Global Bonds: The Creation of a Peaceful World through Communication in the Media
(Original)

Citlin Jacques
(Age 18, USA)
Shorewood High School, Washington

For most of human history, communication across geographic barriers has been extremely difficult. We have lived in pockets of virtual isolation, capable of making connections only with the people in our immediate area. Empathy and understanding towards other groups was impossible, because we knew nothing about them. This lack of information made it easy for leaders to convince their people to view other groups as enemies. When all you know about a group is that “they aren’t like us”, it is easy to mistrust or fear them. The unknown easily becomes monstrous in the eyes of the uninformed. May pointless wars were fought for just this reason.

In the past 100 years, however, new communication technologies have taken the first step towards alleviating this age-old problem. Short-wave radio allows us to hear the voices of people on the other side of the globe. Television shows us images of everyday life in other cultures. The Internet makes it possible to have a conversation with people in almost any country in the world. High-speed jets mean that we can get on a plane and, in less than a day, step off on another continent. Suddenly, we are no longer isolated, and people who were once impossibly far from us are now just a few button-clicks away. Thanks to communication technology, it is now possible to exchange information across geographic and cultural boundaries with relative ease.

This exchange of information is the foundation upon which we can build for ourselves a global community. When we communicate and get to know someone, they become a part of our own lives and existence. Faceless strangers in afaraway lands become our neighbors and friends. Where there were once impenetrable barries, there are now doorways. As trans-continental communication becomes more commonplace, the fear and misunderstanding which leads to conflict slowly begins to wash away.

The future role of media must, therefore, be to continue to erode the barriers between people and nations. Television shows must focus on bringing people together, rather than dividing them into separate groups. Internet forums must create safe respectful environments where people of all nations and walks of life can feel free to exchange thoughts, dreams, and ideas. Media groups must work to make global communication available to all of the world’s citizens. The media is the only thing which has any chance of bringing together the people of this world we live in.

There are still many obstacles to overcome. World poverty, repressive governments, and liguistic barriers all stand in the way of communication. A woman who lacks the food to feed her children cannot spend her time reaching out to people halfway across the world. A man whose government forbids him Internet access will never be able to learn about the lives of people in other cultures by reading their web logs. A child who only speaks Mandarin has no hope of carrying on a satisfactory conversation with someone who knows only Portuguese.

These problems, however, can be solved by the persistent efforts of the media. Televised campaigns to raise funds for fighting world hunger can give a woman in a poor country the relief she needs to begin to think about people in the outside world. Shortwave radio programs can send information even into strictly controlled countires. Free Internet translation services can allow two people who speak no common language to understand each other. In short, for every problem facing today’s media, there is at least the beginning of a solution within the media itself.

In an ideal world where the media had successfully opened communication between all people, war would be impossible. There would be no fear of unknown cultures, because there would be no unknown cultures. Attacking the people of another nation would be unimaginable, because we would know people in those nations personally. It wouldn’t be “those Palestinians” or “those North Koreans”; it would be Sara, who writes beautiful poetry, or Un Chong, who hopes to become a doctor. The faces of the so-called enemy would be the faces of our friends, and no one in their right mind would support going to war against their friends. The lies of politicians could never again be used to justify needless bloodshed, because the real information would be readily available. The problems brought by lack of communication would be a thing of the past.

Therefore, the role of the media in a peaceful world must be to open and strengthen the bonds of communication. Without them, peace will never be more than a dream.