There's an old joke about if you don't know where you're going that's where you'll be. So I am depressed this morning. Why? Because we are being drowned in a rising tide of mediocrity disguised as brilliant writing. When I read stuff like this and see that this is considered "brilliant" I can only stop and wonder at it all.
I dunno. The writer says he can't say what peace should look like and that I can't either because it's impossible to do so. I disagree. It is a bit arrogant to tell me what I can or can't imagine. In fact, people can imagine what peace looks like and it's usually called an exit strategy. I would go further and say every conflict ends based on an exit strategy. Sometimes the strategy is wise, sometimes it isn't. What events result from the strategy sometimes turn out well (see post-war Japan) and sometimes it doesn't. But there is always an exit strategy.
To me, what it boils down to is goals and objectives. Yes, how you reach those goals may change (i.e., the plan), based on unforeseen exigent circumstances. But the goals and objectives remain the same.
Let me give you an example, many students go to college but never finish. Part of the problem is they can't stay focused on the goal. That is, each day brings a new challenge and while focused on the changing circumstances, they loose sight of where they wanted to go in the fist place. In the end, many just drift through life not accomplishing much of anything.
While I don't think it is a major part of his essay, and I don't necessarily disagree with his conclusions, I think he is missing the mark on this point.
In addition, and I hesitate to even bring this point up and because the level of debate will probably spiral down from there, but he also seems to miss the mark when he makes an ad hominem attack on those who would be so bold as to disagree with his assertion. This is a big mistake because it weakens his essay. In my opinion, a brilliant essay (and I'm not saying anything I write is brilliant) stays focused and uses arguments based on reason, not emotion.
