Peace Essay Contest 2008

Grade 9-12 Winners

First Place

A Second Chance

"If you want to make peace, you don't talk to your friends. You talk to your enemies." ~Moshe Dayan

This quote sums up the experience I've had over the last couple years. I've learned a lot about living in peace not only in my family and personal life, but in my community and world. Let me explain my experience.

Since the second grade, Madelina and I were best friends. We loved all the same things, the same foods and places, and we could always find something to do together- whether it was being Martian Monkeys trapped on Earth, sewing bed quilts to match for when we went to camp, riding bikes- anything, as long as we did it together. We had our own secret language (that we were always forgetting) a Best Friend handshake (that we never forgot!), and theme music (the theme from Jurassic Park) we would sing as we went on our adventures. The only difference between us was that she went to public school, and I was homeschooled.

As we grew older, however, differences seemed to spring up between us. Madi got into acting and singing, I began studying ballet and swimming. As we explored our new interests, our schedules began to crowd out the time we used to spend together, on the phone and at each other's homes. We both looked forward to our time together at summer camp as a time to just be together. However, it was this time at camp that we realized just how different we had become. I was always on the outside of the group as a homeschooler; I was picked on because I wouldn't wear spaghetti straps or short shorts, and none of the girls in my group understood why I thought that dating at fourteen was not a good thing to do. Madi stood up for me, but things weren't as carefree as they had been before. The year after camp, as we started high school, brought more strains on our friendship. Suddenly Madi had a boyfriend, her face was so made up in layers of foundation and ' blush that I could hardly recognize her. When she smiled, it was a smile practiced in the mirror. I didn't like the changes I saw in her, and feeling this, she became frustrated with me and my old-fashioned values of courtship and what it meant to dress modestly. A silence seemed to descend upon us. When we called each other, we quickly ran out of things to say, and when we got together we weren't sure of what to do. We didn't fight, but we sure weren't at peace with each other. For almost a year, I didn't see or talk with Madi.

Time ticked by, and I thought about Madi every day; she was constantly in my thoughts and prayers. I missed laughing with her, I missed all the good times we had. I kept remembering the verse: "A friend loves at all times..." (Proverbs 17: 17) I had not loved her when it got tough. God began to nudge my heart. I tried hard to justify my silence, but finally I knew that my reasons were judgmental and un-Christian- I knew I had to get back in touch with her. I wrote Madi a letter, telling her how much I missed her, and that I was regretful for the year we had spent in silence, and how much I would love to see her again. It was a tough letter to write, because it meant admitting I was wrong.

Now I needed to call, and actually talk with this girl I had not seen for a year. My heart was full of doubts- I was terrified that it would be awkward. In the end I picked up the phone and dialed, hoping as I did it that they wouldn't be home. We talked for a long time about what had happened to make us grow apart- figuring out what went wrong and patching it up. At first it was hard; we were both nervous and afraid. But as we kept talking, we started laughing the way we used to do. It was wonderful to hear her voice again, and we made plans to get together for lunch to continue to talk and catch up.

It was around this time that I decided I wanted to go back to camp. Through my experience with Madi I had learned to work through differences and find the common ground, and I now wanted be able to do that in the community that I had felt so lost in before. I've sent in my application to be a member of the staff, and though I know it might not be easy, I want to give it a shot.

The quote at the top of the paper applies in my personal life in my friendship with Madi. Though she was never my "enemy", I had to climb over my own mountain of fear and judgment to talk with her and become at peace once again. I hope to put it in action again, this time in my community, during the summer as I go back to camp and learn to work in peace with people from diverse lifestyles. And to myself, this quote means that to live in peace with everyone, I need to look for the common ground- to accept the differences in others and not be swallowed up in them. In this way, Christians seeking peace can be a light to the world- just as Jesus commanded us to be. John 13 :35 says: "By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another. " We cannot show the love and peace of Christ to the world when we are busy judging other's differences.

--Avery Ellis, gr. 10, Home schooled, Richmond

Second Place (tie)

The Lesson of Peace

While sitting in Religion class one day, I answered a question relating to the Virgin Mary and received a note on my desk. The note read: the Virgin Mary isn't real, only Catholics believe that and I hate Catholics. Angry by what she said, I wrote back telling her what I thought about her note. That note later led to an argument after school and we began to fight. As we were bickering, I noticed she had begun to cry. I asked her why she was crying and she told me she was going through a hard time because her parents were getting separated. She admitted she had been upset by the news all day and took her angry out on me. I walked with her on the playground and listened to her as she told me about her parents. When she finished I gave her a hug and told her she would be all right. I was surprised to see a smile on her face as she told me I was a good friend.

