"Perpetual Peace, a philosopical sketch"

Immanuel Kant: On Peace
1. A state of Peace among men who live side by side with each other, is not the natural state. The state of Nature is rather a state of War; for although it may not always present the outbreak of hostilities, it is nevertheless continually threatened with them. The state of Peace must, therefore, be established; for the mere cessation of hostilities furnishes no security against their recurrence.

2. The notion of a Right to go to war, cannot be properly conceived as an element in the Right of Nations. [...] If such a Right be conceivable at all it would amount, in fact, to this: that in the case of men who are so disposed it is quite right for them to destroy and devour each other, and thus to find Perpetual Peace only in the wide grave.

3. A State is not to be regarded as a property or patrimony, like the soil on which it may be settled. It is a society of men, over which no one but itself has the right to rule or to dispone. Like the stem of a tree it has its own root, and to incorporate it as a graft in another State, is to destroy its existence as a moral Person.

4. For of the three powers known in the State as the Power of the Army, the Power of external Alliance and the Power of Money, the money-power might well become the most reliable instrument of war, did not the difficulty of determining its real force stand in the way of its employment.

5. A war of extermination, in which the process of annihilation would strike at both parties, and likewise at all Right at the same time, would reach Perpetual Peace only on the final Golgotha of the human race. Such a war, therefore, as well as the use of such means as might lead to it, must be absolutely unallowable.

6. This Right of Hospitality as vested in strangers arriving in another State, does not extend further than the conditions of the possibility of entering into social intercourse with the inhabitants of the country. In this way distant continents may enter into peaceful relations with each other. These may at last become publicly regulated by law, and thus the human race may be always brought nearer to a Cosmo-political Constitution.

7. The social relations between the various Peoples of the world, in narrower or wider circles, have now advanced everywhere so far that a violation of Right in one place of the earth, is felt all over it.

8. That 'kings will philosophise or philosophers become kings,' is not to be expected. Nor indeed is it to be desired, because the possession of power inevitably corrupts the free judgment of reason. But kings or king-like nations, who govern themselves according to laws of equality, should not allow the philosophers as a class to disappear, or to be silenced; rather should they be allowed to speak forth their maxims publicly. Nay, this is even indispensable to both for the mutual enlightenment of their functions.

9. Reason would drive [states] to give up their savage lawless freedom, to accommodate themselves to public coercive laws, and thus to form an ever-growing State of Nations, such as would at last embrace all the Nations of the Earth. But as the Nations, according to their ideas of international Right, will not have such a positive rational system, and consequently reject in fact (in thesi) what is right in theory (in hypothesi), it cannot be realised in this pure form. Hence, instead of the positive idea of a Universal Republic-if all is not to be lost-we shall have as result only the negative surrogate of a Federation of the States averting war, subsisting in an external union, and always extending itself over the world.

10. [Standing armies] constantly threaten other nations with war by giving the appearance that they are prepared for it, which goads nations into competing with one another in the number of men under arms, and this practice knows no bounds. And since the costs related to maintaining peace will in this way finally become greater than those of a short war, standing armies are the cause of wars of aggression that are intended to end burdensome expenditures. Moreover, paying men to kill or be killed appears to use them as mere machines and tools in the hands of another (the nation), which is inconsistent with the rights of humanity.

The Spirit of a Peaceful World

"I am. We are. That is enough. Now we have to start."

What does this first introductory sentence of a significant philosophical work in the early 20th century? "The Spirit of Utopia" by Ernst Bloch is definitely an attempt to find an answer to nihilism, as Bloch was influenced greatly by Hegel and Schopenhauer. The first part of the book is about self-encounter. Does this not represent the first two words of the introductory sentence, "I am"? An utopia first requires, self-discovery and one has to understand his or her being. Then, this moves onto others. One is now included in a community called, "we". It moves on from an individual to community. And as individuals identify themselves as a community, this is enough to start. What does it mean to start? This is an initiative to build an utopia. What is the meaning of an utopia? Wouldn't that be a peaceful world? Through the book, Bloch is laying a foundation of what are necessary steps that need to taken towards a peaceful world. Every individual identify themselves affiliated with a specific group. I am a Christian or I am a Buddhist. I am a doctor or I am a lawyer. I am a democrat or I am a republican. Shouldn't this concept transcend to a new level, where we will be able to identify ourselves as one? We are...? How would you finish and complete the sentence?

