ESSAY
2009 THIRD PLACE

All That Is Needed
Shamariah Hale
17 years old, Alaska

                Why is it that when the word “Peace” is mentioned, the first thought that pops into our mind is war?  Hostility, pain, sadness, these thoughts bring in turmoil to our minds.  However we often fail to see the more than one side of the issue.  Peace has more meaning than just the end of all war; it also means equality, freedom, safety, happiness, and most of all harmony.  People may not agree on what the true definition of peace is, but they do accept the fact that it is a goal worth striving for.

                Wars, like most other violent incidents in history, are triggered by more than just by two countries’ leaders having a spat or a tribe usurping territory.  Many a dispute has been over equality and freedom.  In a nation built  on these ideals of opportunity and liberty, people don’t realize that we still have a fear of those different from ourselves; be it color or race.  Disagreements over equality lead to questions of freedom.  People will protest that it is their right to be equal, to speak openly, and to pursue their dreams.  Some of the main factors that cause war: rivalry, status, power, and other forms of violence can also stir the tension to a boil.  The cause of war and death are what people need to recognize and resolve.  The underlying issues, the tiny details, are what we need to find if we want the peace that so many generations have dreamed about.

                How then, will we achieve Peace?  What people need to do for the first step is investigate the events that bring about the outbreak of war, and with as little bias as possible, find a way to solve them.  One person alone is not enough to find a solution.   That would be starting the whole cycle of pain over again.  The whole world is needed to find the right path.

                Now, many scholars and scientists will have a different opinion than me, but I believe that all we need to finally have peace is this:  we need to understand each other.  By ‘understanding’ I mean that we as a people need to realize that everyone is a brother and a sister, and they have the same problems, the same hopes, and the same dreams.  They are different, but inside they are just like us, people just trying to make a living.

                In the end, peace is the time when the world begins to live as a family and no matter the circumstances, we love each other; unconditionally.  I pray that when the day for peace finally comes, we will be able to truthfully say that hunger, pain, injustice and hatred are gone from the world.