At the beginning of that day I thought I had made an enemy, but at the end I found I actually made a friend. As Moshe Dyan once said, "If you want to make peace, you don't talk to your friends. You talk to your enemies." This quote relates to that day on the playground. That girl needed a friend and because I was there to listen, peace was found. For many years peace has been something desired by people allover the world. In our world today sometimes violence and corruption cancel out the kind and honorable actions. Even though I agree with the idea of world peace, I think peace can be accomplished once day at a time. I don't believe peace has to be created by an extreme action or in large gestures. That experience helped me to understand that you don't have to be a politician or a religious leader to bring peace into the world. I learned that day peace can begin anywhere, even the playground.

--Jane Rolland, gr. 11, St Gertrude H.S., Richmond

Second Place (tie)

"If you want to make peace, you don't talk to your friends. You talk to your enemies."

It is true that to make peace, you must work with those who you fight with as opposed to those you have good relations with; however I think the first step to peace is to stop labeling certain groups as 'friends' and others as 'enemies'. It's easy to do this, as the world is full of separate types of people, grouped together by culture. It is inevitable that these groups should have contrasting opinions and lifestyles; for example Sunnis and Shiites or Indians and Pakistanis. The key to peace is learning how to look at our differences as positive and defining, not negative and dividing.

Unfortunately, we look at the world in terms of stereotypes. All groups have a label, and as much as we try to avoid it those labels have connotations. This is not necessarily a terrible thing. What leads to war is the inability to look at a member of a ~ particular group as an individual. Most of the time, they are simply attributed with the characteristics associated with their group and labeled 'enemy' before given a chance.

There are individuals, and there are countries. The reason making peace is so difficult is that instead of trying to get people to relate to one another, we try to get countries to relate to one another. The problem with this is that a country is an idea. It is a concept held in the mind, and is therefore limited. Take for example the countries of Israel and Palestine. The concept of the country of Israel is Zionistic, and fiercely devoted to Judaism. The concept of Palestine is determined to take the land of Israel, and devoted to the religion of Islam. These two concepts (countries) directly contrast with one another, and therefore the whole concept of Israel and the concept of Palestine cannot be reconciled. Therefore, the country of Israel and the' country' of Palestine cannot be reconciled. Nor can an individual from one side relate to the other country (i.e. an Israeli could not be comfortable with the entire country and concept of Palestine.) However individuals do not have the same limitations as ideas. An Israeli, although they have the same attributes of the country of Israel (Zionistic and Jewish), also can love, appreciate nature, and pursue friendship. An individual Palestinian can connect to an individual Israeli through these shared values. Any human being as a matter of fact can find a way to relate to another because all humans share certain common traits that rise above culture. That is why making peace depends upon our ability to look at people as individuals instead of pushing them together into abstract and dehumanized ideas.

Terrorists and tyrant political leaders are very ware of this. They use it to get their followers to commit heinous crimes. A corrupt leader in Iraq knows that he cannot get a soldier to murder an individual person, with a name and a family (such as a 'son' or 'mother'). However if he turns these individuals and families into 'targets' or 'enemies', he dehumanizes them. Suddenly, a kind and compassionate soldier is able to murder innocent children, simply because he has been brainwashed to believe that they are not children, but 'enemies'. The word 'enemy' in itself is dangerous and powerful.

To make peace, one has to be able to look at their enemy, and see a people and not a country. In addition to this, people have to learn to view the world from the point of view of another person. If you have looked into the life of a fellow human-being and seen the world from their eyes, you cannot hate them, because from their point of view, you can see the same beauty in the world that you see, and feel the same love for family and friends that you feel.