I would like to say, "We are peace advocates. We are a global family". This statement is just enough for us to start building a new world. Although the intention of Bloch for this opening statement may be different, I would like to think that it is a statement of peace. As we compared the writings of different philosophers and figures, we can see that our approach towards peace is similar. There are many things in the world that we disagree on, but on how to achieve a peaceful world and what consists of a peaceful world, everyone had a similar idea. Then, if everyone had a similar idea, why was it not possible? Some may say, one has not found peace yet, or did not encounter oneself. However, it could be, because we were not able to identify, "we are". When did all the people came together as a global family wished for the common thing? This happened in the WARP Summit, when all different leaders from different nations came together under the idea of peace in South Korea. HWPL may have the answer to what is "we are". Wouldn't that be why that we are actually starting to build the world of peace? It is now time to think what is truly the spirit or the mentality of one who belongs to an utopia, or a world of peace.

We got to have peace

Curtis Mayfield was more than a song writer and an artist. His eyes were open to the current issues of the world and he used his musical talents to send his own message to the world. The song, "We got to have peace" is one example about Mayfield's philosophy of music. In the song he addresses the world that peace is inevitable, if we are to live in this world. 

The song includes various themes that are similar to what HWPL is doing. We are raising up our voice, so that our children and future generation are able to experience this beautiful planet that were given to us. And peace is necessary, in order to keep this earth alive. And Mayfield suggests that "what if one of the soldiers, who bravely fought for his country, is able to come back from the dead? What would he say?" We, who never participated in a war and experienced the horror of the battlefield, where we would see people die, except in action films that we take pleasure from, are not able to understand as much as the soldiers, who experienced this. What did they truly fight for? Was it a fight that would bring them any gain? It was for their country that they were able to make that priceless sacrifice. But, truly what does it bring? A war will lead to another war. 

The only thing we have to do is to raise up our voices as one global family. We have to use our voice to tell the world that if we do not resolve this conflict, there is no turning back. We need to first find the reason we want peace personally and start acting to create peace in our small community, which will then branch off to bigger community. As many philosophers said in their writing, peace begins with one person's vision and person by person will join this vision. This is how HWPL came to be. Like many of the movements in the human history, it started with Chairman Man Hee Lee's vision and hope after experiencing an actual war and battlefield. And after hearing his messages, people renewed their hope and wish for peace. At this time, we are raising our voices in different places and method on peace.

If Curtis Mayfield was able to see what is happening at this decade, I wonder what his response will be?

We Got to have Peace by Curtis Mayfield

We got have peace

To keep the world alive

And war to cease.

We got to have joy,

True in our hearts

With strength we can't destroy.

People please hear us (people please hear us)

Through our voice the world knows

There's no choice.

We're begging save the children

The little ones

Who just don't understand

Give them a chance

To breed their young

And help purify the land

People please hear us (people please hear us)

Through our voice the world knows

There's no choice.

And the people in the neighbourhood,

Who would if they only could,

Meet and shake the other's hand,

Work together for the good of the land.

Give us all an equal chance,

It could be such a sweet romance.

And the soldiers who are dead and gone,

If only we could bring back one,

He'd say "We've got to have peace"

To keep the world alive

And war to cease

We got to have joy

Ture in our hearts

With strength we can't destroy

People please hear us (people please hear us)

Through our voice the world knows

There's no choice

And the people in the neighbourhood

Who would if they only could

Meet and shake the other's hand

Work together for the good of the land

Peace, peace, peace

Aah - hah, we got to have peace

People please hear us (people please hear us)

Through our voice the world knows

There's no choice

Save the children

Reflection: Jiddu Krishnamurti

Are we responsible for the war, even though we are not directly involved with it? Is one still considered good, when he or she only becomes a bystander to an unmoral event?

