Our West Georgia community became captivated by a dozen Buddhist monks and their dog, walking from Texas to Washington DC to promote peace. Their march, the reaction, and how Americans feel about peace around the world, are all anyone seems to be talking about this holiday season, from Christmas to New Year’s.
This Walk for Peace heading throughout the Southeast United States has led to an unprecedented outpouring of support along their nearly 2,500 mile journey from Fort Worth to Washington, DC, along with their plucky pooch Aloka. I got to see the crowds gather for the monks at a Baptist church in LaGrange. I’ve read tales of city officials greeting them, police escorts, and other leaders and members of all kinds of faiths coming to see them on this special march.
Of course, there have been some critics, locally and nationally, who disapprove of the monks. “Peace… what about ‘The Prince of Peace!’” one stated. Others claimed they worshiped Buddha as a god (they don’t). “Where’s ICE when you need them?” one posted on a site.
But what shocked me was how many, many more positive notes there were, supporting not only the monks and their mission, but noting the common goals Christians, Jewish people and Buddhists have in common.
It seems their long walk is needed more than ever.
As I write this, there are a series of peace talks, an attempt to end Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine. When shown the details of the Russian-White House talking points, Americans are even more skeptical of the proposal. YouGov polls show massive skepticism among Democrats and Republicans (other polls confirm this bipartisan skepticism), which call for Ukraine to shrink its army, be barred from NATO, blocking NATO from coming into Ukraine, and having the Ukrainians withdraw from Donetsk, without Russia having to concede anything or face even reasonable sanctions for their slaughter of civilians in initiating the bloodiest conflict since World War II.
It seems most Americans do understand the WWII lessons of appeasing the rapacious appetite for dictators, and that giving everything to irridentism only breeds more conflict. But the solution need be all-out war now. A return to stronger sanctions, and for companies and countries doing a bloody business with Russia, would be financially affected as well.
Such concerns in polls also extend to the Israeli-Palestinian peace settlement. There’s a lot of concern that such a deal may not last, and that certainly any forced relocation of Palestinians to South Sudan or somewhere else in the Sahara is probably unlikely to go well. There’s a growing anger with the Israeli government and its actions in America. It’s important for the U.S. to not assume all Jews support Prime Minister Netanayahu, and he and his party frequently receive a small percentage of the public vote in a regime that should serve as a model for why we should never switch to proportional representation and a parliamentary system.
Americans want peace, but they recognize that one-sided deals which reward an aggressor or fail to punish the instigator are not even close to being the solution. As these monks, and Americans who admire their courage and commitment know, we need to be looking for true peace.