peace begins with how we treat one another

There is something worth thinking about in the recent controversy surrounding the Nobel Peace Prize.

Donald Trump wanted the Nobel Peace Prize. He made no secret of it. When the 2026 prize was awarded to South African jurist Navi Pillay instead, his reaction became another public spectacle.

But let's put the award aside for a moment.

What does it mean to be a leader? And what kind of example are we setting for future generations?

Professionalism, manners, ethics and respect aren't old-fashioned ideas. They are the foundations of how we live together, how we resolve disagreements and how we build trust.

You don't have to agree with someone to treat them with dignity. You don't have to like a decision to respond with grace. And you certainly don't have to resort to insults, profanity or personal attacks when things don't go your way.

In fact, that's when character matters most.

Leadership comes with responsibility. The words of people in positions of power travel much further than ordinary conversations. They are heard by children, repeated by supporters, reported around the world and sometimes adopted as acceptable behaviour.

What happens when the people at the top demonstrate that it's perfectly acceptable to insult someone who disagrees with you, belittle an individual who receives recognition instead of you, or publicly disparage an entire country because you didn't get what you wanted?

What are young people supposed to learn from that?

We spend so much time talking about bullying in schools, respectful workplaces, online harassment and teaching children to manage their emotions. Yet the behaviour of influential adults can undermine those very lessons.

We cannot teach respect while modelling disrespect.

And there's an irony in campaigning for a Nobel Peace Prize while responding to disappointment with hostility and insults.

Peace isn't simply the absence of war. It requires diplomacy, patience, listening, compromise, accountability and the ability to disagree without turning another person into an enemy.

It requires recognizing that other people have dignity, even when they don't give us what we want.

Nobody expects world leaders to be perfect. They are human, and they will make mistakes. But professionalism also means knowing when to step back, consider your words and take responsibility for your actions.

An apology can demonstrate more leadership than a thousand speeches.

The Nobel Peace Prize is not a popularity contest or a participation trophy. It represents a particular ideal: the work of bringing people and nations closer to peace.

Perhaps we should all be asking ourselves a simple question:

If we want future generations to build a more peaceful world, shouldn't the adults leading today's world demonstrate what that actually looks like?

You cannot demand respect while refusing to show it.

You cannot build bridges while constantly burning them.

And it's pretty difficult to create peace when your first response to disappointment is to swear at people.

Peace begins with how we treat one another. That lesson shouldn't be too difficult for any of us to understand.