Dear Mr. President: Make This a Real Peace Prize

An air of pleased embarrassment is emanating from the White House today. It may be seen that this was really the Nobel Speech Prize. The Oslo committee clearly wanted to jog some elbows, particularly European ones. President Obama has made all the right moves on many fronts -- nuclear disarmament, global warming, a reach-out to the Muslim world.

This might alternatively be called the Nobel Relief Prize, as the rest of the world breathes a sigh that the U.S. is no longer a unilateral, belligerent power. Simply to back away from the military overreach of the Bush era is reason to celebrate.

But a shadow hangs over the Nobel, thanks to its record of futility. A glaring example would be all the prizes given for negotiating a peace in the Middle East that never came. Attempts at peace are laudable, and perhaps they are the best we can do much of the time, but Obama should aim higher.

It's in his power to make this a real peace prize.

Because he's a sitting president, he's one of the few recipients with global power. And he sits atop a massive -- mega-massive, if you will -- military budget. The two wars in Iraq and Afghanistan should be object lessons in peace-making. If he has learned anything from these two conflicts, which are futile, impoverishing, and seemingly endless, Obama could lay down the following policies:

• Cutting America's nuclear stockpile immediately by 90%.


• fighting no wars without a strong array of wiling allies.


• Turning any conflict into a peacekeeping mission.


• Initiating a draft for future wars so that a tiny slice of the American population, generally the poorest and least educated, doesn't bear the burden of sacrifice alone.


• Dramatically curtailing future defense budgets.


• Ending America's supremacy in arms dealing.

A book could be written about each point; many have been. The toxic embrace of the military-industrial complex has made us a Jekyll-and-Hyde country. We see ourselves as agents of peace, but we have been on a war footing since Pearl Harbor. We call for disarmament while selling more advanced weapons systems than any other nation in the world. We lead the world, too, in developing new means of mechanized death. And we have been embroiled in more foreign adventures, by far, than any other country.

Peace begins with those who have the power to make peace. Obama stands in a unique position in this regard. Even though we've turned the corner from Bush's reckless belligerence, avowing peace isn't the same as action. The bald truth is that much of the world fears America, and our politicians and generals like it that way. But in an age of globalism, it's not feasible to want worldwide cooperation on climate change while holding all the cards in weapons. Fear doesn't fit well with cooperation.

At a personal level, each citizen is responsible for being a unit of peace. Without a shift in collective consciousness, we will sleepwalk into another war. It's inevitable when there's a massive military establishment and a passive citizenry. One productive step, I believe, is to disavow all forms of violence today, making your own stand for peace. If enough people do that, awareness can shift on a mass scale.

Peace is a silent campaign of the heart. Why not join, since noisy protest against war don't work? They just strengthen the hand of the war makers in the end. I've been involved in I Take the Vow, which is about individuals renouncing violence in their lives at the levels of thoughts, speech, and action. But there are many other initiatives that donate time, money and heart to ending the reign of war.

Rest assured, the war machinery that exists in this country has inertia on its side. It has grown in power every day since 1941, when America entered the war against Japan. The only way to end two generations of military dominance is from the grassroots level. Obama showed that the grassroots can elect a president against all odds. The same is true here, even against far greater odds. It might even happen that this most conscientious of presidents will listen and learn, not taking his Nobel as a reward but as a wake-up call.

deepakchopra.com

 

 

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Comments

[floridafun]

i dont recall the exact dates but i think these were what obama was doing in his first couple weeks..
1. decreed that interrogators must follow techniques outlined in the Army Field Manual when questioning terrorism suspects.
2. told top military officials to do whatever planning necessary to "execute a responsible military drawdown from Iraq."
3. ordered the Guantanamo detention center shut within a year.
4. froze all white house staff salaries of $100.000.00 or more.
5. overturning the so-called Mexico City policy that forbids U.S. funding for family planning programs that offer abortion.
6. lifting Bush's limit on federal funding of embryonic stem cell research.
7. declared once again to restore science to its rightful place. "The days of science taking a back seat to ideology are over," he said
8. tells the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect."
9. reversed a post-9/11 policy making it easier for government agencies to deny requests for records under the Freedom of Information Act.
10. repealed a Bush executive order that allowed former presidents or their heirs to claim executive privilege in an effort to keep records secret.
11. required closure of cia secret black site prisons abroad.

