybe that person would be happier and show some peace to another person. It could keep going on and on.
Peace can start in a community and then spread. It can start in a town and spread. It could go on into a city and spread and so on. If you tried to create peace in your community, you might want to plan a meeting for everyone to come. Peace isn't the easiest thing to create because you need as many people you can get to participate. If that meeting does not workout as planned, you can start your own peace goals. You can start off small and then most likely people will start to talk about you in good ways to other people and then they might even start being more open to others. They will start to see that since you are being polite and peaceful, they will start because they're happier.
There are other ways that you can create peace such as protest against something. An example is protesting against racism. If people wanted to protest against racism it is a high chance that it will be over and a high chance that it will stay. Racism is probably one of the hardest things that people can protest about. Since it has been here for a very long amount of time, it will be hard to get rid of. Another example of a protest is about gay marriage. Many people may protest against this. This is kind of an easy topic because people have a right to be free, and anyone who goes against that is probably not the most peaceful person in the world. There are so many things to protest against and mostly all of them are protesting against things that they think are not fair. I have an opinion, what if all of the people who are not trying to create peace (racist, murderers, wants war, etc.) are put onto an island and the people who are trying to create a peaceful world be put on another island. We all would know which island would crumble into pieces first. It probably wouldn't be the best place to be on.
In all, peace can be created by small actions and bigger actions. Also, peace is not the easiest thing to come by or create, but I think that in a matter of time there will be lots of people in the world who are feeling happier and passing on the peace.
Camille Peeples, 8th Grade, Orchard House School:
"Peace is costly but it is worth the expense" says an African Proverb. I agree with this statement, and believe it is very true from my personal experiences and other's around me. When war breaks out, whether it be between friends at school or two foreign countries ten thousand miles away you always hope for peace to be the outcome, but it may take some sacrifices to get there. In my school, my friends and I get into silly fights about things and they sometimes seem like a big deal when they're happening, but this is what any everyday group of friends experiences. Sometimes making up and returning to the peaceful state before the fight takes some bravery, courage, and sacrifices just like it is when trying to preserve peace in the world.
What are the costs of building a peaceful community? In the world we live in today it is unfortunately unreal to believe that wars, and country to country conflicts won't occur. But as a person it is very possible to fight for peace, and to make sure to preserve it as much as you can. When fighting for peace, for example protesting, you are sometimes risking your life or other's lives, whether it's being killed or going to jail. But if you succeed it was a costly war, but very worth it. My father was a big part of the Civil Rights Movement and many times he risked going to jail by protesting and fighting with the blacks for more rights, especially since he was a white man fighting for blacks. He also lost several jobs, was shunned, spat on, and beat up. But despite the bigoted actions of the people around him he kept fighting, and they had won the long, hard battle. In order to get to where we are now it took mounds of courage, bravery, and discipline from the people who fought the battle for so long but it was definitely worth it. Without my dad and the others who never gave up we might still be suffering the racism today.
What contributions can young people make today? During the civil rights movement several of the protests were headed by young people. My favorite story is about a protest that was held in a mall lead by a sixteen-year-old girl. She had rounded up her whole school to go with her. At first the police threatened to arrest them all, but in the end they had won. This story is a great example for young people today, showing us that no matter how young you are you can still make a difference and if you feel strongly enough about the subject you should aim as high as possible and you can succeed if you try. I feel very strongly about peace between the different races and that story taught me that even if I have to take a few risks, the outcome will be worth it, especially since I know that I'd be making a difference in the world and for generations to come.
Why would paying these costs be worthwhile? Paying these costs would mean you are helping the world be a better place to live, I know from experience that making a few small sacrifices for someone is worth their appreciation. To make peace it takes courage and bravery, which are harder to find in you than it seems, but if you have the discipline to keep moving forward you'll be able to succeed and in the end it is worth everything in the world.