How are we to do that however? How can you get two societies to start viewing each other as individuals, how do you show them their similarities? Psychologists agree that the key is to get people to work together towards a common goal. Take two societies that seemingly have nothing in common. Look closely however at the children of these societies where you can see human nature stripped down to its barest form, unjaded and unprejudiced. You find that the only differences are trivial, in the manner of their appearance and customs. This is why it is simple for two children to develop a friendship, despite how they are raised or where they are from. Or look, for example, at two mothers. No matter where in the world these two mothers are from, they share a common, very intimate emotion, and that is the love they have for their children. In this way, two mothers from across the world share something that two people standing next to each other in the same country might not share. If we can get people to work together towards a common goal, it is inevitable that they will see this in each other with time. As they strive to achieve a goal they are passionate about, they can see that same passion in the eyes of the person next to them. When we see emotions in others that are identical to our own, it is difficult to condemn them.

"If you want to make peace, you don't talk to your friends. You talk to your enemies." The real way to make peace is to start on a path towards looking at people not as friends and enemies, but simply as people. If we learn to ignore the labels we place on their society and see through to the quality of the person, we might even be able to take the next step and appreciate our differences as the extraordinary and beautiful things that they are.

--Emma Clark, gr. 11, Monacan H.S., Chesterfield Co.

Honorable Mentions

Moshe Dayan

Peace is the absence of war or other hostilities. Moshe Dayan asserts that "If you want to make peace, you don't talk to your friends. You talk to your enemies". In other words peace lacks confusion and anger. In my personal life keeping peace between my mother and me deters us from arguing over years of pain and neglect. Peace in my community is quite different. The death of young people has led community leaders to form watch group. Drug dealers have taken over my community, Fulton Hill. Every night the sound of gun shots going off frightens me and keeps me from walking out my front door. As for the world, it seems that peace will never exist; countries stay at odds over money, politics, beliefs, and more.

In my personal life keeping the peace with my mother hasn't come easy. Getting over the pain and neglect over the past years tends to be very hard. I forgive my mother, for not caring for me, but can anyone in their right mind imagine a parent leaving her child and not wanting to take care of the baby she brought into the world. It hurts not knowing the reason I was not in her life, but I thank her because I was loved and taken care of by my grandmother. As for now my mother and I choose to keep the peace by staying away from one another so our life can go on, knowing that we have a better understanding of each other. As a friend she gave me to someone who loves me, as an enemy she chose not to care for me.

The community I grew up in is played with violence and crime. Waking up to see or learn of another homicidal death and the sound of the police is very terrifying. Drug dealers take over each comer, so how can we, my neighbors and I, enjoy living in the community with such bad influence on young people? Everyday we wonder if we're going to see another day. Better yet, we wonder if we'll see our neighbors, especially the young black males, alive and well. I worry about my grandmother as she walks to and from the store. I try to think positive but living in Fulton Hill, a place is that's not fit for anyone to live, has brought havoc in the lives of many of it's members

In examining peace throughout to the world I believe it, the world, lacks the amount needed in order to stop wars, to bring home soldiers, and to end terrorism such as the 9/11 attacks. I ask myself why we are sending more soldiers to fight the war when there are never ending battles over poverty, racism, incest, domestic violence and more in America. The war with Iraq should not be going on, because we as the American people need to figure out how we can we help our own people. When the 9/11 attacks occurred they brought many tears because we never experienced anything as treacherous as the events that occurred: So many lives were taken and detrimentally affected by the terror attacks. If we the American people work diligently on keeping peace with our own people, we can aide others

Applying this quote to my life, my community, and the world, has allowed me to evaluate peace in various aspects. Peace is not something that comes easy and it's a hard think to do. Moshe Dayan made a point about keeping your enemies close. The Israeli military leader knew personally that if you want peace, you must be humble and mature enough to go to those who you are in conflict. We must sometimes start with ourselves.

Although we may say our enemies appear to be close to us. In some instances we are our own enemy. Like my grandmother and many others have said, you must love yourself in order to love others. Once you judiciously work toward peace within yourself and those around you, you branch out to others.

--Starneka Taylor, gr. 12, Franklin Military Academy, Richmond

"If you want to make peace, you don't talk to your friends. You talk to your enemies."
Moshe Dayan (Israeli military leader and politician)

I always known to keep to your friends close, but keep your enemies closer. I feel that when you know your enemies, you know what they are capable of. Knowing these things can help you understand their strategies, their strength, and their weakness, and how they function. Understanding their physical and mental way of thinking can help you avoid making the person angry and upset. In that way, you can keep peace between the parties involved.

