History of World Peace

It used to be said of military history that its readers were those who studied past wars in order to make better ones in the future. This field has changed markedly in recent years, some of its readers less so. As one of its distinguished practitioners, Michael Howard, reminds us, "so long as the organized use, or threatened use, of force still remains an instrument in the conduct of international relations," there will be a place for analytic studies on the art of war. What of "peace history"? Can we isolate techniques or institutions that helped keep the peace in the past, in the hope of building an appropriate model for the future? Most historians are wary of didactic exercises of that kind. However, we can enlarge our understanding of the past by studying the institutions, which fostered or undermined peace, in their proper context.

THE PEOPLE	THE QUOTES	THE PICS
Kahlil Gibran	"We lose our freedoms at the altar of fear."
Alexander Solzhenitsyn	"If only there were evil people somewhere insidiously committing evil deeds, and it were necessary only to separate them from the rest of us and destroy them. But the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being. And who is willing to destroy a piece of his own heart?"
Mother Teresa	"When we see God in each other we will be able to live in peace. "
The Buddha	"In this world, hate never dispelled hate. Only love dispels hate. This is the law, ancient and inexhaustible."
Guru Granth Sahib	"The only enemy is injustice. The only death is death of the conscience."
Barbara Lee	"Kids can't see us bombing, and then listen to us talking about getting guns out of the schools. How can we tell them to solve problems without violence, if, in fact, we can't show an ability to solve problems without violence?"
Thomas Paine	"That there are men in all countries who get their living by war, and by keeping up the quarrels of nations, is as shocking as it is true; but when those who are concerned in the government of a country, make it their study to sow discord, and cultivate prejudices between nations, it becomes the more unpardonable."
Goethe	"I have come to the frightening conclusion that I am the decisive element. It is my personal approach that creates the climate. It is my daily mood that makes the weather. I possess tremendous power to make life miserable or joyous. I can be a tool of torture or an instrument of inspiration, I can humiliate or humor, hurt or heal. In all situations, it is my response that decides whether a crisis is escalated or de-escalated, and a person is humanized or de-humanized. If we treat people as they are, we make them worse. If we treat people as they ought to be, we help them become what they are capable of becoming."
Noam Chomsky	"The first step is to penetrate the clouds of deceit and distortion and learn the truth about the world, then to organize and act to change it. That's never been impossible and never been easy."