Lia Russell, 8th Grade, Orchard House School :
Peace is idealized and strived for by people throughout the world. Generally, peace is the tranquility and harmony of oneself or of a group. As with many states of being, peace is merely and inevitably temporary, never existing in utter perfection. But a universal desire for peace will never be felt: because though a desire exists, it exists in fragments of different nations and communities, which only overlap if some benefit or interest exists for both.
The battle and need for peace ultimately comes down to issues, problems, having to do with individuals, having to do with themselves. People become very involved and adamant about peace when it symbolizes prosperity and stability within their own society. They are willing to make `sacrifices' to preserve and create a bettertime; willing to make efforts, whether to go to war or raise money. In fact, many are glad to work for an objective, and live with a purpose for something they care about. This peace is easy to achieve, and it is worth the price because one's own life is improved in a visible, and sometimes tangible, way.
`When, however, solely the well being of another country or person is involved, most are uninterested or grudging to help bring about peace in an irrelevant community. The cost of peace ultimately comes down to looking beyond what benefits oneself and helping for the sake of peace. The cost involves real sacrifice- a sacrifice extending beyond any personal interests. What results to be most costly is assisting a distant community which does not affect yours in any way, without receiving any concrete reward or advantage, while going through the same toil, and suffering from the same losses. This peace, most people assume, is not worth its cost, because they receive little to nothing in return.
On the other hand, some actions that appear to be oriented around peace result to be more strategic than acts of goodwill. In such cases, though someone may benefit others in some way, they always manage to obtain something for themselves in the process. Take world wars: alliances between countries are not formed entirely to support another country or to stand up for what they believe in, but to gather as many favors and supporters in return for their gesture. This strategic and indirect way of offering help is thought to be worthwhile, because a practical gain is made on both sides. This is not to say good people don't exist: though they make their contributions, all people are tempted to deviate from their paths due to selfish thoughts, which will always make their way into our actions and desires regardless of our selflessness, and due to our flawed human selves.
The self interest and eccentricity of people in this world determines both how peace is found, and how peace is lost. We rarely witness someone who is conscious of the value of peace compared to its price. But if more people were capable of embracing peace itself, without many other reasons, excuses, and wants of their own to follow it, much more peace would find its way into the world. Though peace has to do with equality, we cannot presume to reach it by a perfectly even, balanced and just path, with material gains.
The people who struggle and work to promote peace in their own surroundings, in what is familiar and dear to them, believe they are working for something larger than themselves and exerting themselves to the most of their ability to achieve the key to their tranquility. But really, they are not: in fact they are working for and under themselves. These people, as valuable as their efforts seem to be, cannot be of true and exceptional use to the world unless they are able to move away from what they know and what they are. Then again, people of this sort can rarely be found. This is why global peace will never be achieved. As hard as one may try, the yearning to receive in return, and the reluctance to work for something which is truly unrelated to oneself will always stand in our way. Instead, one must confront these weaknesses rather than ignore them.
Then why strive for peace when it is mostly an illusion, when our efforts are so far off from what is essential for peace to succeed, and when the cost, though it may be worth it, is not what an ordinary individual can endure? I can only conclude that the effort is the most significant aspect of our struggle for peace, whether this struggle is internal or universal. It is necessary for us to set an impossible and unrealistic goal in order to make ordinary victories, in order to triumph temporarily, and in order for our motivation to be preserved. We must strive for something remote but rewarding to challenge ourselves and reach realistic goals.
Peace is worth the price, even if it can only exist in separate communities, because besides peace, the feeling of success after a struggle is gained by an individual. It is important to recognize that in the struggle for peace, we discover and fight for much more than just peace itself. We can try to rise to our full potentials, and to this challenge.
Most importantly, we can end either in failure or success and understand that though perfection in this world will never be found, the most important thing we can do is bring out our strengths by making an attempt, and nurturing the our good side rather than our dark and selfish side. We have to persevere in promoting peace in as many ways we can, because the most important step towards something bigger is truly being at peace with one's efforts, and facing what inhibits us.