"You and I can see what creates wars, and if we are interested in stopping wars, then we can begin to transform ourselves, who are the causes of war."

We cannot stop war with another war. It will require more physical arms and weapons. And this would result another war. More blood and sacrifice will be required from it. However, what we can do is to prevent war. Jiddu Krishnamurti's thoughts on peace takes somewhat different approach. Although it reaches the same conclusion, he first suggests there must be an individual transformation. He says that "To bring about peace in the world, to stop all wars, there must be a revolution in the individual". We, ourselves, must be transformed into a new person. And then, we must investigate what causes war. Just like Mr. Lee, Jiddu Krishnamurti points out that the peace conferences so far, were useless and pointless. But the WARP Summit is different. There are people changing in the world. There are people still dedicated to work for peace, until peace is finally resolved. And Mr. Man Hee Lee has his vision on what causes the war and what ingredients are needed to create a product called peace.

The WARP Summit and the following peace conferences hosted by HWPL and its co-operating members show that people are finally ready to accept peace. They long for peace and we are able to clearly see that in people's reaction of the Summit.

About peace by Jiddu Krishnamurti (2)

Q-How can we solve our present political chaos and the crisis in the world? Is there anything an individual can do to stop the impending war?

Krishnamurti: War is the spectacular and bloody projection of our everyday life, is it not?

War is merely an outward expression of our inward state, an enlargement of our daily action. It is more spectacular, more bloody, more destructive, but it is the collective result of our individual activities. Therefore, you and I are responsible for war and what can we do to stop it? Obviously the ever-impending war cannot be stopped by you and me, because it is already in movement; it is already taking place, though at present chiefly on the psychological level. As it is already in movement, it cannot be stopped- the issues are too many, too great, and are already committed. But you and I, seeing that the house is on fire, can understand the causes of that fire, can go away from it and build in a new place with different materials that are not combustible, that will not produce other wars. That is all that we can do. You and I can see what creates wars, and if we are interested in stopping wars, then we can begin to transform ourselves, who are the causes of war.

An American lady came to see me a couple of years ago, during the war. She said she had lost her son in Italy and that she had another son aged sixteen whom she wanted to save; so we talked the thing over. I suggested to her that to save her son she had to cease to be an American; she had to cease to be greedy, cease piling up wealth, seeking power, domination, and be morally simple ? not merely simple in clothes, in outward things, but simple in her thoughts and feelings, in her relationships. She said,” That is too much. You are asking far too much. I cannot do it, because circumstances are too powerful for me to alter.” Therefore she was responsible for the destruction of her son.

Circumstances can be controlled by us, because we have created the circumstances. Society is the product of relationship, society changes; merely to rely on legislation, on compulsion, for the transformation of outward society, while remaining inwardly corrupt, while continuing inwardly to seek power, position, domination, is to destroy the outward, however carefully and scientifically built. That which is inward is always overcoming the outward.

What causes war ? religious, political or economic? Obviously belief, either in nationalism, in an ideology, or in a particular dogma. If we had no belief but goodwill, love and consideration between us, then there would be no wars. But we are fed on beliefs, ideas and dogmas and therefore we breed discontent. The present crisis is of an exceptional nature and we as human beings must either pursue the path of constant conflict and continuous wars, which are the result of our everyday action, or else see the causes of war and turn our back upon them.

