Building a Culture of Peace

The Pact for the Future, adopted by world leaders in September, 2024 included, among other things, a Global Digital Compact. The aim was to promote a multilateral system that reflects global realities and delivers for everyone, everywhere. Lofty ambitions to be sure. But these goals have gotten a whole lot harder now that Donald Trump is back in the White House.

Whether it was because of the economy, misogyny, racism,it behooves those of us in the peace building community to reflect on some of our own cherished beliefs about the way forward. the culture wars, insufficient campaigning time for his opponent, or the worldwide trend toward authoritarianism, the cold, hard fact is that the majority of the voting population in the United States chose as their leader in the 2024 presidential election, a convicted felon, widely regarded in the behaviour science community as psychologically unstable, unable to articulate a coherent set of policies, and whom numerous former political associates consider a dangerous fascist.

Given these outcomes,
h2. it behooves those of us in the peace building community to reflect on some of our own cherished beliefs about the way forward.
p. How do we ensure that the initiative for a United Nations Parliamentary Assembly does indeed improve global governance? As we continue to advocate for such direct, democratic representation of the world’s citizens, one potential pitfall has now come into sharper focus. What role should education play to ensure that a well-informed, civic minded electorate exercises the right to vote? How much of a difference can such a measure make in an age of algorithmic politics?In every Disney cartoon, or Batman film we have no trouble recognizing and understanding the villains.

It has long been argued by media scholars that the influence of parents in the home and teachers in the classroom on the values and belief systems of the young are being outstripped by popular culture, and digital devices. Moreover, it is estimated that bots now generate at least as much political speech on social media as humans do. According to one study nearly two out of three of Elon Musk’s, accounts in the 2024 American Presidential election on X were managed by bots. His having poured millions into Trump’s, campaign the results exceeded expectations. Donald Trump’s vulgar, coarse, angry but passionate and popular, rhetoric aided by the dictates of algorithms underscores additional challenges for the protection of democratic discourse and building a culture of peace.We cannot succumb to the tyranny of a post moral age.

The rise of movie star politics began with image-based contests involving John F. Kennedy, Ronald Reagan and now Donald Trump, whom television first elevated to stardom on the show The Apprentice. For Trump is, at the very least, an outstanding entertainer in tune with contemporary trends in popular culture. Like so much content in horror shows, rap music and the most popular online entertainment of all times, the first-person shooter video game, his vocabulary range is limited, coarse, repetitive and full of vitriol and disparagements. In every Disney cartoon, or Batman film we have no trouble recognizing and understanding the villains. They are embittered, canny, and shrewd with their lives governed by envy and resentment. Occasionally they win against the good guys. Such “entertainment” results in what media scholar, George Gerbner, called “the mean world syndrome”. American Ltd. Col. and psychologist, David Grossman, calls it AVIDS (Acquired Violence Immune Deficiency Syndrome). These “toxins” in the cultural environment need to be taken more seriously if we are truly committed to building a culture of peace.

So where do we go from here? To join in solidarity with the 72 million Americans who voted against Trump is our only option. Our challenge now is to double down on our efforts to bring to fruition the promise of a safer, more peaceful and sustainable future embodied in the Pact for the Future. It is supported by nations and people around the world who, together, vastly outnumber Trump’s supporters. Governance, according to established principles in democracies which are still intact, has just become a whole lot more important. We cannot succumb to the tyranny of a post moral age.

On a practical level, complying with the intent of the Global Digital Compact means bolder attention to internet regulation. In the Canadian House of Commons, at least a half dozen bills dealing with online harm, sexual exploitation, protection of young people from exposure to pornography, human trafficking and revisions to the Criminal Code all seem to get shuffled back and forth to committees year after year. But the high-stakes in the world of artificial intelligence governance is gathering momentum. During the September, 2025 week of UN Our challenge now is to double down on our efforts to bring to fruition the promise of a safer, more peaceful and sustainable future embodied in the Pact for the Future.

General Assembly meetings in New York, a coalition of policy makers launched the “Global Call for AI Red Lines” a campaign demanding the establishment of “international, legally binding red lines to prohibit and prevent” proliferation of the most dangerous AI developments. These red lines should serve as a wake-up call for all nations to deal with the enormous power of digital devices. They underscore the urgent need for appropriate boundaries before it is too late.

Decades of stalling on any kind of regulation of media under the guise of protecting freedom of expression needs to come to an end. Too often inaction translates into appeasement of endless objections to what would be more appropriately described as “corporate freedom of media enterprise” regardless of social consequences. Remarkably, the media industries, unlike others are not required to ensure that their products are safe before they are released into the marketplace. Producers and distributors of appliances, food and other commodities are obligated to do no harm. If potential danger emerges the product is immediately recalled. The same criteria should apply to popular cultural products. We must also demand that governments stop doling out generous grants, subsidies and tax breaks to those producing and distributing what is euphemistically known as “electronic arts”, among them first person shooter videogames known to be harmful to the public interest. Transitioning that is now underway from carbon emitting fossil fuels to renewable energy sources in response to the climate crisis hold lessons for similar transitioning away from vitriol and violence in the cultural environment. Only then will we begin to move toward a kinder, gentler culture of peace.