<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-US">Hello Dear Brothers and Sisters for the Revolution of Peace, I trust you are doing great today. I just started a conversation on my FB, 30 minutes ago and have been receiving a few numbers of responses, with increasing numbers of 'likes'. I am sure before the day dies off, I would have gathered interesting opinion from a wide range of diverse people, to be definitely shared here on our Peace Wall </span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-US">The question posed on my FB wall is thus;</span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-US"><span style="">&nbsp;</span>Imagine that if at one point all the Armies involve in wars all around the world could pause for just 2 minutes (120 seconds), to develop a feeling of inner joy glowing in their mind. Tell us how you think that 2 minutes feeling will impact our world?</span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-US">&nbsp;</span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-US">Chris commented~</span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-US">I often wonder if it's possible that someone in the army ever manages to pause and experience a feeling of inner peace and joy - and, if they did, whether they would continue fighting... Or is that a feeling they have never had or known?</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br><span style="" lang="EN-US"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-US">This pic is taken from a guest post on my blog @ <a title="A Rose in the Midst of Violence can Make a Military Person feels Sabai" target="Rose flower,Milary" href="http://zofem.blogspot.com/2011/07/rose-in-midst-of-violence.html">A Rose in the Midst of Violence</a><br></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-US"><br></span></p>

I don't think that people in the army are not able, or even haven't already, experienced a feeling of inner peace and joy. The issue here, for me, is what Hannah Arendt describes as "the banality of evil", being the evil "a function of thoughtlessness, a tendency of ordinary people to obey orders and conform to mass opinion without a critical evaluation of the consequences of their actions and inaction". They don't think in the consequences, they can’t do it, because if they do that, they couldn’t do their “job”.

It’s an interesting question! Please keep us posted of the answers you receive :)

I agree. The problem is that they just follow orders without thinking about it. However, It also happens to us, we follow orders from the society, family and friends. We have to be alert in order to avoid this thoughtlessness :)

Interesting question!

3 years back I listened to a fascinating lecture by one of my uni professors. It was for the course 'Culture, Trauma and Reconciliation', answering the question how communities overcome the cultural trauma that is inflicted upon them in war. This particular lecture was exactly about this issue.

Scientific research has shown that it is not innate for people to kill. Like all other animals, we have an innate fight-or-flight response. However, like other animals, we only fight until one is the clear winner and the other has surrendered. This made me feel relieved and optimistic - it is unnatural for humans to kill!

However, the second part of the lecture dealt with the structures in place in armies to overcome this natural response to stop fighting before killing. In general, our soldiers are conditioned in their trainings to act unnaturally and to kill, under peer pressure and by order of their superiors. I won't go into detail, but some armies really brainwash their soldiers.

Like Maria I think soldiers have experienced love, compassion, courage, connection, inner peace and joy. And they could definitely get back to these feelings. Just not in two minutes. I might be too pessimistic, but I don't think much would change for our world, if the superiors of the superiors of the superiors are still on the other end giving their orders. I would instead aim for the general public and our politicians, making them more aware of the importance of inner peace and outer peace for all, and making them averse to war and violence.

These are my two cents. PIPO!

In my opinions, soldiers are normal human beings and they too experience all feelings and emotions in their lives. Those 120 seconds of inner peace and joy cannot change much because they are bound by their duties. They have reasons for their acts, like all of us, at least to satisfy the conscience. They call it "The Call of Duty" (like the video game :D). The change can happen if they stop obeying orders which is not possible I think. So the possible solution is changing the orders which depends on our leaders and politicians...This is where change is needed the most...

Being a former soldier in the US Army, I find it disturbing that there are people who think that soldiers are incapable of feeling inner peace and joy. In my opinion, it is a gross misconception to think of soldiers simply as individuals who are only looking to fight and kill. A soldier's duty first and foremost is to defend individual freedoms with the hope of preserving peace. A soldier strives to preserve human life, not destroy it. When I was still serving, I can honestly tell you that as soldiers, we were honored to be thought of as men and women willing to serve our country with the intention of protecting people who are in danger and not able to live in peace. Depending on the soldier and the circumstances, this could be found in hazardous areas in Iraq or Afghanistan.

Yet, this is the job our soldiers in the US miltary are willing to accept and they perform it for their country. Honestly, I think our members in congress and in the political arenas are the individuals who really need to take the time to pause in their frame of thought. It is their decisions afterall on which wars are to be fought, without truly taking the time to realize the death and pain that may occur. Therefore, a soldier is then sent off to get their hands dirty, while the politicians sit back and monitor it all. So if any entity needs to truly pause and think about their decisions in war, it is the members of our government. The thoughtlessness is found in that political entity, not within the soldier. This is evident to me, since what I saw and experienced with my eyes and my heart were men and women who wanted nothing more than for the wars to end so they could get back to their families, kiss their wives, hold their children, or see their parents again. I know this because I wanted it and so did the men and women I served with...that was OUR moment of inner joy and peace, our hope for true happiness.

There are many who think soldiers are just thrown out onto the battle lines to just shoot a rifle, but we strived to bring about peace without having to use our weapons. While I was deployed, our Army unit did its best to rebuild schools, donate school supplies to children, assist the local government with community projects, or train the local police and army in better security measures. If our soldiers were fired upon by the enemy(insurgents), that is when we drew our weapons. It is for this reason that I applaud the comments by Imke and La Reina. Both of you ladies have a better grasp on the issues a soldier faces in the midst of war and the duties they must maintain.

I was fortunate enough to come back from war, but many of my comrades will never experience a feeling of inner peace and joy again, due to the sacrifice they made with their lives. I think about those men and women everyday. Many of us should cherish the fact that we can live with joy and happiness in our lives...because if there is one thing I learned from war, it is that there are people who may never experience that same peace due to the terror, pain and fear war brings.

Matt!!! Could not agree more.

"...Therefore, a soldier is then sent off to get their hands dirty, while the politicians sit back and monitor it all. So if any entity needs to truly pause and think about their decisions in war, it is the members of our government. The thoughtlessness is found in that political entity, not within the soldier..."