THE PEACE IMPERATIVE

Learning about people, finding norms and similarities and appreciating the
differences between us will help gain more peace and help us all coexist, which is
the ultimate goal of the peace imperative. When we find norms, we tend to relate
more to a person as well as respect them. Yet, having our different cultures and
backgrounds will give us each our own identity as well as cultural identity.

Can individuals of different genders, ages, ethnicities, races, languages,

socioeconomic statuses, and cultural background coexist on this planet? Peace is a
major component for intercultural communication as cultural critically affect the way
in which we communicate. Both the human past and the recent world events are not
making us very hopeful on this stage. So this is what it means Perhaps more clear is
the urgency after the events of 11 September 2001. Communication between
different cultural groups-from the earliest civilizations— it's often led to disharmony.
The ethnic or religious disputes between Muslims and the West; ethnic tensions in
Bosnia and the former Soviet Union; the Rwandan Hutus-Tutsi conflict (Africa);
Middle East continued unrest; and neighbourhood racial and ethnic struggles and
tensions in Boston, Los Angeles, and other U.S. cities.

Any of these disputes are linked to worldwide colonial history, whereby the
European powers lumped together as one state disparate groups — different in
language, culture, religion or ethnicity. For instance, the division of the British put on
Pakistan and India; finally, East Pakistan declared to become Bangladesh its
independence. Yet ethnic and religious differences continue to cause unrest in some
areas of India and Pakistan. And the other the development by both India and
Pakistan of nuclear weapons is making these antagonisms increasingly alarming.
The massive diversity — and following it antagonisms — in several former colonies
the meaning has to be understood a Colonialist history.

Throughout history, conflict between genders, races, and ethnicity has been
an immense issue across the world. It has led to many wars, conflict in powers as
well as unbalanced power. Some of the conflicts are also tied to and influenced by
economic disparities U.S. Tech and Press. These factors are seen as positive by
many citizens in the United States, but they also cause resistance. Communication
scholar Fernando Delgado (2002) explains:
 Such cultural dominance, though celebrated at home, can spark
intercultural conflicts because it inhibits the development of other
nations’ indigenous popular culture products, stunts their economic
development and foists U.S. values and perspectives on other
cultures. These effects, in turn, often lead to resentment and conflict.

For example, according to many Canadians, because of the domination of

U.S. media a Canadian cultural identity is almost impossible. This sort of guy cultural
dominance is very complex. Delgado recalls that during a recent incident, he found
anti-American feelings in graffiti, newspapers and television programs Visiting
Europe, but also seeing U.S. influence everywhere — in music, on television, film,
trucks, fast food, fashion ... He reports "presentation, anger, and local contempt
coexisted with astonishment at US penetration folk culture.

Any of the disputes have their origins in previous foreign policies. For
instance, the attacks in September 2001 related in part to confusing and shifting
alliances between the United States, Afghanistan, and the Arab and Muslim nations.
The Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in the early 1990s, in reaction to the
Northern Alliance destructive law, loose alliance of warlords. The US had aided the
Taliban in combating Soviet aggression in the late 1980s and promised aid with the
reconstruction of their country after the were now wars done. Nevertheless, with
Soviet forces withdrawal and the fall of the Soviet Union, the United States was not
as preoccupied with fulfilment its promises to the nation of Afghanistan, leaving the
people of Afghanistan at the mercy of the Taliban. On top of that, US, Foreign policy
of many Arab Countries the last half century has triggered widespread discontent,
combined with clear support for Israel (Friedman, 2002). Though no clear
explanation exists the attacks obviously did not happen because of the terrorists
targeting the United States in a vacuum. They need to be understood in historical,
political, religious, and economic contexts.
 It would be naive to assume that simply understanding the issues of
intercultural communication would end war and intercultural conflict, but these
problems do underscore the need for individuals to learn more about social groups
other than their own. Ultimately, people, and not countries, negotiate and sign peace
treaties. An example of how personalized communication is styles may have an
effect on political results in Iraqi Negotiations President Saddam Hussein and US
and United States Representatives nations in 1990, just before the Gulf War. Many
experts in the Middle East assumed that Hussein wasn't ready to fight, that he was
only bluffing, using an Arab communications method. This style emphasizes the
importance of animation, exaggeration, and conversational form over content
(Feghali, 1997). Communication specialists note that in conflict situations Arab
speakers may threaten the life and property of their opponents but have no intention
of actually carrying out the threats. Rather, Arab speakers use threats to buy time
and intimidate their opponents. Thus, declaratory statements by U.S. leaders, such
as “We will find the cancer and cut it out,” seemed mundane and unintimidating to
Arab listeners. Verbal exchanges, regardless of the different speech styles, often
take the place of physical violence (Griefat & Katriel, 1989).

However, we always need to consider the relationship between individual and

societal forces in studying intercultural communication. Although communication on
the interpersonal level is important, we must remember that individuals often are
born into and are caught up in conflicts that they neither started nor chose.

The study of intercultural communication in regard to the peace imperative is

extremely important as we live in a world with millions of the diverse people who
differ from the person before them. Being able to communicate and establish a
relationship with people of different races and cultures is almost a must to ensure a
peaceful life where humans can live and function together.