Two paths clearly lie before us: increasing peace or increasing destruction.
In Europe, governments, especially in the UK and France, are pushing for rearmament, under pressure from a financial elite that wants to get out of the crisis by increasing military spending and war, dragging people into terror and poverty. However, around 60% of the European population is against war and sending troops and weapons to Ukraine, and prefers a negotiated solution instead. Only 20% support the continuation of the conflict, while the remaining 20% are undecided. Considering only the European Union, that’s 270 million people!
The dictatorship of the minority
The paradox is clear: the majority of European citizens want peace, but their will finds no channel through which to express itself: it is a cry without a voice. The institutions and the media align themselves with a narrative that favours the logic of war, ignoring any diplomatic alternative. This gap between citizens and politics raises a crucial question: Who should decide the fate of a conflict and the lives of people in a democracy?
The need for convergence
* The consciousness that the majority of the population is against war and rearmament opens up new perspectives. If we are in the majority, we should not waste our energies in endless discussions trying to convince a small minority. On the contrary, our forces should be directed towards action and convergence with other non-violent, humanist and truly democratic forces.
* Convergence is not a simple calculation of convenience or a question of numbers. It is the key to breaking the spell of fragmentation. It is about adopting a new mentality, far from the ‘I am right, you are wrong’ approach. It is the seed of a new culture. Converging means abandoning the old logic of personalism, opportunistic calculations, individualism and competition.
Convergence is not only necessary: it is revolutionary and humanising.
* A peace movement, convergent and horizontal, must emerge from the network of activists, associations and political parties. The powerful non-violent actions that will develop (demonstrations are not enough) will become points of reference for a population searching for concrete ways to express its own voice. These organisations have the responsibility to initiate and support this process of transformation.
Even the armies will have to choose: to be an instrument at the service of a minority of madmen or to defend the majority, that is to say the life and the rights of the whole population!
A personal choice
In times of crisis like the present, we need to awaken within us the need to act. Let’s start talking to others about the need to take initiatives! Starting with oneself, activities can be developed even in places where activism today seems absent. On the other hand, even the great movements were born from the action of one or a few individuals. In this way we break another great spell: the one that wants us isolated and defenceless, like ants without a voice.
And if we are part of an organisation, we will press for it to collaborate with the rest of civil society, contributing to this great project of peace.
Towards a peaceful future
Convergence is not simply a change of strategy, but a new way of feeling and seeing the world. It is an awakening of the consciousness. Only in this way can we create a wave capable of spreading through all strata of society. A psychosocial wave capable of opposing this threatening avalanche that seems unstoppable.
Let us unite our forces, let us make our voices heard, let us choose the path towards a future of peace and solidarity!