The Cultivation of Conspiracy (1998)
Context: The other eminent moment of the celebration was, of course, the comestio, the communion in the flesh, the incorporation of the believer in the body of the Incarnate Word, but communio was theologically linked to the preceding con-spiratio. Conspiratio became the strongest, clearest and most unambiguously somatic expression for the entirely non-hierarchical creation of a fraternal spirit in preparation for the unifying meal. Through the act of eating, the fellow conspirators were transformed into a "we," a gathering which in Greek means ecclesia. Further, they believed that the "we" is also somebody's "I"; they were nourished by shading into the "I" of the Incarnate Word. The words and actions of the liturgy are not just mundane words and actions, but events occurring after the Word, that is, after the Incarnation. Peace as the commingling of soil and waters sounds cute to my ears; but peace as the result of conspiratio exacts a demanding, today almost unimaginable intimacy.
The practice of the osculum did not go unchallenged; documents reveal that the conspiratio created scandal early on. The rigorist African Church Father, Tertullian, felt that a decent matron should not be subjected to possible embarrassment by this rite. The practice continued, but not its name; the ceremony required a euphemism. From the later third century on, the osculum pacis was referred to simply as pax, and the gesture was often watered down to some slight touch to signify the mutual spiritual union of the persons present through the creation of a fraternal atmosphere. Today, the pax before communion, called "the kiss of peace," is still integral to the Roman, Slavonic, Greek and Syrian Mass, although it is often reduced to a perfunctory handshake.
BBC News, "Kumaratunga promises end to hatred" http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/575118.stm, 22 December, 1999.
“If everyone demanded peace instead of another television set, then there'd be peace.”
As quoted in Guitar Player (1 August 2004), and in "Pax Patter" at ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) http://www.abc.net.au/civics/rights/pax.htm
Variant: When we say "War is over if you want it," we mean that if everyone demanded peace instead of another TV set, we'd have peace.
“In the world of today can there be peace anywhere until there is peace everywhere?”
The Egyptians (1967), p. 241
General sources
“In all future, only peace may come from German soil.”
Von deutschem Boden muss in Zukunft immer Frieden ausgehen.
Lecture in front of the Frauenkirche (December 19, 1989)
Dorothy Thompson’s Political Guide: A Study of American Liberalism and its Relationship to Modern Totalitarian States (1938)
Source: A Study of American Liberalism and its Relationship to Modern Totalitarian States (1938)
p. 33
Maiden speech, House of Commons, Ottawa, Ontario, February 11, 1936.
Counterterrorism and Cybersecurity: Total Information Awareness (2nd Edition), 2015
A tribute to those ANZACs who died in Gallipoli (1934), this is inscribed on the Atatürk Memorial in Turakena Bay, Gallipoli http://www.mch.govt.nz/emblems/monuments/ataturk.html and at the Kemal Atatürk Memorial, Canberra
Context: The heroes who shed their blood and lost their lives on this country's soil! You are in the soil of a friendly country now. Therefore rest in peace. You are side by side with the little Mehmets. The mothers who send their sons to the war! Wipe your tears away. Your sons are in our bosom, are in peace and will be sleeping in peace comfortably. From now on, they have became our sons since they have lost their lives on this land.
“Peace demands of Nature the recognition of human rights”
My Race (1893)
Context: What right do white racist, who believe their race is superior, have for complaining about black racists, who see something special in their own race? What right do black racists, who see a special character in their race, have for complaining about white racists? White men who think their race makes them superior to black men admit the idea of racial difference and authorize and initiate black racists. Black men who proclaim their race — when what they are really proclaiming is the spiritual identity that distinguishes one ethnic group from another — authorize and incite white racists. Peace demands of Nature the recognition of human rights; discrimination is contrary to Nature and to the enemy of peace. Whites who isolate themselves also isolate Negroes. Negroes who isolate themselves incite and isolate whites.
