In the past twenty-four hours 5,185 connections were made between Palestinians and Israelis using Facebook. Oh. You thought Facebook was just a way to show off your spring break pictures? Think again.
Earlier tonight Peace Innovation, a project out of Stanford University led by Professor BJ Fogg and the Persuasive Technology Lab, launched Peace Dot – a project to promote world peace through persuasive technology. Peace Dot is encouraging companies and organizations around the world to create subdomains within their existing websites that will be devoted to innovative solutions that lead to peace. Peace Innovation lists nineteen domains that have already been created, and Facebook is leading the way with peace.facebook.com.
Facebook’s page features statistics of social networking connections between historically conflicting groups, subdivided into geographic, religious, and political categories. In addition to the connections made between Israelis and Palestinians, 7,339 connections were made between Indians and Pakistanis, 8,431 between Albanians and Serbians, and 13,790 between Greeks and Turks. Connections are also listed between Christians, Muslims, Jews, Atheists, and more specifically, between Sunnis and Shiites.
Admittedly, this site isn’t necessarily promoting specific actions to foster peace yet, but for me, it was uplifting just to see real numbers of those who are reaching out to their brothers and sisters on the other side of the struggle. It can be far too easy to slip into apathy or skepticism about the goal of peace in the Middle East or the larger goal of world peace. Just look at the other graph that shows the percentage per country of people who believe world peace is an attainable goal in the next fifty years. Only 7 percent of Americans agree with this statement. But knowing that these new connections are being made every minute reminds me, and will hopefully remind the other 93 percent of Americans, that we will not always be stuck in grid-locked negotiations. With every passing moment there is a growing movement of people, young and old, who are taking matters into their own hands, and making the effort to connect on a personal level with those they might otherwise be fighting.
Government and military cooperation is certainly a necessary part of peace-building, but real, lasting peace requires cooperation on an individual level. Peace Innovation seems to be about bringing the peace movement to and from the individual, using technology as the impetus for change. Peace Dot is only in its first few hours of operation, and there’s no way of telling whether or not the movement will catch on, but there’s no reason why it shouldn’t change the world. One of the hardest parts of creating peace is getting past the “other” mentality and moving towards a “we” mentality.
Throughout the course of human history, meeting face-to-face with someone on the other side of a political, religious, ethnic, or cultural conflict has been dangerous and difficult if not impossible. By using social networking tools, those borders should dissolve wherever there is an internet connection.
Check out the other domains that are already promoting world peace and Peace Dot:
As one of the newest interns at Tikkun I was pretty eager to prove my dedication to the magazine as we were nearing our print deadline, so I was a little more than irritated when my boyfriend asked me to take off to attend LovEvolution with him in San Francisco last Saturday. “I don’t think they’d appreciate it if I took off to go to a rave,” I said with a little more than a hint of impatience.
“Erin, it’s not just a rave. It’s LovEvolution!” He proceeded to explain how, for the nonreligious like himself, festivals like LovEvolution are the closest he ever gets to an opportunity for congregationalism. Now I’ll admit, I was skeptical, but come on. Techno music, drug use, and half-naked girls in furry boots are a far cry from the congregationalism I experienced in small, country Methodist churches in rural Maryland. “You just wanna party.” But trying to be open-minded and supportive, I agreed to go. Let me just say, I was not prepared.
Roughly 100,000 people rolled into San Francisco’s Civic Plaza for the festival, originally adapted from Berlin’s Love Parade. LovEvolution (formerly known as Lovefest) is a parade that features electronic DJs from around the world and provides an opportunity for people of all ages to enjoy an atmosphere of community, music, and dance for the country’s largest day rave. It was more than a little overwhelming for someone who’s never been to a rave, but as it turns out, it is very much a form of congregationalism … just replace all those old church ladies with twenty-somethings in body paint.
Like Woodstock and Burning Man and so many other music festivals around the world drug use and drunkenness run rampant, but LovEvolution is more than just an excuse for debauchery. Behind the scantily clad raver chicks and beer-guzzling frat boys stands a genuine desire to build a community, however temporary, based on a common respect for humanity. Even for someone like me who chooses to abstain from drugs like ecstasy, the raver drug of choice, you can’t help but feel connected to the thousands of others in attendance. Ravers stand shoulder-to-shoulder attempting to dance, or drink, or get to the next stage, but there’s no animosity when someone bumps into your arm and spills your drink¾only apologies, and hugs, and more than a few exclamations of “I love you, man.”
The congregation that is LovEvolution is a chance for individuals from all walks of life to be a part of something bigger than themselves¾to be something other than ordinary. As DJs spin their most popular tracks, members of the audience rejoice in dance and song as one, in the same way that a religious congregation rejoices in singing praises to their higher power. In both cases we are free to lose ourselves in something that seems so much better, so much more beautiful than we could ever be on our own. How is that not like church? Do we, as religious communities, not run to our congregations to feel a part of something? To seek comfort in the love of our brothers and sisters?
In both forms of congregationalism there is the opportunity to shed our skin as ordinary people and don the costume of something extraordinary. There’s no shortage of people in outrageous outfits at LovEvolution (just check out the pictures). Like any rave, dressing up is a large part of the fun, but it is also a way to help us step out of our routines and let go of what is normal. In business suits we are confined to our roles as upstanding citizens of mainstream society, but dressed as pink rabbits and fairies we are free to hug strangers and scale streetlights. Within a church context, Christians are allowed to let go of their identities as mail clerks and financial analysts and simply be children of God. In both cases, being part of a group means being able to say that we are not of this world and the rules of this world do not apply to us. It is escapism, but it is escapism from the self into the community. And it is an opportunity to have this feeling of community with no prerequisites.
As unifying as religion, or culture, or nationality can be, it can also be terribly divisive. As a cultural Christian I have had so many opportunities to engage in a congregation with other Christians and experience the joys of being a part of such a community¾of letting go of this world and being a part of something better, but what if that’s not enough? How many opportunities do I have to connect with all of my fellow human beings simply because we have our humanity in common? In every country, in every culture, there are such celebrations that grant the opportunity to celebrate being together, but what I find so refreshing about LovEvolution is how inclusive the festival is. We are not celebrating a holiday, or a common heritage, or a particular theology. We simply proclaim that we love, and we ask to be loved in return.
Everyone loves an excuse for a party, but we don’t always need an excuse. LovEvolution is proof that wanting to be together should be more than enough to bring us together as a community and a congregation.
So yes, Sergey, you were right.
Check out this post at www.tikkun.org/tikkundaily/
