Peace. A state of harmony consisting of calmness and serenity, the absence of hostility, or a relationship characterised by respect, justice and goodwill. In a society fuelled by hostility and aggression, peace is evidently a utopian ideal: it was not a feature of my forefathers’ generation; nor is it likely to characterise my future.

On September 30, 1938, on his return from Munich, Neville Chamberlain famously claimed that he had achieved ‘Peace for our time’. The Munich agreement was intended to give the Sudetenland of Czechoslovakia to Hitler, as part of an attempt to satisfy his desire for Lebensraum (‘living space’) for Germany, thereby restoring peace to Europe. The irony of this passionate peace talk was that merely one year later, Europe was plunged into the horrors of the Second World War.

The United States, during the 1950s and 1960s was clearly not the epitomy of peace either in a period characterised by segregation and injustice, with African Americans suffering unjustly at the hands of White America. Martin Luther King Junior aimed to restore peace to a racially divided America, through various non-violent activities, observing that:

‘True peace is not merely the absence of tension: It is the presence of justice.’

Whilst great strides have been made in the realm of race relations during my lifetime, and that of my parents, I would only need to step into the deep South, to see that racial harmony is not uniformly prevalent.

My most poignant memory of my schooldays is not of watching my peers stick pins into teachers’ chairs, waiting in anticipation for the squeal of pain, or of moving the clocks forward every Wednesday, in a bid to escape ten minutes earlier from painstakingly dull maths lessons. It is of watching the heart-breaking scenes of the September 11 attacks unfold on the common room television screen, during what would otherwise have been an ordinary lunchtime. There was nothing ordinary about this experience however. As I watched on in horror surrounded by my peers, this was the point at which I realised that peace is not only an alien concept, but is also completely unattainable.

In a society characterised by differences, be they of religion, race or culture, peace will always remain an aspiration but will never become the defining attribute of our time. The bombings of July 2005 confirmed fears that the biggest threat facing society is terrorism. The familiarity of the central London sites that were blasted, was all too much for Londoners not to feel a sense of fear. The suicide bombers were intent on destroying the jubilation resounding around the UK, following the announcement a day earlier that the capital was to host the 2012 Summer Olympics, and five days after the success of the Live 8 concert. The timing of the attacks was certainly no coincidence – the terrorists clearly set out to destroy the peace.

With London now facing a gun crime epidemic, many feel that the capital is no longer a peaceful city in which to reside. A senior policeman was recently quoted as saying that such extreme violence, was “threatening the fabric of London,” and indeed it is. The level of gun crime in London rose by four per cent last year, and what is clear from the emerging trends is that this figure is only set to increase further, as increasing numbers of young people become involved in gang–related activity. Wouldn’t it be nice to live in a society, free of terror, free of crime, free of prejudice, and free of threat? Now that would be heaven. Maybe the only place where peace truly exists is among such higher realms. Just a thought.