ISIS, the Iraq and Afghanistan wars and the refugee crisis. All of these things are some of the stories on the news about unrest in the world right now, but what about the peace?

“I think that people in these wars and problems should be given attention,” sophomore Inca Krones said. “People trying to bring peace should also be recognized.”

Today there are thousands of people that are either fighting or stuck in the middle of a civil war or a conflict. We hear about their struggles in the media every day, but we rarely hear about all the acts of peace that countries are making all around the world. Most recently the United States government with the help of other countries have made a deal with Iranian leaders to stop their nuclear missile program.

The Iran Deal was signed by Germany, Iran and the United Nations Security Council (United Kingdom, United States, China, France, Russia). The deal prevents Iran from creating nuclear weapons and if they decide to not follow the treaty and want to make a bomb, it significantly slows down the process. The United States citizens in particular have been upset with the deal because it is compromising not just us getting our way. However, the plan stops Iran from having nuclear weapons and it keeps Iran as our allies, and it is most importantly peaceful.

International Day of Peace was voted to become a world holiday by the United Nations in their General Assembly in 1981. Today it still is a day recognized by countries to celebrate peace in the world. All around the world on September 21st there are rallies, marches, festivals, meditation sessions and music concerts supporting the ideas of peace in this time of chaos. Countries that experience this chaos widely celebrate this day of peace because the whole community can come together and just try to forget all of the trouble they’re surrounded by.

“World Peace Day is envisioned to become a moment of global unity,” British actor Jeremy Gilley stated. “It is up to each and every one of us to make this a reality.”