War on Peace

Recent terminology used in the press and by politicians to discuss the pandemic has reminded me of the saying 'what we resist, persists'. Paraphrased from the psychologist Carl Jung, this means when we attempt to resist anything within our reality or present, the more that thing will remain in our reality or present. The more thought, effort and energy we place on trying to stop that thing, the more power we give to it. Another way this is expressed is in the Law of Attraction. This philosophical approach states that positive thoughts (which are a form of energy or vibration) produce more positive thoughts. Conversely, negative thoughts produce more negative thoughts.

In the 70s-80s we had a War on Drugs followed by a surge of drug use, addiction and drug-related crimes and incarcerations. It is estimated that 21 million Americans aged 12 years or older has one form of substance use disorder. In the 00s there was the War on Terror which led to acts of terrorism around the world, major wars, thousands of people killed, and millions displaced. Despite all of this, the war has lasted for over 19 years.

Military terminology and metaphors have also infiltrated healthcare. We often hear that someone is “battling cancer” or someone is “fighting a flu”. This suggests that somehow there is a winner or loser in this battle, that the patient must be “strong” throughout their process or that they were not strong enough to overcome their disease. Now we have been told there is a war on an invisible and deadly virus. We must “suit up” in personal protective equipment and healthcare workers are described as working on the “frontline”.