Love and Peace: Episode 385

Let’s say you see two people getting a little frustrated in a traffic jam. The man behind starts to honk his horn at the fellow in front, and that fellow exits his vehicle looking like he is ready to come to blows.

Then the man behind says “Hey, love and peace my friend. Let’s not get carried away.” Even though the tension is still high, it’s suddenly clear that this interaction will not be physically violent.

According to Steven Pinker, author of Better Angels of Our Nature, In the Middle Ages, it was very common for people to get into physical altercations and kill each other over the slightest provocation. We can see the effect of this when we watch period movies - everyone is exceptionally polite to each other, even calling their close friends Mr. or Mrs., so as not to run the risk of offense.

Though we might see more violence than ever portrayed in the news or coming up in our social media feeds, in many ways we enjoy an exceptionally peaceful time among our peers.

Read the transcript and find important links on the site: A Beautiful Thought - Love and Peace: Episode 385