International Day of Peace

Today, September 21, has been declared International Day of Peace by the UN General Assembly.  It's a day devoted to strengthening the ideals of peace; both within and among all nations and peoples.   The boys of Gregoropolis invite you to join them in observing it.

This year's focus is on the acceptance, support, and non-discrimination of refugees and migrants.  As UN Secretary-General António Guterres observed:

In times of insecurity, communities that look different become convenient scapegoats.  We must resist cynical efforts to divide communities and portray neighbors as 'the other.'  Discrimination diminishes us all.  It prevents people-and societies-from achieving their full potential.  Together, let us stand up against bigotry and for human rights.  Together, let us build bridges.  Together, let us transform fear into hope.

In preparing for this post, we searched the internet for quotes on peace.  This is one of the more striking ones that we found:

We don't have to agree on anything to be kind to one another.   

--Unknown

I must admit that at first the sentiment struck us as a bit unambitious.  What about mutual respect and finding common ground?  However, the more we thought about it, the more we realized that every journey must begin with a first, tentative step.  If we can just all show each other the kindness and respect that we all deserve, then that's a tremendously big step.