Alongside the reform of the UN, humanity must free itself from its impulses and prejudices by understanding the reasons—whether conscious or unconscious—that lead us to believe we are incapable of coexisting with others. Often, discrimination is not an overt act but an unconscious bias embedded in our reasoning. The judgments we frequently make hide one of their premises, assuming it implicitly (forming what is known as an enthymeme, a syllogism built on an unstated premise). For this reason, we must explicitly affirm a fundamental and universal truth: all human beings are equal in dignity. By consciously recognizing and embracing this principle, we can ensure that our interactions are based on respect and equality, making peace a deliberate and ongoing practice rather than a distant aspiration.
Our mindset is shaped by the culture to which we belong, which often carries implicit ideologies that, in many cases, serve xenophobic purposes. When a person lives in another country or within another culture, they often perceive a subtle aggression against their identity and existence. This happens because the discourse propagated by individuals and media in that territory implicitly belittles those who do not belong to their group. This perception is frequently reinforced through incompatible customs: some perform rituals that seem meaningless to others, consume food or drinks that others consider forbidden, and so on. These differences lead us to believe that coexistence is impossible.
However, we must recognize that these cultural and ideological differences are not innate but have been produced and perpetuated by state power, which influences and conditions us. These cultural elements, of a ritual and ideological nature, do not arise from reason or common sense but are products of some form of imposition. We are led and compelled to accept and believe in them to be included in a particular collective, while separating ourselves from other human groups. Although this phenomenon was inherent and inevitable in the past, today we must, at the very least, be aware of it. We must suspend these divisive elements and, instead, cooperate for the common good, striving for the collective well-being of humanity without discrimination (discrimination that stems from the assumption of the superiority or universal convenience of (the imposition of) certain concepts, words, or expressions, whether political, ideological, or religious).
This task requires seriousness and commitment, but at the same time, we must understand that relinquishing our own human and personal criteria disorients us and creates a dependency on leadership. This is evident in the ideological constructs left in the hands of those who claim to know or be in contact with God, or the experts who claim to understand these figurative constructs. Each individual must recognize their natural human foundation and strive to govern themselves autonomously. If we fail to understand reality—precisely because we are forced to live within a constructed framework—the consequence is that someone else must lead us, as we lack the capacity to guide ourselves. Just as we have previously mentioned that despotism, the alienation of our freedom, and war are, in essence, two sides of the same coin, we now add that despotism is built on ignorance.
Peace does not have a politically imposed form; each individual must be free, and free at all times. This is possible today thanks to our interconnectedness. Historically, weapons, armed units, have been the ultimate determinant of what we say, believe, and defend. They have forced us to confess, compelled us to declare what they impose while serving to protect our group and interests, but now our group and interests are human. Similarly, we must understand that the words of others have also not been free but dictated by the necessity imposed by their own weapons (or in reaction to ours), used equally to preserve their position rather than being absorbed.
But now we renounce weapons, and this means that from now on, words and communication must assume true power as mediators. Only by understanding the influence that weapons have had on us can we free ourselves from their dominion. We must be able to govern ourselves through words and, with them, control, stop, dismantle, and ultimately eliminate the weapon—the intention to harm others.to harm others.