What Equals Peace?

What really does the word "peace" mean today? If we think about it, most of us equate the word peace with the absence of war; at least I know I did until a few days ago. I live on a military base, so there is usually a nice amount of support in the community. I was stopped at a stop light and just happened to glance over at an advertisement board a local restaurant had set up. Instead of posting the daily specials, I saw a message of peace. The sign read: "Peace is much more than the absence of war." When I read those words, it really urged me to think about what peace really means.

If you plug in the word "peace" and ask for a definition on Google, you will find several meanings for peace. A lot of the meanings equated peace with the absence of war, but if that were the case, why does the message on the sign bother me so much? I got to thinking. Why is there a lack of peace or a harmonic atmosphere in the world today? Granted, America is involved in two wars and there are countless other wars throughout the world, but if these wars were to suddenly stop would world peace be imminent?

There are other aspects to achieving peace. There are environmental factors that must be dealt with to obtain a state of peacefulness. There are also political issues which need to be acknowledged and solved in order for us to live in a state of peace. There are many different issues that contribute to the lack of peace in the world.

Peace and the Environment

There always seems to be a struggle when it comes to taking care of the environment. This can become a detrimental factor when trying to create world peace. Many of the developed countries tend to blame the less developed countries for environmental factors and vice versa. These differences of opinion cause a rift when trying to create a sense of utopia.