Obviously what causes war is the desire for power, position, prestige, money; also the disease called nationalism, the worship of a flag; and the disease of organized religion, the worship of a dogma. All these are the causes of war; if you as an individual belong to any of the organized religions, if you are greedy for power, if you are envious, you are bound to produce a society which will result in destruction. So again it depends upon you and not on the leaders ? not on so-called statesmen and all the rest of them. It depends upon you and me but we do not seem to realize that. If once we really felt the responsibility of our own actions, how quickly we could bring to an end all these wars, this appalling misery! But you see, we are indifferent. We have three meals a day, we have our jobs, we have our bank account, big or little, and we say, “For God’s sake, don’t disturb us, leave us alone”. The higher up we are, the more we want security, permanency, tranquility, the more we want to be left alone, to maintain things fixed as they are; but they cannot be maintained as they are, because there is nothing to maintain. Everything is disintegrating. We do not want to face these things, we do not want to face the fact that you and I are responsible for wars. You and I may talk about peace, have conferences, sit round a table and discuss, but inwardly, psychologically, we want power, position, we are bound by beliefs, by dogmas, for which we are willing to die and destroy each other. Do you think such men, you and I, can have peace in the world? To have peace, we must be peaceful; to live peacefully means not to create antagonism. Peace is not an ideal. To me, an ideal is merely an escape, an avoidance of what is, a contradiction of what is. An ideal prevents direct action upon what is - which we will go into presently, in another talk. [not on this website] But to have peace, we will have to love, we will have to begin, not to live an ideal life, but to see things as they are and act upon them, transform them. As long as each one of us is seeking psychological security, the physiological security we need ? food, clothing and shelter ? is destroyed. We are seeking psychological security, which does not exist; and we seek it, if we can, through power, through position, through titles, names ? all of which is destroying physical security. This is an obvious fact, if you look at it.

To bring about peace in the world, to stop all wars, there must be a revolution in the individual, in you and me. Economic revolution without this inward revolution is meaningless, for hunger is the result of the maladjustment of economic conditions produced by our psychological states ? greed, envy, ill-will and possessiveness. To put an end to sorrow, to hunger, to war, there must be a psychological revolution and few of us are willing to face that. We will discuss peace, plan legislation, create new leagues, the United Nations and so on and on; but we will not win peace because we will not give up our position, our authority, our money, our properties, our stupid lives. To rely on others is utterly futile; others cannot bring us peace. No leader is going to give us peace, no government, no army, no country. What will bring peace is inward transformation which will lead to outward action. Inward transformation is not isolation, is not a withdrawal from outward action. On the contrary, there can be right action only when there is right thinking and there is no right thinking when there is no self-knowledge. Without knowing yourself, there is no peace.

To put an end to outward war, you must begin to put an end to war in yourself. Some of you will nod your heads and say, “ I agree”, and go outside and do exactly the same as you have been doing for the last ten or twenty years. Your agreement is merely verbal and has no significance, for the world miseries and wars are not going to be stopped by your casual assent. They will be stopped only when you realize the danger, when you realize your responsibility, when you do not leave it to somebody else. If you realize the suffering, if you see the urgency of immediate action and do not postpone, then you will transform yourself; peace will come only when you yourself are peaceful, when you yourself are at peace with your neighbour.

About peace by Jiddu Krishnamurti

Only when you are directly in touch with the problem, when you see that without peace today you cannot have peace tomorrow, when you have no reason for peace but actually see the truth that without peace life is not possible, creation is not possible, that without peace there can be no sense of happiness - only when you see the truth of that, will you have peace. Then you will have peace without any organizations for peace. Sir, for that you must be so vulnerable, you must demand peace with all your heart, you must find the truth of it for yourself, not through organizations, through propaganda, through clever arguments for peace and against war. Peace is not the denial of war. Peace is a state of being in which all conflicts and all problems have ceased; it is not a theory, not an ideal to be achieved after ten incarnations, ten years or ten days. As long as the mind has not understood its own activity, it will create more misery; and the understanding of the mind is the beginning of peace.

Film: We were Soldiers

The title of the film, "We were soldiers" seems to be a reflective statement. The title is written past tense. The film is set during the war in Vietnam and the Americans attempts a new method of utilizing helicopters to bring the soldiers in and out from the battlefield. The leader of this new cavalry is Lt. Colonel Hal Moore (Mel Gibson). One of the lines that I found remarkable in this film was the statement made by the colonel of the Vietnamese Army, which suffered a great loss.

