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Essay Showcase

Wilmer Sterling
Friendship: The Heartbeat of Global Peace

In the words of renowned American civil rights activist, Martin Luther King Jr. "Men often hate each other because they fear each other; they fear each other because they don't know each other; they don't know each other because they can not communicate; they can not communicate because they are separated." Fear is one of the most potent factors in human history, fear of monsters creates myths and legends, fear of change sparks resistance and conflict, and fear of outsiders fuels division and prejudice. Luckily, as denizens of the digital millennia we live in an era of unprecedented global interconnectivity, which gives us the tools needed to break cultural barriers and form deeper connections worldwide.

Historically, hatred and conflict have emerged because humans fear what they do not understand. Insular societies are all too susceptible to identifying outsiders as boogeymen on whom all problems are blamed. However, in the digital age of today, we possess unparalleled access to knowledge. With little more than a cursory Google search, we can quickly learn the basics of almost any subject imaginable. The internet is an incredible leap forward and allows people to connect, learn, and foster peace through understanding.

The internet has provided me with many avenues to meet new people. After COVID-19 and the quarantine paralyzed society and shuttered schools, I spent a lot of time online and met people who shared a love for history with me. Over time we developed a larger friend group and would play games together. The long-distance nature of our friendships, which in past times would have proved an insurmountable obstacle, is irrelevant in the modern day. We’ve met people from every inhabited continent, and often have long discussions about the differences between our countries. These conversations have allowed me to broaden my horizons beyond the limited scope of these United States.

Friendship is a powerful force for change. When we build connections with people very different from us, we work to break down the cultural walls that divide us. A century ago, people genuinely believed propaganda that those from neighboring cultures were savages and uncivilized, but now thanks to the internet we can see firsthand that could not be further from the truth. The advent of video-sharing platforms like Twitter and YouTube let even the most remote of cultures, from the tribes of Papua New Guinea to the Sami People of Scandinavia, be appreciated and studied in the full depth they deserve, without the cultural biases that have plagued humanity.

In this way, I believe that friendship is the way towards a more understanding and peaceful future, a future where we spend less time focusing on what divides us and instead discuss our shared experiences as human beings. This is the promise of a world where we choose empathy over fear, connection over division, and shared humanity over isolation. Through friendship, we can build a better tomorrow, together.

Medium and Photography Showcase Winners

Meg Harrison, Edythe Sterling, Paisley Knisley, Teague Kindred, and Norman Tiedemann