[Angie Cordeiro - Huffpost Blogger]

"...Turning any conflict into a peacekeeping mission....The bald truth is that much of the world fears America, and our politicians and generals like it that way...."

"...there's a massive military establishment and a passive citizenry. One productive step, I believe, is to disavow all forms of violence today, making your own stand for peace. If enough people do that, awareness can shift on a mass scale..."

"...Rest assured, the war machinery that exists in this country has inertia on its side. It has grown in power every day since 1941, when America entered the war against Japan. The only way to end two generations of military dominance is from the grassroots level. Obama showed that the grassroots can elect a president against all odds. The same is true here, even against far greater odds. It might even happen that this most conscientious of presidents will listen and learn, not taking his Nobel as a reward but as a wake-up call."

I'm awake and on a soap box today regarding peace & light.

Thanks Deepak!

[Ramkshrestha]

Dear Dr Chopra,
I am quite happy withe the points you raised. This prize if at least makes him to feel more responsible to fulfill his declaration "The historic resolution we just adopted enshrines our shared commitment to the goal of a world without nuclear weapons." and works seriously for this, this could result wonderful result for the peace of the world.

[lifeinfullcolor]

Just yesterday I was going through a bookshelf and came across your book on peace, I took it out and put it on a table where guests could peruse if they so chose. I have a 16 year old girl, I asked what she wanted for her birthday, she said, anything with the peace symbol on it, I listen to John Lennon's Imagine all the time on my ipod, she went on to tell me! I asked her if she remembered me reading Imagine to her when she was a baby, I had found a book version of it and would read it to her. I also spelled out her name and peace baby on the refrigerator, I wanted the first words she learned to read to be peace, so that would follow her through life and it has and does and will.

[hippynanainblingland]

You are a remarkable mother. I wish I'd had even a tenth of the success you apparently have achieved, but, then again, I was never as clever and resourceful as you've apparently been in imparting the message. Well done!

[LaceSky]

Take the profit motive out of war and peace will be a possibility.

[inthelandoftheblind]

Sadly, war mongering & driving up fears of an unstable world, has been our biggest export, & as a result, created a huge portion of our GDP, in the past 2 generations. Especially now, having become a service industry & consumer driven economy, with a population too frightened to spend their money, Obama may get little legislative support for idealistic notions to bring our boys back home, & dismantle the war making machinery, & or to stop our manufacturing of the weaponry of war. We will have to wait to see his solution to these troubling issues.

So called "green jobs", and the manufacture of green solutions can create some work, & some exports, but will seriously impact another big area of GDP, the contributions from energy industry profits, so again - a tricky balancing act.

I'm assuming most of us want peace, to stop policing the world, & to reduce the costs to us taxpayers spent on nation building, while our nation is allowed to continue to decline, and our cities & local economies are in ruins.

I really appreciate the decent character Obama radiates, but it seems even idealism has a heavy cost.

[arjuna3guna]

Most all know that war and evil begins in the minds of men.

And only a few men know, really know, without a shadow of a doubt, how the minds of men are transformed into loving minds and loving hearts where war does not have a chance to manifest.

These men know, that all men are as powerfull as any other, know matter what position they hold.

The true differance maker is in the coherance created in the atmosphere through meditation. This is the enlivening of collective consciousness. This is the Maharishi affect.

All thanks and praise to the people in the fairfield domes.
The peace power center of the world.

What mary doesnt know and why zombies love to laugh.