"Such a tragedy. They will think this was their victory. So this will become an American war. And the end will be the same, except for the numbers who will die before we get there."

The colonel, who had just been in the battlefield, calls it a tragedy. And although this will eventually be noted as an American war, he says the end will be the same. Why? Because death and suffering will result from wars no matter what the results are. It is true. It does not matter who won or lost, the numbers of casualty will be high. It does not matter, in whose history book one war becomes recorded in, it matters on who suffered lost. War does not only bring suffering and death to the soldiers, but it extends its limit, as we enter the modern era, to the families and people. This is why war is a tragedy. Although he was only a character in film, the Lt. Colonel leaves a great legacy behind through the last lines he gave.

The lines of the Lt. Colonel reflects the message the chairman speaks in regards to peace. The chairman is a veteran of the Korean War and lived in the period of history, when the most physical and deadly wars happened. And he speaks, no one really benefits from war. War does not bring any benefit to the people. And just like Carl von Clausewitz writes in one of his famous aphorism, "war is a continuation of politics by other means." It is only a tool to political gains and economical gains. And the same time, its heavy support cost lowers the fund for something else that could be beneficial. If we could only focus on living and working together as one under one Creator, then there is no need for war. This is why HWPL's method is so simple, yet impacting. It extends its focus groups to politicians, religious leaders, youth leaders, women leaders, and press in order to have representation from different groups that contribute to building peace. We hope that more groups will work with HWPL and the chairman, so that peace can be fulfilled quicker.

The film ends with monologue of reflection. If this film focused on the strong pride of the soldiers and the importance of winning, it would label its title as "We are Soldiers". Instead it writes it title as past tense. I do not wish to underestimate the courage and the bravery that the soldiers, who fought in the war for their nations, but perhaps we must start thinking what did we gain from the war, other than win or lose? Perhaps, the title of the film is labeled in such way after some kind of transformation of the soldiers in the last monologue.

Film: Disney's Tarzan

A Reflection on Disney's Tarzan
Now, you may be wondering what does Tarzan have to do with peace. I was able to watch Disney's Tarzan (1999) accidentally and as I was watching the film, one of the lines stood out to me. The scene was right after Tarzan almost had his gorilla family killed, when he accidentally appeared in front of few elephants, who thought he was a piranha. Tarzan, to some gorillas, was an outcast, because he was not one of them. And in order to prove himself, he took on the challenge that almost killed the others. The line belongs to Tarzan's mother.

C "Tarzan, what are you doing?"
T "Why am I so different?"
C "Because you are covered with mud, that's why."
T "No, Kerchak said I didn't belong in the..."
C "Close your mouth."
T "Kerchak said I didn't belong in the family."
C "Never mind what Kerchak said. Now, hold still."
T "Look at me."
C "I am, Tarzan. And do you know what I see? I see two eyes. Like mine. And a nose. Somewhere, ah! Here! Two ears. And let's see, what else?"
T "Two hands?"
C "That's right. Close your eyes. And now forget what you see. What do you feel?"
T "My heart."
C "Come here. Your heart. See, they are exactly the same."

The animation film, Tarzan is about a boy who grew up with gorillas and has difficulty fitting in, because of his appearance. Now how does this fit in with peace? We fight and argue because of how different we are. We have conflicts from the different flag colors we have or different religion we have. However, in the end, we are all the same. We are same humans, who live in the same planet provided by one Creator. Instead of noticing how different we are, just as Tarzan and his mother did, we need to start looking for the common things that we share. In the end, we are more similar to each other than different. We are able to see that through our love and hope for peace. The WARP Summit testifies that love and hope.

Another importance of this scene is the role of Tarzan's mother. She was able to guide Tarzan to think positively and to show him a different way to fit him. Through this scene, she changed him. And after the conversation, Tarzan begins to change himself. This is the role of mothers. And that is why HWPL has a sub-organization called IWPG, for all women in the world to gather under one banner to represent their role as mothers. Their duty is to protect and educate their children into a correct decision. Although I am not diminishing the paternal role, mothers have their own unique role and influence in their children. Tarzan's mother was able to convince Tarzan to see things in a different way. And we believe that along with the power of the youth, power of all mothers in the world will change the world into a world of peace.