You can always go to a friend for advice, especially when you know they would give you the honest truth. But sometimes friends give you bad advice, and no you don't have to take it, but most likely you will. Some friends might instigate, be bias, or even don't know anything about the situation, but still want to give advice. By doing this, the friend will cause chaos, confusion, and possibly a confrontation. The other party involved may. fight back and a feud will begin. The battles will never end and there would never be peace. If you had chosen to speak directly with your enemy, possibly the two of you could haven gotten to the heart of the matter and ended the battle.

In applying Dayan's claim to my personal life I'd like to focus on how recent events have led me gain new enemies. I was a manager for a local boy's basketball team along with two of my friends. At first, I did not have a problem with anyone at the facility. But, throughout the season, I heard from one my friend that the whole cheering squad did not like me because of a boy. Of course I asked for their advice, but I did not take it. They told me that I should walk up the girls and just fight them without asking any questions. Instead, I simply went to the squad and asked them were there any problems between us. They did not say anything so I left it alone. Now, when I see them I smile and I'm nice since they said it is not no friction between us. I now feel that it's peace between us and I don't have any problems with them.

In my community, one of my neighbors, a girl younger than me, always looked at me with disgust. I shared my observation with my friends who automatically wanted to fight her. I encouraged them not to start anything with the girl because it would only create problems. Instead, I approached the girl one day and asked her why she always looking at me funny. She simply replied I thought you were pretty and like the way you carried yourself. I'm glad I approached her before my friends decided to fight her.

Currently in the world, there is no peace at all. We have the War in Iraq, problems in North Korea, and illegal immigrants continually coming from Mexico. To solve some of these problems I feel that we should talk to the other countries and make a compromise that both parties agree upon without reservations. When countries agree to compromise there is a win-win situation. If we go to an alliance such as Britain, if would start nothing but another war. We do not need that to happen.

Dayan's statement is certainly truthful in my personal life, my community and the world. Talking to your friends will not make any peace but talking to your enemies can. In deciding to go directly to your friends versus your enemies you may only cause more chaos, confusion, and confrontation. Talking enemies can settle disputes, and compromises are made. In this way, not only will you work things out with enemies, you will make peace.

--LeAnne Le, gr. 12, Franklin Military Academy, Richmond

Peace Essay

After my research on Mr. Moshe Dayan I have gained the insight that being an Israeli Defense Minister for several years gave him the ability to decipher the proper approaches in diplomatic efforts. We as African American people in America can gain a great deal of diplomacy insight from Mr. Moshe. The quotation form Mr. Moshe, "If you want to make peace, you don't talk to your friends, you talk to your enemies" applies to the world in general. Whether the person is in Iraq, Watts, California or Richmond, Virginia.

I would like to tell you about a woman whose name is Aqueela Sherrills. She helped to settle rivalry between some of the biggest gangsters in the urban society, Namely the Bloods and the Crips.

She went into the community with others and helped acquire a peace treaty between these waning forces. If she continued talking to her friends, nothing would've changed. I'm sure Mrs. Sherrills previously tried that. We have to face our opponent; she found what Mr. Moshe said to be true. The only way to kill a weed is to find the root.

My mother and father are Pastor and Bishop of the great Church Bringing Gods Words To Life Ministries, which I attend. J\1y parents started spreading peach through prison ministry. They have been changing lives ever since. If they took violence as a resolution for peace, most of the men and women who were saved during this time, would have never changed.

Talking to your enemy and meeting one on one and face to face will help you to see from their perspective and vice versa. Hopefully, after confrontation comes, reconciliation.

--Carlesa Carter Bias, gr. 10, Precious Blessing Academy, Chesterfield Co.

"If you want to make peace, you don't talk to your friends. You talk to your enemies."
--Moshe Dayan (Israeli military leader and politician)

Since the dawn of human civilization there has been conflict, it is as intrinsically a part of human beings as suckling at the teat of one's mother. Conflict is always the result of differences: differences in religion, in resources, in skin color, in political ideology, in anything. The only way to resolve conflicts, and bring about some semblance of peace, is to settle the underlying differences. Talking to one's friends only ensures blissful ignorance; on the other hand, conversing with one's enemies promotes tentative acceptance. Conflicts exist everywhere in our world today: between individuals, between ethnicities, between countries, between friends and enemies. The objective of peace is not to make "friends" with everybody; it is to make sure there are no enemies. Universal friendship is as unattainable as peace is if one does not talk to his enemies.

