After putting in my pleas for memorials to the times war was averted and people did not have to be killed, I remembered one that we saw on the other side of the world: The Kyoto Museum for World Peace. Here is its mission:
The twentieth century saw two world wars, in which tens of millions of lives were lost. Nonetheless, conflicts have not stopped, and many lives are still in danger today.
Moreover, humanity is plagued by hunger, poverty, human rights violations and environmental disasters.
We need to eliminate not only the causes of conflict, but also all barriers to human development so that we can build a peaceful society in which human potential can blossom.
I recall this museum along with many other vivid memories of that trip to Japan: our visit to Hiroshima; a graphic exhibit on the annihilation of Tokyo; a naval museum, bursting with the pride of the Emperor’s fleet; etc. Last week, at the time the U.S. Congress was debating a bill to fight hate crimes against Asian Americans, I heard a Japanese American on a discussion panel share that Japan has a lot to face in relation to its own imperial actions. We all have much to acknowledge in our pasts. The Kyoto Museum helps visitors to Japan to do that.
If we want to be on the side of peace, we have to honor it. Please share the peace site you are visiting this weekend.
Finding My Place 