What a Wonderful World

"What a Wonderful World" is a beloved song that has been remade by countless numbers of artists in the world. It seems to gain its fame, because of the lyrics and how it inspired many people's hope and wish for peace. Louis Armstrong may have sung this song too, as he was in awe of the world that he lived in. Ironically, he lived in an era when many wars happened. It has been almost a half century since this song was first recorded, but we need to ask ourselves, do we live in a wonderful world? Did we see any improvement?

The song contains a simple description of the world. It is somewhat obvious that trees are green and roses red. The lyric of the song is rather simple and ordinary. What is the meaning behind the lyric? Maybe, the era that the song writer and Louis Armstrong lived in did not have green tress or red roses, because of countless numbers of war. Something so ordinary as green trees, red roses, and blue skies did not exist in their era, because of war. The song becomes a hope and an imagination for the writer, singer, and the listeners. Everyone who sings this song becomes a believer of such utopia that is not extraordinary, but ordinary. Only they were not even allowed to experience the ordinary things.

We need to ask ourselves, are we taking care of the world that we call home? Although we are able to see these things more in our era, there are many parts of the world, where these are still not allowed. And if the origin of war is not resolved, everyone in the world would not be able to experience this wonderful world that Armstrong sings and describes as simple and ordinary.

What a Wonderful World - Louis Armstrong

I see trees of green, red roses too

I see them bloom for me and you

And I think to myself what a wonderful world.

I see skies of blue and clouds of white

The bright blessed the day, the dark sacred night

And I think to myself what a wonderful world.

The colors of the rainbow so pretty in the sky

Are also on the faces of people going by

I see friends shaking hands saying how do you do

But they're really saying is I love you.

I hear baby's crying and I watched them grow

They'll learn much more than I'll ever know

And I think to myself what a wonderful world.

Yes, I think to myself what a wonderful world.

Reflection: "The Power of Peace"

Peace is a concept that visits us in a similar form regardless of religion and ethnicity. In terms of reaching peace, Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche writes that resolution of our inner-peace is important. First, we must have peace within ourselves. This is what most religion teaches through its doctrines. It gives set of guidelines to follow and live a moral life. Ironically, it is from these religions that devotes to fulfilling peace that also cause war. This is why we must learn tolerance, so that we may learn to understand and love someone, who is different than us. The Rinpoche suggests few things that will let one reach inner peace. One is patience. We have to first learn to wait. And in terms of building peace, we should not be forceful towards someone to join our work, but also learn to wait. We have to make multiple visits patiently until a person's heart is completely open. As we took our steps forward, now it is our turn to wait for others to take their steps forward in this global reconciliation. As the chairman and the members of HWPL are travelling around the world and preaching the message of peace, we, as the followers of HWPL and peace must wait and also continue to devote our time to reach our own inner peace. On one side, the chairman and HWPL works on achieving global peace, and on the other side, Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche writes about the achieving our personal peace.

As I was reading the writing of Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche, I imagined, what would happen if the Rinpoche met with Chairman Man Hee Lee. Both of these men seemed to share a fascinating view on world peace, in their own taste. But, in the end, it is the same peace. It is like a destination with multiple routes and direction. No matter where we start in terms of our religious and ethnical background, if we have peace as our final destination, we will end up there. In the writing, the power of peace seemed to question the power of one person, who achieved inner-peace and how much effect that this one person is capable of bringing to his or her world.

The Power of Peace, Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche

It is my wish that the spiritual power of peace will touch very person on this earth, radiating from a deep peace within our own minds, across political and religious barriers, across the barriers of ego and self-righteousness. Our first task as peacemakers is to clear away our internal conflicts caused by ignorance, anger, grasping, jealousy, and pride. With the guidance of a spiritual teacher, this purification of our own minds can teach us the very essence of peacemaking. We should seek an inner peace so pure, so stable, that we cannot be moved to anger by those who live and profit by war, or to self-grasping and fear by those who confront us with contempt and hatred.