[JoAnnCr]

This is perhaps the best post I've read of yours, Dr. Chopra. It is worth getting in front of the President along with making it viral for everyone else. MMY would be proud.

[Ed and Deb Shapiro - Huffpost Blogger]

Excellent Deepak!

This is so important. You said what I have been feeling especially fighting wars without allies is inappropriate.

Draft so that all people are represented not just the poor.

And to encourage an atmosphere of peace and understanding.

We should seek communication with others and see their point of view and not force our vew on others.

P.S. Except for that wacky Iran and their misguided twisted President... unless he can get some sense into his neredy head.

May we all live n PEACE<

Ed

[hippynanainblingland]

There's more than one exception, I'm afraid. There's North Korea, Afghanistan, Honduras, just to name a few. The point being that no ONE country should be allowed to wield a war on its own, and there should be a global mechanism for putting a stop to this, even eventually preventing this.

But, certainly, there are (far too many) situations in which the Prime Directive (non-interference with local cultures) shouldn't apply. No innocent person or group should go without protection and defense on their behalf. Certain things should not be allowed, like the taking of children to create soldiers, like the mass rape of women, like outright genocide, like the trashing of the land...

And it behooves the rest of us, aware of the dysfunctions, to do something about it, something that those who'd rather do nothing will call "violating the Prime Directive (or something to that effect)."

Being each other's keepers means not allowing abuses against those who cannot defend themselves, or who don't even know there's better ways of living than the hells they have to daily endure, all around the world.

Preventing such abuse is THE ONLY (marginally) acceptable reason for fighting groups--ALL of which should be composed by a variety of people, of differing races, ages, sexes, genders and orientations. Such an "army" of Peacekeepers would do wonders in the creation of PEACE in the world!

May it happen in my lifetime, and yours, too. Carmen

[hippynanainblingland]

I forgot to include differing nationalities in the composition of these Peacekeeping "armies", a most important requirement, in my opinion.

[inthelandoftheblind]

The draft concept didn't insure that all levels of society were required to serve. Some names mysteriously disappeared from lists, due to graft & connections. A draft also calls up some that are ill suited.The mindset of a military person is key to their ultimate value in the military.I sure wouldn't want to be told by my government the field of work I MUST go into.

People can serve their country better, by developing innate skills, & contribute to society in that way.Some may have earned scholarships, after many years of studying hard, and be denied their goals.More women than ever, are in the military now, so a draft must include women - to be fair.

While the military may have a high number of the less educated, & people from low income families, joining the military has given some of these soldiers a leg up,with an education, discipline, & job skills - which is probably why disproportionately, so many from this demographic sign up, in the first place. Many with good educations also sign up, as there is something special within them, to want to do this.

We must remember, all those in our military chose to be there. Being mandated to do something doesn't, by design, bring about the kind of people who others in the military necessarily want to have their lives depending upon, either.

[HelloFunnyWorld]

Nice post Dr.Chopra. And we went further and 'took the Vow'

Guess there's only one way to really make Peace in this World and that's - One step at a time - as that song goes, i.e. one person at time.

Thank you, it was a pleasure to read.

Mr.Obama, he is one of the most, to use your word - "conscientious" Leaders the World has now, is'nt he?

[Michelle I]

I have a dream that the U.S. uses it's military and military budget to repair Katrina's damage and go out to help people in Natural Disasters. Wouldn't it be something if we had defense only and did nothing but good?

[Indie2008]

Very timely in light of the impending decisions he faces about Afghanistan.

[MattX22]

Well said, Deepak Chopra! Thank you for adding some light and clarity to this issue.

[emilyringstrom]

Wonderful, Mr Chopra. Sound words of perspective, poise, and reason. Thank you.

[Darba]

I agree with you Rharte.
To me Obama deserves the nobel peace prize, not only for what he's done, or his potential, but for what he IS as well!

[Merlin7]

Good points. I agree completely.