Peace Is Here with Avis Kalfsbeek

Peacewarts: Universal Understars 101 - Peace as Infrastructure (Class 14)

In this final lesson of the Understars series, we explore why peace is a stable infrastructure while war is a fragile system requiring constant upkeep. We summarize the "Understars Perspective" and dive deeper into JFK’s 1963 "Strategy of Peace" speech as a blueprint for human-made solutions. We define our role as Peace Scholars as we prepare to bring the High View down to the ground.

Homework:

1. Interrupt your routine by looking at your passport or ID card. Imagine it doesn't just list a country, but says "Citizen of the Understars." How does that change your responsibility to the person standing next to you?
2. Write down one final question for this department. If no question comes to mind, write "no question."
3. Optional:Look up at the night sky tonight. Tell the stars, "Hey Understars, let's keep an eye on peace. How about it?"

Learning Topics:

• Peace as infrastructure vs. war as a fragile system
• Summary of the Understars Perspective
• JFK’s 1963 "Strategy of Peace" Speech (American University)
• Reclaiming global citizenship
• Transitioning from theory to daily practice

Resources & Links:

• Follow the podcast as we launch into the first semester of this new peace school.
• Join the Community / Get the Books: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com
• Podcast Music: Javier Peke Rodriguez “I am late, madame Curie” https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW

Peacewarts: Universal Understars 101 - The Tools of Peace: A Survey (Class 13)

We shift our focus from philosophy to the practical "infrastructure" of peace. We survey the various tools—from shared scientific endeavors to verification treaties—that allow humanity to maintain the High View. We look back at what we have named The Great Disarmament (1963) to see how tools like the Partial Test Ban Treaty protected our shared biology. We conclude with the understanding that peace is an inevitable destination that requires constant maintenance.

Homework:

1. Interrupt your routineto look up the "Global Peace Index." Find one "Tool" or metric they use to measure how peaceful a country is.
2. Write down one questionyou have after this episode or doing homework #1. If no question comes to mind, write: "no question."
3. Optional:Journal about your own "Personal Toolkit." When you feel a conflict rising, what is the first "tool" you reach for? (Is it a deep breath? A question? Taking a walk?)

Until our final lesson in this department, keep your eyes on the Understars. Class dismissed.

Learning topics: Peace Infrastructure, Verification Treaties, Shared Science, The Global Peace Index, 1963 Partial Test Ban Treaty, The Great Disarmament.

Resources & Links:

• Follow the podcast as we launch into the first semester of this new peace school.
• Join the Community / Get the Books: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com
• Podcast Music: Javier Peke Rodriguez “I am late, madame Curie” https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW

Peacewarts: Universal Understars 101 - The 1967 Outer Space Treaty (Class 12)

We examine the 1967 Outer Space Treaty as the "Magna Carta" of planetary peace, detailing its core articles and historical origins between the US, UK, and USSR. We also address the modern "scramble" for orbital space by private corporations and why the treaty must evolve to protect the night sky from satellite clutter and the digital colonization of the AI era.

Homework:

1. Interrupt your routineto look up a video of a "Starlink Satellite Train" or maybe you have seen one livepassing over the night sky. Notice how it changes your feeling of the "Understars."
2. Write down one questionyou have after this episode or doing homework #1. If no question comes to mind, write: "no question."
3. Optional:Journal about the "New Scramble." Whether it’s AI or satellites, how do we protect a "Common" when people are trying to move faster than the law?

Learning topics: 1967 Outer Space Treaty (Articles I, II, & IV), The Province of All Mankind, Non-Appropriation, Orbital Debris and Satellites, The Scramble for AI/Data, Species-Level Restraint.

