Who doesn't favor World Peace? Beauty queens, pacifists, politicians, preachers and even proctologists clamor for earthly bliss. Everyone claims they desire tranquility, a world free of strife. We daydream of the human race holding hands around a blazing campfire signing Kumbaya.
Not going to happen. Forget North Korea, China, Russia or the mullahs in Iran making nice with any nation. Peace starts at home. How many families do you know where everyone gets along? I thought so. Why do we think World Peace is attainable when blood feuds exist in families?
Think about it. It's Thanksgiving and two bald uncles, your peevish parents and a few aunts are perched at the dinner table waiting to carve the turkey. Instead they began slicing up each other over hurt feelings from three decades ago. Families hold onto to grudges like a drumstick.
These people are related for goodness sake. They are supposed to share some common DNA. Perhaps, a few character traits or Elephantine ears like Uncle Neanderthal. Bloodlines don't matter when families huddle in the same room for more than a few minutes. Turbulence ensues.
Remember when your cousin Billy Bob called you fat and ugly? That was 33 years ago. And now you are svelte and tanned and sport a new face lift. Shouldn't that relieve the sting? No way. You suffered through high school and college. Now it's payback time.
Tragically, family conflicts have been with us since the dawn of humanity. Grab your bible and flip to Genesis, Chapter 4, verses 1-16. Cain, the first born son of Adam and Eve, becomes enraged with his brother Abel and murders him. Jealousy was Cain's downfall and much of humanity's.
Know any families where siblings are jealous of each other? Just pray they are not packing heat at the next family Christmas social. I know your brother appears docile. But after a few toddies, he flings a tumbler of gin at you and gripes about how Mom always liked you better. Better duck!
Dysfunctional families are the norm today. Grown ups can't move pass the emotional stress of Dad's tongue lashing about their choices in teenage boyfriends. Must have felt like the end of the world 20 years ago. News flash: Parents makes mistakes, too. Your pity parties are boring.
Today families are even more complicated with divorce and same gender marriages. Imagine being told your mother is your dad and your aunt is your biological mother. Urge your children and grand kids to pursue careers in psychiatry. There is a fortune to be made. Lifetime financial security.
Add to this blended mix the toxic nature of politics and family. Any talk of political issues or figures ignites a fiery kitchen debate with your sister-in-law Susie Mae. Before too long, you are shaking fingers at each other and digging deep into your vocabulary for pithy insults.
Those kind of heated arguments lead to estrangement. You decide to no longer speak to ancient Uncle Frankenbeans. When he calls, hang up. Dispatch a note telling him that you no longer plan to attend his funeral. Find someone else to read from Paul's gospel about peace at the church service.
Yet people still wonder: "Why can't we just get along?" Really? Isn't it obvious? Humans are an emotional tribe. The truth is that we are 98 percent emotions and about two percent rational thinking. Emotion never healed a personal wound. Bitterness creates feelings of lasting resentment.
My advice is to stop pining for World Peace. You will be happier just knowing it is an impossible fantasy. It won't happen until every family on the globe is reconciled, contented and grateful for each member of the circle. The chances of that occurring are one in 7.6 billion (the world's population).
If you really want World Peace, sow seeds of harmony in your family. Forgive those who have hurt you. Apologize to those you have harmed. Love those who are unlovable. Assign the past to the past. That will make the world a better place. And you will be better off too.
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