Peace, Man

A BBC news item chronicled the 50 year anniversary of the peace symbol. It was originally designed for use by a group of British anti-nuclear protesters who were marching from Trafalgar Square in London to a weapons factory in Aldermaston, 50 miles away. One of the group, Gerald Holtom, realized that the protest would be more effective if it had a visual image to identify their aims. So, superimposing the semaphore letters of N, for nuclear, and D, for disarmament, and placing them inside a circle representing the earth, Holton created the peace symbol.

The symbol itself has been used by groups world-wide since then. I was first aware of it in the protests against the Vietnam War in the 1960's, but civil rights groups, environmental groups, women's groups, and gay rights groups have all used it, according to the BBC article. It was even used by South African groups protesting apartheid, and, as a consequence, the South African government tried to ban it.

I can remember preachers referring to the peace symbol as a sign of the devil. More than once, I heard a "holier-than-thou" speak of the peace symbol as an inverted and broken cross and, thus, it was an obvious anti-Christian symbol. I learned in the article that this idea originated with and was promoted from the John Birch Society.

There have been peace movements in various countries, but it seems that the world is no closer to peace now than it was 50 years ago. The world's press is filled with references to the violent protests between Tibetans and the Chinese, to on-going violence in Iraq, Pakistan, and Afghanistan, and to recent violence in Kenya, to name but a few.

To borrow from good material: "Blessed are the Peacemakers for they will be called the children of God" and "All we are saying is give peace a chance". Perhaps, one day, the human race will be able to effect peace, for all people and in all its dimensions, and retire the peace symbol.