Emotionally Intelligent Pettion Against War, Killing and Destruction

When I talked to a former Israeli military pilot who I met while traveling earlier this year, I mentioned a program I saw once about non-lethal weapons. He quickly told me that Israel was a leader in such technology. Yet I did not see any of these being used by the Israelis in Lebanon in July 2006. Nor have I seen the USA which is at present the world's most powerful nation, using such technology in Iraq.

Because I oppose all forms of killing and destruction, and I believe such technology does exist and could be much more widely developed and employed in the world, I propose the following petition to be signed by those interested in the concept of emotional intelligence. I welcome your comments and suggestions.

We believe wars are unhealthy for humanity and not emotionally intelligent. We ask our political leaders to endorse the following statement:

We will no longer use deadly or destructive weapons.
We will no longer invest in their design or manufacture.
We will set a new course.

Our goal is a world with no deadly or destructive weapons.

We will use our technology to protect and disarm, but not to kill or destroy. We will use this technology when it is necessary to stop violence and killing, but we will not use deadly or destructive force.

We will attempt to understand the feelings of those who are using violence. We will give them a chance to express their feelings verbally. We believe people who feel heard, understood and respected will not feel the need to resort to violoence. Therefore instead of killing or punishing, we will give provide forums where people can be heard. We will take their feelings and beliefs into consideration, rather than impose our will onto them. We will at all times treat them with respect for their feelings.

Our country will become a world leader in non-destructive and non-lethal technology.

We realize that no one wins a war. Everyone loses. Wars are wasteful. Wars create feelings of resentment, revenge, hatred, grief, depression, stress, chaos and terror. There are no positive feelings created in wars, killing and destruction.

In our future policies and actions we will begin to take human feelings into consideration, including the feelings of those who disagree with us, because we realize feelings lead to behahvior and it is more emotionally intelligent to address underlying feelings than to try to control behavior without regard for feelings.

We further realize that war, killing and destruction do not create feelings of respect, and that the key to lasting peace is mutual respect, which must include respect for individual and group feelings.

Seeds of Peace - This is a summer camp program which brings Israeli and Muslim teenagers together in search of peace..