Liz Wolfe, 7th Grade, Orchard House School :
Peace is likely the most costly thing we have ever worked for. Whether it be something as trivial as a smile warmly received by a homeless woman having a bad day or something as significant and impacting as Greg Mortenson's work to help Pakistani and Afghan girls give education when the Taliban does not, peace is a costly and difficult thing to spread. However, peace is a shared idea that is achievable. While I'm sure the world will never be in perfect, Utopian harmony, with lasting peace, if we all can do our part in making the world a better place, we will see our efforts regurgitated in the form of a more peaceful planet. A place where differences are no longer a problem, but embraced, where violence is exchanged for kindness, where crimes against humanity are limited if not eliminated. 1 see a long, hard, struggle in our future, but I think we can do it. We might not make a perfect planet, but we sure can get close. Where there is a will, there must be a way.
Within myself, I struggle to find peace. I have bad days and my moments where I am sharp or abrupt, just like anyone. I think some of the very first steps towards harmony (and I might sound like a hippie when I say this, but I mean it) are those little moments when we interact with others. They might seem small in the grand scheme of things (and they certainly are not momentous occurrences), but they are what shape people, communities, images, and relationships. A smile can actually be a lot more than oddly contorted facial muscles; one smile can be a gesture, a small step, some positive movement in the right direction, one tiny fraction of the peace we desperately need. A smile is a small thing to work into your day which can be rewarding to both the giver and the receiver and I believe that is something we all need to keep in mind more than we do.
We ought to work towards peace whenever we can, but I'm not saying it won't be a costly process. Peace, like many other important things in life, has pros and cons, costs and benefits. Although we might not reach complete and total global harmony, we must work toward peace to keep evil at bay. Therefore, sometimes it is necessary to sacrifice and pay the costs of our hard-to-meet goal. In some situations, I believe the costs heavily outweigh the benefits.
The United States dropped two uber-destructive H-bombs on prominent Japanese cities to put an end to the world war and "show them who is boss". This was violent, extreme, and expensive in not only money but also human lives, but how many more lives would be taken if the war had stretched on and on? There was no hope that the Japanese government would reconsider their part in the war and surrender, so the U.S. took desperate measures and killed thousands of Japanese citizens. One might argue that more lives would've been compromised if the Japanese had kept fighting, making this "effort for peace" worth its cost, but then again, there is no knowing what would've happened. There could've been no need for such extreme military intervention and we could've wasted thousands of lives in an "effort for peace" that would've failed dismally.
But when you think about war and peace, you have to think a little deeper. On the surface, peace seems like the clear object, but what would the world be without war? Without the revolutionary war, we might still be unfairly taxed by British Parliament and might still be taxed without representation. Without intervening in Hitler's anti-Semitic movement, millions more Jews would've been killed. Without our ability to stand up for injustice, we would be an unhappy mess of people with no way to stand up for what we believe in. And what sort of twisted world would that be?
But then again, the cost of peace isn't always a human life or a lost battle. The cost of peace, on a smaller scale, is learning when to agree to disagree, when to humble your pride, when to be the one to put an end to the argument, or when to sacrifice yourself for the sake of others. In order to achieve peace, sometimes we need to just start small; just taking baby steps, working towards kindness first in ourselves, then in our community, and ultimately in the world. How can we work for world harmony when there is strife and conflict in our communities? Divided we are miniscule, but when we stand united against a common enemy, we can make progress.
Maybe the first steps are curbing that sharp tongue, easing differences that sever friendships, or agreeing to disagree when you don't want to. Maybe we don't need to personally carry out some ground-breaking event, maybe we just need to take a baby step here and there, as long as they tread in the right direction. Maybe peace isn't achieved by going global, maybe if we all stop doing only what is easy and start doing what we know is right, maybe then peace won't be such a distant concept. I see peace on the world's horizon, but it will take a lot to uncover.