Extraordinary patience is necessary to work toward world peace, and the source of that patience is inner peace. Such peace enables us to see clearly that war and suffering are outer reflections of the mind's poisons. The essential difference between peacemakers and those who wage war is that peacemakers have discipline and control over egotistical anger, grasping, jealousy, and pride, whereas warmakers, out of ignorance, cause these poisons to manifest in the world. If you truly understand this, you will never allow yourself to be defeated from within or without.

In Tibetan Buddhism, the peacock is a symbol for the bodhisattva, the awakened warrior who works for the enlightenment of all beings. A peacock is said to eat poisonous plants, but to transform the poison into the gorgeous colors of its feathers. It does not poison itself. In the same way, we who advocate world peace must not poison ourselves with anger. Regard with equanimity the powerful, worldly men who control the war machines. Do your best to convince them of the necessity of peace, but be constantly aware of your state of mind. If you become angry, pull back. If you are able to act without anger, perhaps you will penetrate the terrible delusion that perpetrates war and its hellish suffering.

From the clear space of your own inner peace, your compassion must expand to include all who are involved in war, both the soldiers—whose intention is to benefit but who instead cause suffering and death and thus are caught by the terrible karma of killing—and the civilians who are wounded, killed, or forced into exile as refugees. True compassion is aroused by suffering of every sort, by the suffering of every being; it is not tied to right or wrong, attachment or aversion. The work of peace is a spiritual path in itself, a means to develop the perfect qualities of mind and to test them against urgent necessity, extreme suffering, and death. Do not be afraid to give it your time, energy, and support.

Somewhere over the rainbow...

The song, "Somewhere over the rainbow" by Israel Kamakawiwo'ole is a medley of two classic songs, "Over the Rainbow" from the film, Wizard of Oz and "What a wonderful world" by Louis Armstrong. Although the original purpose of the song, "Somewhere over the rainbow" was written to express the main protagonist, Dorothy's hope to find a new place after finding some disagreement with her uncle and aunt. But, I find it ironic that the film was created in end of 1930s, in the middle of World War II. I think that this song could have been the hope for many soldiers, who were fighting out of their homeland to wish for a new place. In the same way, this song sends a strong message to the people, who live in this era. Especially, added with Israel Kamakawiwo'ole's soft and soothing voice, the song brings out a different sensation in each individual.

What kind of a place did the original writer of this song imagine? Or, what did Kamakawiwo'ole imagined as he was singing this song? What kind of a place do we imagine as we read the lyrics of this song? Our emotion would be slightly different than what Dorothy felt as she was singing this song in the film. But, mutually, we all were hoping for a dream to come true. What kind of world do you dream of? At this time, I think the world that we truly need is a peaceful world. A world where there is no war and a world where we are able to share with others. This world of peace has been in our dream for centuries, but it was never fulfilled in front of our eyes.

As the divine being once showed the rainbow to a man as a sign of covenant or promise, we hope that the world can once see its true beauty through its nature and inhabitant after a flood of war. And truly, Mr. Man Hee Lee and the work of HWPL has made the world of peace come closer into our reality. We hope that as more people join and participate in the work of peace with HWPL, our dream would come true.

Somewhere over the rainbow by Israel Kamakawiwo'ole

Somewhere over the rainbow

Way up high

And the dreams that you dreamed of

Once in a lullaby

Somewhere over the rainbow

Blue birds fly

And the dreams that you dreamed of

Dreams really do come true ooh oh

Someday I'll wish upon a star

Wake up where the clouds are far behind me

Where trouble melts like lemon drops

High above the chimney tops

That's where you'll find me

Oh, somewhere over the rainbow bluebirds fly

And the dream that you dare to,

Oh why, oh why can't I?