Amid Conflict, Peace is in the Air: Paul Ingles and Tuning in to Peace
In the shadow of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the radio and online series Peace Talks Radio was begun to preserve a bit of the media landscape for talk about peacemaking and non-violent conflict resolution strategies. The goal of the program has been to explore how we can reduce conflict, both inside ourselves and between each other, as well as tell the stories of peacemakers throughout history. The famous and the less well-known to shine a light on the enormous variety of peace work that is going on in our world.
--Paul Ingles, co-founder and producer of Peace Talks Radio/Good Radio Shows
Conflict and Non-Violent Resolution
Creative writers know conflict is an essential ingredient for compelling stories. The conflict can be internal or external, and often, it is both. Internal conflict that leads to character development makes captivating stories.
The steps taken by the protagonist to resolve the conflict hones the story for audience engagement.
Typically, with strong stories, protagonists (the stars of their own show) struggle and grapple with the conflict. An example is protagonist “rabbinical student” Leo Finkle of the wonderful and wonder-filled story “The Magic Barrel” by Bernard Malumud.
Leo doesn’t want to see the truth about himself (that he doesn’t know how to love), and yet, because he wants to be authentic and effective as a rabbi and husband, he:
faces himself with honesty and introspection;
experiences an epiphany about himself;
changes for the better;
acts on a resolution.
Specifically, Leo decides he must let go his set ideas about love, risk the uncertainty, and practice loving others.
Fictional stories reflect life and the human condition. Because we live amid conflict, we can identify with story progression of struggle, introspection, self-honesty, epiphany, change, resolution.
To hear real-life stories of “peacemaking and non-violent conflict resolution strategies,” we can tune in to airwaves of Peace Talks Radio. As co-founder and producer Paul Ingles states, “The goal of the program has been to explore how we can reduce conflict, both inside ourselves and between each other, as well as tell the stories of peacemakers throughout history.”
Tomorrow, Friday June 26, 2020 will mark the 205th Peace Talks Radio episode. Begun in 2002, the program airs weekly on about 60 stations in 24 states, and monthly on KUNM in Albuquerque, New Mexico on the last Friday of each month at 8:00 am. All episodes in the series are archived at the website and can be streamed or downloaded at http://www.peacetalksradio.com/
Peacemaking
Peace Talks Radio offers an impressive range of people sharing how they work for peace. Here are just a very few highlights:
From The Best of 10 Years of Peace Talks Radio
One of my teachers once said to me, if you want peace, if you want to be happy, then develop a heart that is ready for anything.
—Eric Kolvig, Meditation Teacher, first Peace Talks Radio guest, 2002.
~~~
Thou shalt not kill should apply not just to individual but it should apply to nations. And I think that he [Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.] would use his last bit of energy to try to get that message out and talk about the fact, preach and teach about the fact that we must have a revolution of values and really work to change our thinking…I saw him as someone who would not give up this philosophy; he had indeed said if I am the last lone voice calling for nonviolence, that I will do.
—Dorothy Cotton, who worked with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in the 1960s, guest in 2005, speaking about Dr. King
~~~
It is a fact that somebody must have some sense in this world; somebody must have sense enough to meet hate with love; somebody must have sense enough to meet physical force with soul force.
—Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., form a speech, quoted in the 2005 interview with Dorothy Cotton
From The Best of 10 Years of Peace Talks Radio, (Volume 2)
…by thinking in terms of centuries, he’s [the Dalai Lama] not prey to the moment-by-moment convulsions…we’re almost permanently riding a roller coaster and he’s like a monk sitting next to roller coaster seeing things in a much...against a much wider horizon, in a much larger context…
—Pico Iyer, author of The Open Road, speaking about the Dalai Lama with whom he traveled
~~~
…please be careful what you do everyday of your life and finally the world as a whole and the human family will reap the benefits of that.
—Pico Iyer, paraphrasing a concept of the Dalai Lama’s
~~~
When you find someone to treat you like a human being, not like you are just someone to be thrown away, it has an impact on you…
—James Alexander, former prisoner
~~~
…By not giving up their old…anger and hurt, [divorced couples] are continuing to hurt, and they’re tying themselves together in the shackle of animosity and hatred.
—New Mexico Therapist Sam Roll
~~~
…caring about who they are and what their impact is on the world. Caring. Caring.
—LeAnn Potts, former features writer for the Albuquerque Journal, talking about what motivates people to learn peacemaking skills
From Peace Talks Radio: The Best of 2014-2017
But you see, I love people, and I see the good in them. And you’re apt to reach what you see. The world is like a mirror. If you smile at it, it smiles at you. I love to smile and so in general I definitely see smiles in return…
Overcome evil with good, and falsehood with truth, and hatred with love…
There is a magic formula for resolving conflict and it’s this: Have as your objective the resolving of the conflict, not the gaining of advantage. There is a magic formula for avoiding conflict; it is this: be concerned that you do not offend, not that you are not offended. That formula will work between men or between nations.
—Peace Pilgrim, audio clips from interviews during her walks for peace
~~~
We have never de-segregated our schools. Our children still don’t have an equal shot of sitting next to each other in a classroom and sharing that experience together…
I think one of the ways in which we let ourselves off the hook when we are made to confront our biases is that, “well, we have friends”… “we have black friends, we have Jewish friends, we have Muslim friends, we have white friends, we have Latino friends, we have Asian friends,” as though that then excuses us from ever holding, either consciously or unconsciously, attitudes, biases, prejudices, and perceptions that ultimately support and become the fuel of the systems that really deprive us all of equal access, equitable opportunity and equitable treatment…
It’s one thing to say, “I have black friends.” It’s another thing to say, “I understand through my close association better what that experience is like,” but then there’s another thing to say that “I really have walked inside of that space intentionally with my friend and I’ve come out on the other side as an ally, as a person committed and willing to work not just for what’s good for me and my family, but what’s good for them and their family.” Even folks who say “I have good friends,” when you ask them, “So those friends visit with you? You know their children’s names? You’ve shared anniversaries, birthdays, holidays with them? You’ve sat with their sick loved ones and they’ve sat with yours?” Then that “I have a friend thing” begins to break down.