Resources & Links:

• Follow the podcast as we launch into the first semester of this new peace school.
• Join the Community / Get the Books: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com
• Podcast Music: Javier Peke Rodriguez “I am late, madame Curie” https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW

Peacewarts: Universal Understars 101 - JFK’s American University Speech (Class 11)

We conduct a critical analysis of JFK’s 1963 "Strategy of Peace." While acknowledging its power in humanizing the Cold War "enemy" and breaking the Red Scare spell, we challenge Kennedy’s dismissal of "universal peace" as a fantasy. We explore why Peacewarts embraces the aspirational goal of absolute peace over mere mutual tolerance.

Homework:

1. Interrupt your routine to read the full text of the American University Speech. Find the "fantasies and fanatics" quote and sit with it.
2. Write down one question you have after this episode or doing homework #1. If no question comes to mind, write: "no question."
3. Optional:Journal about a "fantasy" you have for the world that others might call unrealistic. Why is that dream actually the most logical thing to want?

Learning topics: JFK's American University Speech, Practical vs. Universal Peace, The Strategy of Peace, Breaking the Red Scare, Humanizing the Other, The Role of the Peace Scholar.

Resources & Links:

• Follow the podcast as we launch into the first semester of this new peace school.
• Join the Community / Get the Books: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com
• Podcast Music: Javier Peke Rodriguez “I am late, madame Curie” https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW

Peacewarts: Dept. of Universal Understars - Watersheds vs. Nation-States (Class 10)

We explore the concept of Bioregionalism and why natural topography—specifically watersheds—is a more logical and peaceful way to organize human society than abstract nation-states. We examine John Wesley Powell’s failed 1890 proposal and look at modern proponents of watershed-based boundaries who seek to align political logic with ecological reality.

Homework:

1. Interrupt your routine to find out the name of the watershed you currently live in.
2. Write down one question you have after this episode or doing homework #1. If no question comes to mind, write: "no question."
3. Optional: Journal about how your relationship with your "neighboring town" might change if you realized you both relied on the exact same underground aquifer.

Learning topics: Watersheds, Bioregionalism, John Wesley Powell, Topography vs. Cartography, Modern Water-Sharing Movements, Ecological Sovereignty.

Resources & Links:

• Follow the podcast as we launch into the first semester of this new peace school.
• Join the Community / Get the Books: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com
• Podcast Music: Javier Peke Rodriguez “I am late, madame Curie” https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW

Peacewarts: Dept. of Universal Understars - The Map is Not the Territory (Class 9)

We explore the semantic trap of mistaking abstract political maps for the actual reality of the Earth. We define "Provincialism Masquerading as Principle" through the lens of the American Civil War and contrast it with the Aboriginal Australian Songlines—a living, melodic way of mapping the territory through relationship rather than ownership.

Homework:

1. Interrupt your routine to look up an"Earth at Night" satellite photo of a border area (like North and South Korea or the US-Mexico border) and see how the "Map" disappears in the dark.
2. Write down one questionyou have after this episode or doing homework #1. If no question comes to mind, write: "no question."
3. Optional:Journal about a time you judged someone based on "where they were from" (their map) rather than "who they were" (their territory).

Learning Topics:

• The Map is Not the Territory (Korzybski).
• The Semantic Gap and Cognitive Bias.
• The American Civil War: Sectionalism as Provincialism.
• Aboriginal Songlines: Navigation through song and relationship.
• AIATSIS Songlines Project: Protecting ancient indigenous knowledge.

Resources & Links:

• Follow the podcast as we launch into the first semester of this new peace school.
• Join the Community / Get the Books: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com
• Podcast Music: Javier Peke Rodriguez “I am late, madame Curie” https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW

Peacewarts: Universal Understars 101 - The Violence of Straight Lines (Class 8)

We begin our second week by deconstructing the "violence" of colonial map-making. We examine how the straight lines of the Berlin Conference (1884) and the Sykes-Picot Agreement (1916) ignored the natural reality of the ground. Most importantly, we discuss how these rigid historical lines are mirrored in our own personal biases and why shifting our perspective is the first step toward systemic peace.

