Nobel laureate offers view of peace

Former Costa Rican President Oscar Arias wore a navy blue tie speckled with rabbits hopping out of magic hats as he spoke to a crowd of more than 200 Monday night in Woodburn Hall.\nThere was nothing supernatural or hocus pocus-like about the nature of his speech, entitled "Peace with Justice for Latin America and the World."\nBut those who heard the Nobel laureate speak, left in awe.\nArias, who delivered the first of four Patten Foundation Lectures this year, spoke of achieving world peace between moments of boisterous applause and multiple standing ovations.\n"My friends, the critics around the world often tell us that there is nothing we can do to combat poverty and destruction, or to achieve lasting peace and equality," Arias said. "They believe anyone that is willing to fight for the underdog and fight for peace and end human suffering is merely just a dreamer."\nArias described a world of war, conflict, prejudice and hate as he urged the crowd to reconsider and think about lessening military action.\nWhile serving as the President of Costa Rica from 1986 to 1990, Arias earned a Nobel Peace Prize for his proposed accord designed to quell tensions with neighboring nations.\nHe used the monetary award to establish the Arias Foundation for Peace and Human Progress in 1988, where he spread the message for demilitarization and conflict resolution in the developing world.\n"It is only with solidarity, tolerance, and love, that we can save this planet from ourselves," Arias said. "The future has many names -- for the weak it is the unreachable, for the timid it is the unknowable, and for the brave, it is an opportunity."\nArias also discussed the aftermath of Sept. 11, where he stated with a somber tone that national security has overshadowed the need to protect human security. He discouraged the U.S. government from spending such a great deal of money on the military, because he believes "war perpetuates poverty."\n"I envision a world a hundred years from now where each government is democratically elected and is able to fill its people's basic needs," Arias said. "Instead of foreign aid to the developing countries, the Bush administration is talking about bombs over books and helicopters over hospitals."\nThe former Latin American president criticized the U.S. government for the enormous expenditure on the military and said that it will only lead to more enemies and less friends.\nArias brought a of myriad concerns to the table Monday night, and coordinators of the Patten lecture series were excited to have Arias give the inaugural speech of the year. He will also deliver a speech Wednesday night entitled "Moral Leadership for the New Century," in Ballantine Hall.\n"We are very pleased to have Dr. Arias come to IU," said Mary Tilton, executive director of the Patten lecture series. "Tonight's topic is timely, and people are concerned about issues concerning peace. And it is a good time for him to speak here."\nTo illustrate his ideas, Arias repeated the words of Martin Luther King Jr. when he explained that "instead of diminishing evil, it multiplies it," he said of war. \nArias emphasized that peace is "not a dream, but hard work," and can only be achieved when "adversaries can sit down and face each other as human beings."\nMuriel Nazzari, a retired IU professor of Latin American history, lauds Arias for his peace initiative and was familiar with much of what Arias spoke about.\n"This is relevant to my field," Nazzari said. "He's quite an interesting person, and I wish there were more like him in Latin America." \nArias continued to champion his message of peace as he left the crowd with a challenge to bring about a positive change in the world.\n"We may be accused of being dreamers with our heads in the clouds, but as people with the talent and resources to make a difference, we must not allow this century to end up like the last," Arias said. "We must create a world with more transparency and less corruption, more faith and less cynicism, more passion and less selfishness"