—Rev. Alvin Herring of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation
Filmmaking
Paul Ingles has devoted his life, career and creativity to the exploration of peacemaking. This is evident in all of his media productions, including his independent film A Soldier’s Passage, 2019, in which Paul is screenwriter, director and an actor.
Paul relates, “The film’s title, A Soldier’s Passage, comes from the title of a memoir that my father wrote in the mid-1980’s about his experience as a First Lieutenant in Patton’s Third Army at the Battle of the Bulge and in other European action towards the end of World War II. My dad was awarded both a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star for his service, but he chose not to make the military his career, instead going into business as an executive with the phone company in the Washington, DC area, where we [Paul and his siblings] grew up.”
To me, viewing A Soldier’s Passage is like participating in an intimate unfolding and smoothing of the creased pages of a family story, formerly tucked-away, now given light in the beauty of love that recounts the last year of a dear father’s life.
An artful, sensitive portrayal, the film invites the viewer to share private moments that are simultaneously life-challenging and life-affirming.
In an unplanned twist, the 2019 production takes us to days B.C.-19, when unmasked family members could visit and even hug family members in care centers, leaving us with additional poignant thoughts about those we love and the institutions that care for their health and possibly even their final days.
As I watched the film, I felt more a participant than a viewer. With Paul’s skillful script, based on actual conversations with his father, and with actor Fred Schwab’s moving portrayal of Tom, 93-year-old decorated WWII veteran, devoted father and friend, and enthusiast of reading, music, and sports, I found myself starting to love the truly adorable Tom. A bit past mid-point, knowing Tom would soon be on his final life passage, I had to turn off the film. For two days, I lived in the love I was feeling for him, my new acquaintance who, once I returned to finish watching the film, would die.
A Soldier’s Passage shows that peace, as LeAnn Potts stated, is about “Caring. Caring.”
Peace is in the Air
Because of Paul Ingles and Peace Talks Radio, words of peace ride the airwaves.
In conclusion, to me, even a moment of peace bathes my aching soul with calm and satisfying vision. To me:
Peace is more than a feeling or state of being.
Peace is a behavior.
Peace is a practice.
Thanks to video conferencing, you can Zoom in from anywhere you are to meet with Paul Ingles next Wednesday, July 1, 2020, from 5:30 to 6:30 - 6:45 pm MT in From the Divine Studio: Creatives in Conversation Hour. Please join us for this lovely way to enrich an hour.
CREATIVES IN CONVERSATION TOPIC BY PAUL INGLES:
Creative Expression in Film, Radio and Social Media
Paul will talk about his feature film A SOLDIER'S PASSAGE,
his music radio documentary work,
his 18 years running PEACE TALKS RADIO program,
and his thought-journaling on social media.
Wednesday, July 1, 2020, 5:30 pm to 6:45 pm MDT
Find out more and get your zoom link to attend by clicking on the button below:
From July 1 through July 5, I will be doing a 5-day Wild Conviction Donation Blitz for Peace Talks Radio. For every pre-order of my novel Wild Conviction, I will donate $1 (of my own dollars) to support the great programming by Peace Talks Radio. So help a great cause by pre-ordering Wild Conviction! The more pre-orders, the more donations to Peace Talks Radio.
NOTE ABOUT FICTION WRITING: Some great stories, to be true to the character’s nature, might not involve an epiphany with positive transformation. For example, in the stories “The Swimmer” and “Reunion” by John Cheever, the protagonists, due to their active addictions, avoid two requirements for authentic development and change—introspection and self-honesty.
NOTE ABOUT QUOTATIONS: As I listened to the Peace Talks Radio episodes, I transcribed the quotations I wanted to highlight in this blog. I strived for accuracy in all quotations.
ABOUT PAUL INGLES
Paul has been in broadcasting since 1975 and has experience as a producer,
news and sports reporter, recording engineer, editor, on-air personality,
consultant, trainer and manager, working at radio and television stations
in North Carolina, Washington, DC, Ohio and New Mexico. As an independent
radio producer and reporter since 2002, he has filed reports for NPR news
programs and many public radio programs, winning multiple awards for his
reporting. Paul was contracted by NPR to be its Liaison to Independent
Producers between 2006 and 2017, during which time he coached hundreds of
radio producers and reporters in that role during his tenure. Paul has
also produced radio programs on music, popular culture, literature, media
literacy and other topics that have been distributed to public radio
stations around the world. Paul is also the co-founder and producer of
the Peace Talks Radio series heard on about 60 public radio outlets in 22
states. More recently Paul has been training as an actor and doing
independent filmmaking.
ABOUT THE BLOG AUTHOR:
Mary Dezember, PhD, is a poet and author of fiction and non-fiction. She earned her PhD in Comparative Literature, specialization in Comparative Arts, from Indiana University in 2000, with PhD minors in Art History and Performance Studies. Professor of English, she teaches Comparative Arts, Art History, Creative Writing and Literature at New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology. Her publications include several non-fiction essays and articles and two books of poetry: Earth-Marked Like You (Sunstone Press) and Still Howling (CreateSpace Independent Publishing). Her novel, Wild Conviction, is in the works to be published by Inkshares.