Having been born in Palestine, the term peace just meant having tranquility at home and the safety of my family and all those that mattered to me. There was always a feeling of being conflicted regarding the neighboring country and the western world in general. I never considered peace or conflict to be an issue while growing up in the Middle East. Maybe it is because I had no comparisons to make. When I came to America, that is when the concept of world peace hit me. I came to learn how rampant violence is in the Middle East that I could hardly believe I spent my childhood years there. The apparent cause of the violence is a dispute over political boundaries and religion. I feel the western media exaggerates the magnitude of violence taking place in the Middle East.
A study of history reveals that the world is at its most peaceful currently compared to the past. There is no recent world war, and the conflicts that happen are scanty. Yet, the majority of the people in the western world feel that conflicts in the world have increased. I believe this has been caused by the media paying a lot of attention to conflict-laden areas while ignoring the tranquility in the other parts of the world. Peace has made trade and innovation flourish. When I came to America, I could not recognize my country when I heard about the violence taking place at home from the media. One has to look at the progress that has been made by humanity since the end of the Second World War to accept that for the most part, we are enjoying peace.