FROM THE editors December 15, 2003 Issue

Programmed for peace

Editor

Conversation at a pre-wedding dinner turned to world affairs and the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in particular. How can the cycle of violence and revenge be broken? The father of the bride became suddenly serious. "It will never be broken," he said. End of conversation. But end of hope, too?

Not at all, but the Middle East is a region inhospitable to wide-eyed optimism. And looking beyond the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, as we write, Istanbul is still reeling from a series of terrorist bombings. Casualties on all sides continue to mount in Iraq and Afghanistan. Some wonder—Are human beings programmed for war?

Or, are we programmed for peace? Like "good news" stories that go underreported in the daily news cycle, the "goodness model" of existence struggles to be heard. We've only begun to discover that there are higher laws—a divine Science of being—that, understood, produce peaceful relationships.

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