How easy it is to slip into war. A niggling dispute might fester for a while then an unrelated incident trigger it into a conflict that no one could have predicted.

China and Japan are engaged in a simmering disagreement over ownership of a group of islands. Must two fine countries send young men and women to kill each other?

To ease these countries away from their differences over these islands, and save face on both sides, a simple suggestion might be proposed:

That the disputed islands and the sea around them  be declared a national park to be managed by the United Nations until such time when an amicable solution is found by the two countries in dispute.

A single blog like this will do nothing to calm  matters between these two countries. But what if this uncomplicated suggestion were picked up by others and allowed to go viral? By this process millions of people could register their sympathy against what is occurring with the prospect of the weight of world opinion nudging the two countries towards a settlement as suggested.

If we can be of help here it would be the first time that citizens of the world would have succeeded in turning aside potential conflict. Would that not be a great thing?

If you agree with this idea please consider re-blogging or re-tweeting it to others to generate a chain reaction around the world  to make it easier for these two countries to find an easement in their difficulty.

Patrick