Imagine there’s no heaven
It’s easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people living for today
Imagine there’s no countries
It isn’t hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people living life in peace
You, you may say
I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one
I hope some day you’ll join us
And the world will be as one
Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people sharing all the world
You, you may say
I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one
I hope some day you’ll join us
And the world will live as one
Unfortunately, we do not live in a utopian world. That being said, one has to presume that the majority of people throughout the world would prefer to live in peace, rather than in a state of war. Vision of Humanity, a global peace initiative (of the Institute for Economics and Peace – IEP), has recently published its 2013 GPI (Global Peace Index) Report, identifying Iceland, Denmark and New Zealand as the top three most peaceful countries in the world. At the bottom of the list are the conflict-rife countries of Afghanistan, Somalia and Syria.
Canada made the top ten peaceful countries list, ranking number 8 (of the 162 countries studied) and, disturbingly, the United States ranked on the less peaceful side of the scale – at number 100.
Here are the top and bottom ten lists:
Ten Most Peaceful Countries (from 162):
No. 1 – Iceland
No. 2 – Denmark
No. 3 – New Zealand
No. 4 – Austria
No. 5 – Switzerland
No. 6 – Japan
No. 7 – Finland
No. 8 – Canada
No. 9 – Sweden
No.10 – Belgium
Ten Least Peaceful Countries (from 162):
No. 153 – Central African Republic
No. 154 – North Korea
No. 155 – Russia
No. 156 – Democratic Republic of the Congo
No. 157 – Pakistan
No. 158 – Sudan
No. 159 – Iraq
No. 160 – Syria
No. 161 – Somalia
No. 162 – Afghanistan
For further information, please visit www.visionofhumanity.org. I urge you to check out this site ― it is an excellent source of information and kudos go to this organization for the work that they do, in the ongoing effort to raise awareness and advocate for peace.
I’ll leave you with the sage words of Mahatma Gandhi:
“An eye for an eye will only make the whole world blind.”
Image via ipeacemeal.com.
heatherfromthegrove 