Peace?

[dc]

There is, apparently, a meme doing the rounds where people are wishing for peace. fjm says that she cannot join in because, An unjust peace is no peace at all, and that’s all the Middle East has seen for sixty years.

I think she is right, both morally and practically (an unjust peace would merely sow the seeds of futre conflict). She suggests that we wish instead for justice. I am not sure about that, although I applaud the sentiment.

I am wary of wishing justice upon anyone, or any group. One of my gods — not that I have a lot of contact with him — is Týr, who is closely associated with justice. (He is also a warrior god, but one who is often seen as being motivated by a desire for justice.) Those who have had some contact with him often say that one should be wary of approaching him and asking for justice, because justice is precisely what you will get. It seems to me that true justice in the Middle East would be a terrible thing.

Possibly it is the best that one might wish for; certainly, I look at the Middle East and it seems to be a place where a just peace will never come, and the carnage will go on indefinitely. Despair... I can’t think of any other reaction that fits. I am no longer even angry at some of the deeds, or words, or specious justifications of brutal actions... It is a morass of hatred and oppression.

I can understand the desire to see an end to the conflicts there. But to just wish for peace...

I cannot help but recall the words attributed by Tacitus to Galgacus: “They make it a desert and call it peace.” I can see that being the outcome in that area. Perhaps wishing for justice would be a better option, at that.

Comments

[son-of-art.livejournal.com]

Your opinion about justice is quite right.

I don't want a sham peace there, either- a sham peace being Israel being allowed to occupy whatever lands it wants, and being allowed to bully whomever it wants, because they happen to be the ally of the US. That's whats been going on for decades. That's not peace.

So I agree with your friend- I wouldn't sign that petition either.

Tyr, the declarer of Wyrd and Judge of the Godly Ting, was only a warrior god insofar as War was seen as not only a physical struggle between opposing sides or armies, but a moral and spiritual struggle as well; Battle was Judgment. the side with the most Might, Maegen, and basic worth and luck-force would be judged victorious because it was a clash of Wyrd, too. Tyr looked into the Well of Urd and declared what he saw- he didn't decide what was there, he just looked at what was there, and declared it, declared Reality As It Was, which was truly and ultimately fair. He declared which side was to win in war based on spiritual merit, nobility, and worthiness.

Of course, we can all consider several times in history when those less worthy seem to have won based on superior numbers, technology, etc. How to explain that? I think there are two explanations:

1. What, precisely, does it mean to "win" in the true sense of the word? People say "this side won the war", and "that side won that battle", but I'm forced to wonder at times. They said we "won" the latest Iraq war in the space of two months, and here we are still fighting years later. Just because we don't call them "battles" anymore doesn't mean that we aren't fighting a war.


2. Take Rome as an example- they stomped the world. Later, they were stomped. What had Rome done that was so great that they had woven the Wyrd or Destiny that allowed them to conquer the world? Something, apparently. But then, corruption set in, and they were destroyed. What had they done before that gave them such powerful Wyrd? I have no idea, but clearly- since Tyr judges fairly- they had done something to be worthy of their greatness. Notice how it didn't last, and their own corruption brought them down.

Tyr is the impartial judge who "says Fate" however it is. He declared greatness for Rome, but later, declared greatness for our Germanic ancestors, allowing them to take over the known world and Rome. But Tyr doesn't weave Fate- he only declares what is woven. The Ancestors of both Rome and our own Tribal Ancestors had done something to create the Group Might, the group Hamingja, to allow for them to do what they did.

The US has a lot of Hamingja as a nation, which Israel is riding on the coat-tails of. But not for much longer.

[tanngrisnir.livejournal.com]

Yes, the declaration of victory in Iraq was somewhat premature, wasn't it?

I'm not sure, when it comes to the workings of Wyrd, that what a given person or country deserves necessarily comes to pass; it seems to me much more complex than that. The "greatness" of one group may not be a reflection of the deserving characteristics they have; it might be a reflection of the deficiencies of other groups, or a necessary outcome of the interaction of different peoples and events, irrespective of relative merit.

I was once granted a glimpse of a (tiny) section of Wyrd; it was incredibly beautiful, incredible complex, well beyond my capacity to understand.