By J. Michael Adams

(The following remarks were delivered in commemoration of the student observance of the International Day of Peace, held at the United Nations, September 18, 2009)

The video of this address is available for viewing online.

One of history’s most interesting ironies is the fact that the Nobel Peace Prize was created by a Swedish munitions manufacturer widely credited with the invention of dynamite. But Alfred Nobel was not optimistic about the prospects for peace. As he once stated, “I intend to leave after my death a large fund for the promotion of the peace idea, but I am skeptical as to its results. The savants will write excellent volumes. There will be laureates. But wars will continue just the same until the force of circumstances renders them impossible.”

Nobel’s prediction was unfortunately, painfully accurate. So we seek the answer to the question: “What circumstances might render wars impossible?”

Each year the United Nations has set aside a specific day to reflect on this desirable goal: the International Day of Peace. As U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon noted, peace is the United Nations’ highest calling. And, in a world loaded with multiple and diverse destructive capabilities, it surely is humanity’s greatest need. So, while the pursuit of peace must drive the agenda of the United Nations, it requires the concerted effort of all humanity — working together across countries and cultures — to preserve our individual and collective security and build a world without war.

But how can we develop the force of circumstances to render wars impossible? Perhaps we can look to the rapid development of the global economy. The theory goes that the increase in global trade and interdependent markets could dictate political compromise and conciliation as the preferred approach to disagreement. In other words, greater economic links would lead to fewer wars because the disruptions to business would be too costly. Tom Friedman called it the “Golden Arches Theory of Conflict Prevention,” suggesting that a country with a McDonald’s restaurant had never invaded another country with a McDonald’s.

The truth of the theory is contested, but the basic premise is not altogether wrong. Interconnected financial interests have given nations great pause before lining up the tanks, and have, at least, reduced conflicts between developed nation-states. But significant violence remains in our world.

Globalization has brought us closer together, and in ways unimagined even a decade ago. But, does it create circumstances that render wars impossible? Surely there is a developing sense of interdependence and responsibility for global challenges and causes. Many understand we are all in this together. Yet, we must still contend with millennia of conditioning in which people have been raised to think in terms of “us” against “them.”

The great educator Maria Montessori once said that politics can keep us out of war, but “establishing lasting peace is the work of education.” The role of education in a world marked by intolerance and lack of understanding becomes vital.In fact, it was the International Association of University Presidents in 1981 that recommended to the United Nations the creation of the International Day of Peace. Now, educators must come together across borders to develop global lessons and help prepare world citizens.

Violence can only be successful when we dehumanize others. This is much harder to do when we have learned about our neighbors from near and far, when we have made connections with them and developed an understanding of their views and their common humanity.

As the powers of destruction escalate, the need for such understanding grows even more critical. Albert Einstein was once asked what the scientific antidote to the atomic bomb was. He replied, “There is no scientific antidote; the only antidote is education.”

And so, the “force of circumstances” isn’t some external development that will someday happen to us. It’s simply the development of our collective will.

Our will to learn about others, to build bridges between countries and peoples, rather than barricades;

Our will to appreciate the perspectives of others, to stand together across continents as world citizens; and

Our will to refuse to accept violence in any form.

It is indeed up to us — up to you. Our enemies are ignorance and intolerance. In the face of these enemies, we must continue to believe in each other and the promise of peace.

We must believe that education is the path to peace, and that our steps together along the path will build an irresistible force and a new world.