Dynamite and world peace
World peace …. that favorite topic of beauty pageant contestants and those attempting a serious drinking toast ….. was also an obsession of the inventor of dynamite, Albert Nobel.
His personal recipe for world peace was to use part of the fortune he amassed from his invention to present an annual award to the human or humans who had done the most in the past year to make peace happen. Along the way people as diverse as Mother Teresa, Leo Tolstoy and Henry Kissinger have been honored. The award is presented every year in Oslo Norway, and a few days ago the author of this blog got to visit the Nobel Peace Center in Oslo.
I and the character I created, Lola Zeitman, both share Albert Nobel’s obsession with the concept of world peace. Lola believes that empathy is the key to getting along, and that if we could all just walk in each others shoes (or feel each others feelings) hatred would be difficult. I like to think that she is right. However, I may be less of an idealist than Lola. Humans are remarkably clever and I fear that even if we all became telepathic tomorrow, we’d still find a way to hate, not to mention figuring out a hundred new ways to manipulate and take advantage of each of other.
I do now know, however, that Norway is a stunningly beautiful country (see waterfall at right), Oslo is a fascinating city (see statue above) and the two exhibits at the Nobel Peace Center during July 2012 were truly moving. I walked away with a few trinket souvenirs, and the belief that if even the man who invented dynamite can reach out for a solution to war, maybe there really is an answer out there somewhere.
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Thanks for the comment, Bob. I read somewhere (but cannot verify) that only humans and ants go to war. What does that say about us? (Or maybe I should ask what does it say about ants....)At any rate you and I are on a common crusade I think. I will be cheering your Pacians on as they find a way to fight evil without becoming that which they abhor. Perhaps they can help show the rest of us a way!
The one firm result of my 'studies' is an absolute aversion to war stories (either books or movies) which are sanitized or glorified. Any genuinely realistic portrayal of war (the opening sequence of Saving Private Ryan comes to mind) will automatically have an anti-war message.
Perhaps creating characters like your Lola or my Pàçians will help deliver a message, even if they are only fictional.