NSL Alums at American University- THEY STARTED A WAR !!!!
We set the class an activity which was to spontaneously enact a war, in the land of Blumfenstan- between North and South, and when Channel 2 reporter Daniel asked them why, they said it was because the North had nuclear weapons and the South said, they did not, that they were only defending themselves and resisting the South stealing their oil.
The State Department condemned the violence and said please play nice, and the UN team quoted proposition 237A from the Security Council that ruled against any nation whose name ended in -stan.
The exercise demonstrated that:
Stories Cause Wars and
Wars Cause Stories that then
Cause more Wars that cause more Stories that cause more Wars.
There is a cycle.
AND
Stories Cause Peace and
Peace causes Stories that then
Cause more Peace that cause more Stories that Cause more Peace
There is a cycle.
NSL is about seeking to interrupt the first cycle and begin to create the second cycle. Having NSL Alums, Gazan Karam and former Israeli soldier Daniel stand together and respect each others stories, and not hear blame or provocation is an example of the second cycle. I think the class got it. Thank you Professor Dan Whitman, you are a legend.