The Problems of Lasting Peace

A few days ago, while wandering in Weber State's library, I managed to stumble on an awesome book.  I was in the library for no particular reason, trying to kill time before a meeting of some kind, and somehow I walked right into the peace studies section of our library.

There, in one of those old, ragged book covers, slightly covered in dust and smelling like all old books do, was a book entitled "The Problems of Lasting Peace" by former President Herbert Hoover and his aide, Hugh Gibson.

The book was written in the midst of the second World War.  The allies had begun pushing Hitler's Germany back in the European theater, and countless epic naval battles were no doubt taking place in the Pacific.  In the midst of all this combat and chaos, Hoover and Gibson noticed a pattern; endless cycles of violence in war, followed by brief periods of peace and development, followed again by violence.  This was true even in the case of World War I, the "war to end all wars," which, within 20 years, collapsed into yet another global bloodshed. 

Hoover and Gibson identify 7 "Dynamic Forces" which contribute to war and peace, listed as follows:

1.  Ideologies
2.  Economic Pressures
3.  Nationalism
4.  Militarism
5.  Imperialism
6.  The complexes of fear, hate, and revenge
7.  The will to peace

These forces are not arranged in order of importance, but they all have some varying degree of importance depending on which war is being examined.  It is important to note, however, that the first 6 forces typically act against the 7th; that is to say, the will to peace is broken when the emotions and actions prompted by the first 6 overpower it.

One of my favorite quotes from the book, paraphrased, is "Nations can blunder into war, but they cannot blunder into peace."  This, I think, is a key point which isn't given enough thought much of the time.  We tend to view things in black and white: a friend of mine recently said, "all the world's problems could easily be solved if everyone would just be good."  At face value, this is perhaps true.  But issues arise when the phrase is examined further.  Depending on your culture, your socioeconomic status, your race, your religion, your geographic location, your government, your education, and a myriad of other features, what would you define as "the world's problems?"  More important, what would you define as "good?"

Viewing the world through such a black and white, almost esoteric lens is what causes individuals, families, tribes, and finally nations to blunder out of peace.  Narrow definitions which fail to take into account the literally billions of possible viewpoints are destined to collapse.  They allow no structure or instrumentality for reconciliation, for the promotion of peace, or fundamental problem-solving.

This, in effect, is the key problem to lasting peace: a feeling that expedience, that black and white, are more effective than a structured method of peacemaking.  Expedience destroyed loose-knit peaces like the League of Nations and Kellogg-Briand, and expedience continues to threaten global peace today.

Global problems, however defined, are not so black and white as to be solved immediately.  Consensus must be achieved through arduous and often painstaking dialogue, taking into account a vast array of voices and concerns.  As such, lasting peace can only be achieved through the development of mechanisms capable of almost constant change, reinventing the status quo to meet new demands and changing environments.  The development of - and adherence to - global liberal institutions is, thus far, the greatest success the world has had in this experiment.

This, I feel, is a good enough afternoon rant.  That said, I would strongly recommend this book to any student of international law, or, better yet, any citizen of the world.

DRUGS!

Now that I have your attention, a recent report from the Global Commission on Drug Policy says that the global "War on Drugs" has backfired, driving usage rates of drugs up and forcing the creation of an underground drug trade similar to the alcohol black market which developed in the United States during prohibition.

The results of the report suggest that a dramatic rethinking of drug policy needs to take place, and that measures such as the legalization of cannabis (marijuana) should be considered, and that states should even look into measures such as treating drug use as a public health concern rather than a crime, as nations like Portugal have attempted.

What do you think of this report?  Has the War on Drugs failed, or is something else to blame for the increase in drug usage and cartel-related violence?  What can countries like the United States do to decrease drug use, or is the problem itself overblown and should just be ignored?

Let's hear it!

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Upward Bound American History Test

I recently finished working as a History teacher for the Upward Bound Pre-college program at Weber State University. Part of my job was to test the students' knowledge on American history and government institutions. My partner and I created a test which we thought would be fairly challenging, but not too difficult to pass. Most of the questions make up what should be general knowledge of American history and institutions and are not overly detailed.

The pre-test results weren't particularly great. Granted, these students are 9th-12th grade and have had very different experiences with history at their respective schools, so overall they did fine.

Pre-test average: 15/35 or about 42%

After the 5 week program, the students did a lot better overall and there were a few significant score increases among the students. In the last few days of the class we had discussions about the Supreme Court and a review day, and their comments were well thought out and insightful, and it appeared that they had learned a lot during the few weeks they were there. And they did: the results were quite a difference:

Post-test average: 23/35 or about 66%

This still isn't spectacular or anything, but considering the short time we spent and that many of these kids haven't had a government-focused course yet, I feel we built a solid foundation for them to expand on when they get back to school in the fall.

In the meantime, however, I would like to know what YOU would get if you took the same test I gave these students. There are 30 open-ended questions and a short 5 point essay at the end, so the test should take you a maximum of 10-15 minutes and probably less. Think you're up for the challenge?

Remember, don't cheat! These students didn't use notes, so you certainly can't use google. Simply answer to the best of your ability and show me what you know!

***UPDATE***  In the original test I failed to have a name/e-mail field so I can get in touch with you.  Sorry about that!  The new test now has a name and e-mail field.  Enjoy!  Also, here are the results for the first 6 nameless forms I received:

1.  27/35, an excellent score!
2.  17/35, pretty close to the average of my students on their pre-tests.
3.  22/35, a decent score, but nothing to write Jefferson about.
4.  20/35, see above.
5.  28/35, another excellent score!
6.  Belinda: 29/35, the high score so far, but not better than my top bounders.
7.  Nick: 29/35, which is especially good considering he didn't do the 5-point essay.
8.  Chad: 32/35, awesome!
9.  Sarah: 31/35, excellente!
10.  Lorrie:  24/35, pretty close to the post-test average for my bounders.
11.  Sarah (another one):  28/35, a solid score.
12.  Wendy:  29/35, well played!
13.  Alexa:  28/35, these averages are quite good!
14.  Zach (but not me):  29/35, very well done good sir!

Keep em' coming!

Understanding War in Afghanistan

I'm a huge fan of National Defense University.  Every so often their affiliate, NDU press, releases extremely interesting and timely material online for absolutely free.

The latest such release is a book entitled Understanding War in Afghanistan by Joseph J. Collins.  Since I just learned about this I haven't had a chance to read it, but I plan on making time for it shortly.  The book appears to cover a full range of topics, including Afghan history, key events and timelines in America's involvement in the country, and an assessment of the current situation and future projections.  Basically, if you're interested in learning about Afghanistan or understanding America's involvement in recent years, this book appears to be a must-read.

If you like what you see here, I would also recommend signing up for Prism, a quarterly publication on everything you could possibly want to know about defense strategies and military planning around the globe.  The best part?  Prism is also free, and you can have a physical copy delivered to your home at no charge.

You're welcome, geeks.

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American Civic Knowledge Survey

Special thanks to my Mum who provided the link to today's blog!  This quick quiz (only 10 questions) is a Civic-literacy exam created by the intercollegiate studies institute.  I'm not sure if what was written in the e-mail is accurate, but according to the e-mail the average American will score somewhere around 50% on this exam, and college professors typically don't get much higher.

The first time I took it I got a 90%, but I won't tell you which one I missed.  No cheating!  Take the quiz and see how you measure up!

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Bill of Rights Rap

  Behold world!  I wrote this song during my work as a History teacher/counselor for Weber State University's Upward Bound summer program.  We were learning about the Bill of Rights in History class, and I just wanted to try and make it fun for the kids.  I apologize that the sound quality isn't the best, but hopefully you'll enjoy it regardless!  Please see the youtube page for the full lyrics if you're interested.

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