As far as peace is concerned, there is nothing to be gained from talking solely to allies or those of similar thought patterns; in fact, it can be detrimental. Friends tend to share similar mindsets, one of the prevailing reasons that they are friends in the first place. The gathering of friends only results in a reciprocated action from the enemy. Sooner rather than later, the entire situation turns into something reminiscent of the Cold War. Ignorance is all around us, especially in America, even more especially in Richmond. It is slightly disconcerting how few Americans actually know what is happening in Darfur, let alone how to properly pronounce it. If you only talked to people of the same mind set, AKA friends, the misinformation would only be further cemented into the dry cinderblock that is fast becoming your brain. Albeit, Americans are not in a state of direct conflict with any group in Darfur, we still feel that peace should be had. One of the greatest impediments to peace isn't war; it is actually the very same ignorance that we try our best to avoid. Our goal as peacemakers should be to lift the eternal veil of ignorance, something that is not accomplished by meandering amongst the hackneyed.

The positive effects of fraternizing with the enemy are portrayed throughout history and art. An example of which would be Romeo and Juliet: who could forget the tragic story of the Capulets and Montagues? The story provides an interesting scenario for potential peace making, the hatred between the two families runs deeper than blood. In truth, the two families were not much different at all; the implied reconciliation at the end would never have happened if Romeo and Juliet hadn't talked. Talking with the enemy is the only way that the beginning steps of a compromise can be made. The conflict between Romeo and Juliet has gone into the annals of history as a tragedy, but the true tragedies don't just involve a pair of lovers lost. The true tragedies of human conflict have victims numbering in the millions, all of them lovers in their own rights, fell victim to something that could have been prevented if peace had been brought about by talking with the enemy. Some feel that war is a necessary end to some conflicts, such as slavery; however, even the most bloodiest of compromises, sometimes called surrenders, are brought about by talking with the enemy.

Nobody is saying that peace is a guaranteed result of talking and associating with the enemy, but I am saying that it is a necessary step. The proof is all around us, in history, in art, in the modem world. There has never been a resolution of a heinous conflict without the preliminary steps in communication. The first step towards peace in the conflicts facing our world at this very moment shouldn't be UN forces or military aid, it should be open talks. The world needs to realize that peace can only have a chance if there is a voice behind it, and that voice is worthless if it isn't pointed in the right direction.

--Caleb Chen, Hanover H.S., Hanover Co.

"If you want to make peace, you don't talk to your friends. You talk to your enemies." -Moshe Dayan.

Moshe Dayan's quote is perceptive and insightful. It states that peace is only obtained through cooperation with an adversary, and not with acquaintances. Therefore, this statement presents a more complex theory and shows that accomplishing peace is far more difficult than most people think.

Peace is a rarity in today's society; the wars allover the world are a faultless example of the scarcity. A reason may be the hostility of people today. Decades ago, humans did not have the stressed and rushed lifestyle like in the present times. This material lifestyle many people strive for may raise the anxiety of the people in the economy and therefore, society all together. Stubbornness also may be a correlation to the lack of tranquility; some people might just be too obstinate or too proud to admit their mistakes and apologize to the people they have mistreated.

The societies that decide to be peaceful always bask in the benefits of their sacrifices. For example, the Israelis recently negotiated peace with the Palestine community. This peace was obtained by the trading of land and money which helped both communities thrive.

Moshe Dayan held many prestigious positions in the Israel Defense Force, being skilled in both battle and diplomacy. He was an Israeli military warrior who became a crusader for peace; consequently, he is an expert in not only warfare, but also making peace. He also quoted, "I have traveled a long road from the battlefield to the peace table." This quote reveals that even practiced soldiers know that peace is vital to humanity.

The lack of harmony in today' s society is a serious detriment, and Moshe Dayan's quote provides insight for how to obtain this rarity. People today need to learn how to be the bigger person and admit to any wrongdoing; this philosophy may facilitate our goal of peace. In addition, admitting to a mistake is one thing, but apologizing for it is another. If people today were not so insatiable and power hungry, the world we live in many be a different and better place.

--Brandy Walton, gr. 11, Hanover H.S., Hanover Co.