There's an inspiring show running on History Channel this holiday season called "The Christmas Truce" about events that happened on Christmas day, 1914, in the trenches of WWI. This was a war that many people originally thought would be over by the end of that year, but would drag on for several more years. Anyway, what happened that day is on the one hand unbelievable, and yet on the other hand you have to wonder why it doesn't happen more often: spontaneous peace between people who recognize the humanity of the "enemy" and the inhumanity of war.
Some links about this event:
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Another link...
More on google...