Is Peace only an illusion?

No, I dont think that peace is necessarily an illusion, I think that its more like a temporary situation untill the next conflict arises but peace is a very real thing.

Yes, Armed forces are expensive things to maintain but its best to be prepared because there's always going to be another Hitler just around the corner, Believe me.

As for western countries making money from weapons sales all i'll say is that I bet that not 1 penny has been spent on the NHS (ETC) from weapons sales. I dont know where the money goes? Back into R&D for newer more deadly weapons systems? Straight into the pockets of fat cat executives and politicians? But I seriously doubt that 'Ordinary people' ever benefit from weapon sales but its always the 'Ordinary people' who get targeted when a new "war" breaks out, Hardly ever (Unless they volunteered or are actually employed in the armed forces) the 'Higher ups' or the so called 'Elite' in our societies.

And when the fighting dies down its the people who fought honourably that get forgotten and their asses thrown out when they're no longer of any use... But thats always been the case since practically the dawn of mankind!
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/6345008/British-Army-recruitment-reduced-in-97-million-cuts-package.html

As for peace, Ive never wished for it personally because I think that conflict is a natural (Though ugly) and inevitable part of being human.

If peace is an illusion, then the intended conclusion is that conflict is the reality.

But certainly you have at some time experienced a moment that you would refer to as peaceful (if not then I am sincerely sorry for what you have faced and can only hope that you will overcome what it is you face). The idea of peace as an illusion comes from the fact that times of peace only occur between conflicts, but it is also true that conflicts only occur between times of peace. It is not that one is the only truth whilst the other the lie, they are both true. Just not at the same time.

Before the modern age, I'd say peace was very much an illusion. I mean really the only era of unprecedented peace in the world was during the Victorian Age. Today, I'd say that in fact both war and peace are an illusion. Countries are so paranoid about each other during peace, and create false enemies, and modern war no longer requires anywhere near the amount of homefront duty as it used to.

The struggle for dominance is a fact of life, whether it is inside the family (between siblings), in school, or later in life. As long as the drive to exert ones will over others exists in our species, there will always be conflict.

Even supposedly benign competition, such as the recent Olympics, shows how countries use the results for political posturing, and bragging rights.

As long as our race is populated by those who seek power and glory, we will always have war and conflict. At least it will help control our race's overpopulation, unless the nukes start flying and then the whole world gets butt hurt!

There is no such thing as peace since humans are known for destruction. Also no, the second world war was not meant to stop Hitler. You can argue Hitler did more good for Germany by restoring pride, wealth, and strength to Germany than the first World War and post Second World War ever did. Most countries did not care or pay attention to Hitler, his rise to power, and his actions. Again no, the atomic bomb used on Japan had other reason other than to end the war. The main reason was to test the two bombs that they had on Japan rather than soil. It is true that the bomb ended the war, but Japan was barely standing and was low on supplies. The U.S. had the option to wait for supplies to run out and take over. The other reasons for the bomb was to prevent the Soviet Union from taking over Japan and spreading their influence since they were approaching Japan. The U.S. considered that the war was over and wanted to demonstrate or show the world their strength now that countries such as the United Kingdom are in ruble or are weakened. The U.S. also considered the threat of the Soviet Union post World War II and were concerned since they were also on top of the chart as one of the most powerful countries

The Soviet Union was allied with Germany, but switched sides and sided with the Allies during the war because of Germany's actions against Russia. The Soviet Union differed with the U.S. on certain ideals such Communism, Capitalism, and Democracy. If you know anything about the Cold War there was a conflict/war post World War II because of the fear of communism spreading in the U.S., Europe, and to Asia. Also the incompetence and inability of negotiation of certain U.S. presidents compared to FDR played a role in the start of Cold War and the breaking of negotiations with the Soviet Union. Again, the Soviet Union was the biggest threat to the U.S. because of their rise in power after the Second World War and the U.S. disagreement over their ideals.

Peace for me is when big conflict shits with far more loss than benefits for humankind is gone, and I do believe it's not an illusion. Human must conflict in order to grow, but to grow is to gain something. If your loss is bigger than your gain, it's a waste. So, no, not an illusion.

Damn straight it is. There are times where there is little conflict but nature is a cruel bitch who always pits every living thing against each other. Living things have been killing each other since the beginning of time and peace can only truly be obtained if all life ceases to exist. Life is conflict.

True Peace can only be achieved if humanity as a whole learns the importance of compassion. I know that a lot of people believe that peace can never exist because everyone is different, but that's a total cop-out. Everyone has the capacity to understand that each human life has significance, value, and just as much of a right to flourish and thrive as the next.

I truly believe that a person can have their own differing views while still accepting and respecting opposing individuals. We can live in harmony, it's just.. no one truly wants to. Pride gets in the way. People want to feel special, or superior, or 'right'. These petty things are more important to most people than truly understanding their fellow man.

So, to answer your question... Yes, and No. We each have the capacity to open ourselves to love for our fellow man, but as it stands right now... petty things are more important to most people. I believe that Peace can be achieved when our race evolves to the point of noticing the connection between all of us as a whole.

If you define peace as being in a tranquil state, then no, it isn't an illusion. Meditation, chilling in a quiet room and the like can help to achieve so. If you mean peace as a state where interpersonal and international conflicts don't exist, at best they are transient and at worst they seem forced. In daily relationships, there will always be misunderstandings or people who wish to inflict harm. Crime alone shows the fleeting nature of peace here. On a global scale, nuclear proliferation allows mutual deterrence in which one country's militaristic ambition is counteracted by another country's. This delicate equilibrium of peace is maintained through pure strategy and ambition, not just mere understanding. Genocides and tribal wars instigated by power-hungry dictators (Rwanda, Pol Pot of Khymer Rouge fame etc.) are obstacles to peace. Peace is not an illusion; it's merely fleeting. And of course, we all know utopias and perfect peace exist only in fiction..

I appreciate the topic and interesting thoughts but simply stated yes peace does exist.

I do believe peace is real, but I don't believe it can be permanent. Unless humans become extinct.

We're greedy, envious, lazy, gluttonous, prideful, we can certainly HATE and needless to say, we lust. If we are to achieve "peace" then we are to let go of those things. However I ask myself: can I stay away from it all for a day? No. I can't even stay away from fakku and hentai so I put it off until I forget about it.

Peace isn't a worldly desire(for me) and it isn't as rewarding since peace is a uniform thought with everyone else. Difference in opinions and point of view will produce conflicts - it always was and forever it will be. True peace means no conflict. That said, one way if not, only way to have no conflict is to either get rid of those who differ from our own opinion or submit to superior strength for we all know the result of compromising - it only postpones the problem.

Flame on!!

Peace is possible to achive but not as long there is people with power that want to keep it to them self instead of sharing it with others. Like USA, Sweden and Russia selling guns to countries to fight each other, they make money of those countries and the countries fighting each other will obtain more power over the other one. equal is the answer it think. Like the smurfs, they got it down with peace and loving, but theres always one that wants to destroy it. For it to be a absolute peace no countries must exist, no religion, no world hunger. This philosofi is similar with the communist with equalality and no class. And Illuminati that wanted to unite the world, remove all guns and religion. There are or will be a easy answer and the price for world peace will probably be high but we can only hope it will be obtained.

Peace is only an illusion yes, as long as opinions exist peace will never exist. Years of tranquility? Perhaps, but never true peace. There will always be malicious people in the world, such is the nature of the human race.