Homework:

1. Interrupt your routine to look at a map of the world and find three borders that are perfectly straight lines. Research which colonial power drew them.
2. Write down one question you have after this episode or doing homework #1. If no question comes to mind, write: "no question."
3. Optional: Journal about a "line" you have drawn in your own life—a grudge or a boundary. Did you draw it for need, or did you draw it out of greed or control?

Learning topics: Colonial Cartography, The Berlin Conference (1884), Sykes-Picot Agreement (1916), Abstract Violence, Personal Bias, Perspective as Peace.

Resources & Links:

• Follow the podcast as we launch into the first semester of this new peace school.
• Join the Community / Get the Books: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com
• Podcast Music: Javier Peke Rodriguez “I am late, madame Curie” https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW

Peacewarts: Universal Understars 101 - Species-Level Loyalty (Class 7)

We explore the concept of Species-Level Loyalty and the shift from "National Resident" to "Planetary Citizen." We examine the 1975 Apollo–Soyuz Test Project as the first historical rehearsal of a borderless human crew, proving that shared survival can override national rivalry.

Homework:

1. Interrupt your routineto look up the "Earth Flag" (the one with the interlocking rings) and read about why it was designed.
2. Write down one questionyou have after this episode or doing homework #1. If no question comes to mind, write: "no question."
3. Optional:Journal about the word "Us." Who is included in your "Us" today, and could that circle be wider?

Learning topics: Species-Level Loyalty, Planetary Citizenship, Apollo–Soyuz Test Project (1975), Shared Life-Support Systems, Global Identity, Universal Ethics.

Resources & Links:

• Follow the podcast as we launch into the first semester of this new peace school.
• Join the Community / Get the Books: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com
• Podcast Music: Javier Peke Rodriguez “I am late, madame Curie” https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW

Peacewarts: Universal Understars 101 - The Overview Effect (Class 6)

We examine the Overview Effect not just as an experience, but as hard geopolitical data. By looking at the consistent testimony of astronauts from various nations, we see how the "High View" naturally dissolves nationalistic identity. We also revisit JFK’s 1963 "Strategy of Peace" as an early political application of this planetary consciousness.

Homework:

1. Interrupt your routine to look up "Astronaut quotes on the Overview Effect" and find the one that resonates most with you.
2. Write down one question you have after this episode or doing homework #1. If no question comes to mind, write: "no question."
3. Optional: Journal about what would happen to our local conflicts if every world leader was required to spend 24 hours in orbit before taking office.

Learning topics: The Overview Effect, Astronaut Testimony, JFK’s American University Speech, Cognitive Reframing, Planetary Consciousness, Species Identity.

Resources & Links:

• Follow the podcast as we launch into the first semester of this new peace school.
• Join the Community / Get the Books: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com
• Podcast Music: Javier Peke Rodriguez “I am late, madame Curie” https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW

Peacewarts: Universal Understars 101 - Atmospheric Sovereignty (Class 5)

We examine the biological reality of the atmosphere and how it renders traditional concepts of national sovereignty obsolete during a crisis. We dive into the history of the 1963 Partial Test Ban Treaty and how the discovery of radioactive fallout in the global food chain forced a shift toward planetary cooperation.

Homework:

1. Interrupt your routineto look up a map of the Global Jet Stream and watch how the air moves across continents.
2. Write down one questionyou have after this episode or doing homework #1. If no question comes to mind, write: "no question."
3. Optional:Journal about the realization that you are currently breathing molecules that were over another continent just a few days ago.

Learning topics: Atmospheric Sovereignty, Global Commons, 1963 Partial Test Ban Treaty, Linus Pauling, Radioactive Fallout, Environmental Interdependence.

Resources & Links:

• Follow the podcast as we launch into the first semester of this new peace school.
• Join the Community / Get the Books: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com
• Podcast Music: Javier Peke Rodriguez “I am late, madame Curie” https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW