WHY WAR IS NEVER A GOOD IDEA by Alice Walker

We live in a scary time, and all the conflict can seem overwhelming. PULITZER PRIZE-WINNING AUTHOR ALICE WALKER has big ideas about how you can help and make the world a safer place.

As an elder in our society and of the planet, I care deeply about you, the young women of the world, because you carry the future. Your generation has grown up with war, so it may seem as though it's the only solution, but it is not. When a war happens anywhere on the planet, it endangers everyone because it poisons the earth itself. That air, that water, those fumes and carcinogens from the bombs and machinery go everywhere. As we attempt to harm others, we commit violence against ourselves, and against our beautiful mother, the earth, which is so glorious, so bountiful, and so very good to us.

The idea that there are some "other" people somewhere that you can bomb and harm is an idea that is obsolete and wrong. We're the same-we're all part of one earth. The Iraqi people are mothers, fathers, infants, and grandparents, and they're all doing their daily thing, getting up in the morning like we do. Bombing and killing them isn't the answer. Instead, people need to communicate. We must learn about these people we're fighting-what they are about and how they see themselves. In doing so, we'll find that there's nothing worth killing people for.

The good news is that people have the ability to change. It's going to take more work than most people have ever imagined, but it's possible because we don't have an alternative. So how can YOU do you your part? First, learn from the people who have already been to war. Go to a veteran and really listen to his or her experience with all of your self. It will help you decide whether you want to support the war or do something else. If you have family and friends who are fighting, love them with all your heart and support them as much as you can. Send whatever care packages you can dream of. Write to them, make socks for them, knit sweaters for them (the desert can be cold at night), go without something you want and use the money to send a gift. Just make them aware that you absolutely adore them and want them to come home safely and soon.

Then, find a practice that will enable you to keep YOUR little boat afloat. It may seem foreign to you at first, but I would suggest you pray, try meditation, do yoga, or learn tai chi. Many people get a lot of strength from their churches, synagogues, temples, or mosques-just do anything that lets you take quiet time for yourself and your soul. This type of reflection will help you focus on the kind of person that you want to be and the way you want to behave. Because what Mahatma Gandhi said is actually true: You must be the change you wish to see in the world. Remember, most change happens from one person's actions. We think sweeping changes come from millions rising up, but it's often from a single person who steps forward.

Most importantly, you must have a joyful life. Where we are as a planet is so perilous that NOT to have a good life is to cheat yourself of the time we have left. So dance! Have a hilarious time with your friends. Experience the wonder of the world in all its radiance, and do your part to make human beings worthy of this amazing place.

In the end, you can only extend what you have, and if you have peace you can extend that simply by being alive. Carry in your heart the certainty that the children, the elders, the women and grandfathers, the animals, the trees, the rivers and beautiful hills, many of them millions of years in the making, are not your enemy. Your enemy, the earth's enemy, is war itself. You will have to be very strong to swim against this powerful tide, but the earth and all its beings are worth it.

(MAKE A DIFFERENCE! Alice Walker works closely with Women for Women International, a charity that helps women in war-torn countries rebuild their lives. To offer your own e-mail message of support to a woman living in a nation at war, go to womenforwomen.org)