Why People Have Mixed
Feelings about Islam
Like in any other religion, Islam may be viewed like a coin: one element with two different
sides.It represents the positive and constructive on one hand while on the other hand it
represents the negative and destructive. This sounds to be a natural phenomenon. The
concept of prayer, fast, and self-sacrifice is to be commended. Women’s long garb along
with the covering of their head instills in many that same respect that nuns in a convent
have enjoyed for a long time.
Good Aspects of Islam
Besides, Islam’s genuine belief in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and of all the
prophets of the Old Testament cannot be taken lightly. In addition, the respect that the
Koran reveals for the Holy Family of Nazareth that included Jesus and His Blessed Mother
Mary is quite impressive to say the least. Islamic families tend to love their children dearly
and they try to raise them responsibly the best they can.
In addition, the name of God, commonly known as Allah, is often invoked with great
respect in the open by all people from every walk of life and profession. The Islamic
mosques are very beautiful and they do serve as an inspiration for many who bow on their
knees and even prostrate on the ground as a sign of great respect to the creator of
everything that exists. Those who had the opportunity to deal with Islamic people can
testify how nice, helpful, and altruistic these children of God happen to be eventually.
In spite of what we hear to the contrary, Islamic people in general tend to adapt themselves
to the various cultures where they happen to be with relative ease. Even though in recent
times small bands of generally young Islamic men have performed actions that were
classified as negative and destructive, Islam as a religion that is built on the Koran remains
a good and holy instrument to bring people close to God in a number of ways. In general,
Islamic people may be described as quiet and humble and they tend to be somewhat
altruistic.
Everything that has been stated here about Islam is quite positive and constructive.
However, there is another side of Islam, as judged from actions of responsible Islamic
authorities, which seems to be quite negative and destructive. We may here summarize
briefly these unpleasant elements that have incurred the anger and condemnation of
millions of people from across every continent. Among these millions we find also scholars
from very walk of life, culture and religion. What puzzles the minds of many lies in the fact
that responsible Islamic governments remain deaf or totally silent when confronted with
such problems.
Negative Aspects in Perspective
These negative and destructive elements deal with the way some Islamic authorities
interpret and handle the concept of jihad, the concept of adultery, the concept of religion
and the concept of punishment. Like with the case of Christianity, it looks obvious that
fundamentalist Moslems have done a very poor job in portraying a good image of the
Islamic faith in the world at large.
1. The Concept of Jihad: The word jihad refers to the waging of a holy war in the name of
God! The question that needs to be raised here is this: When we proceed to wage this holy
war, we are waging such a war against whom and against what? A holy war waged in the
name of God cannot be holy and far less having the approval of God, when such a war is
deliberately waged against the other children of God! We know even from the wise
teachings of the Master Teacher, Jesus of Nazareth, that God is a loving Father who would
not want to see any of his children suffer even if they were not good and pleasing to Him.
If one were to analyze the concept of jihad within its context one will soon realize that such
a holy war is to be waged against our passions. For example, if my neighbor were to offend
me and acts ugly toward me, it would be natural on my part to react negatively and
destructively toward him. Instead, here I would have the opportunity to wage a holy war, a
jihad, against my own ugly instincts that I am harboring against my neighbor. This could
be demonstrated on my part by showing acts of love and mercy toward the one that hurt
me or offended me. This is all what jihad is all about, nothing more and nothing less.
2. The concept of Adultery: The Moslems, like the Jews and the Christians, firmly believe in
the Ten Commandments that God gave to Moses. When the disciples asked Jesus of
Nazareth to teach them how to pray, He taught them the “Our Father who art in heaven”
prayer. In this Jesus taught us to tell God the Father explicitly: “Forgive us our trespasses
as we forgive those that trespass against us.”
Our appeal to God to have mercy on us and to forgive us is based primarily on our ability
to have mercy on other people and to forgive them.The idea that the Islamic Sharia law
allows an unwed woman who becomes pregnant to be stoned to death is outrageous to say
the least and an outright misinterpretation and even desecration of the Holy Scriptures to
say the most. When the woman that committed adultery was brought to Jesus for
condemnation, Jesus said: “Let the one who is without sin among you throw the first
stone.” They all left away. It was obvious that Jesus did not approve of such a barbaric act.
3. The Concept of Religion: The New Webster Dictionary of the English Language describes
religion as the feeling of reverence which men entertain toward a Supreme Being; the
recognition of God as an object of worship, love and obedience; and any system of faith and
worship. This would include Jews, Hindus, Buddhists, Christians and Moslems among
others. In spite of the fact that religion is a supernatural entity, human beings in history
have succeeded to distort this original holy concept of religion as God always viewed it.
Hence, we have today what is termed as Established Religion, which the same dictionary
describes as that form of religion in a country which is recognized and supported by the state.
We also have what is termed as Natural Religion, which is viewed as the knowledge of God
and of our duty which is derived from the light of nature. In addition, we find as well
Revelation Religion, which consists of the knowledge of God and of our duty from positive
revelation.
Religion in itself remains a holy spiritual element whose ultimate purpose is to elevate our
mind to God and to enable us to live closely to Him. The problem with religion comes when
we shift from the practice of religion as instituted by God, that is, revelation religion, to the
practice of established religion, which consists of merely its outward practice as advocated
or expected by a government or fanatical groups. Jesus rebuked the Pharisees as
hypocrites for making religion consisting merely of exterior behavior and nothing more.
How does God view Jews, Hindus, Buddhists, Christians and Moslems in addition to
others? The one that can best give us this answer would certainly be the Blessed Virgin
Mary who over the centuries has won love and respect from people of every walk of life,
religion and culture. She professed to the six children in Medjugorje during the decade of
the eighties saying clearly: I am the mother of all people; I am the mother of those who love
me and of those who do not love me; I am the mother of those who accept me and of those
who reject me; I am the mother of those who know me and of those who do not know me; all
of these are me children and I love them dearly and infinitely.
In a revelation that was received by Archbishop John Bereslavsky, Patriarch of the Mother
of God Church Derjevnaya of Moscow, the Blessed Mother remarked: I wish to see my
Christian children learning from my Buddhist children detachment from the material things
of this world. According to several ascetical writers, the Blessed Mother, known in
Christianity also as the Mother of God, knows more about God’s mind and God’s feelings
than all the people that ever existed and all the angels combined. Whereas in the sphere of
religion, human beings judge each other by their affiliation to established or organized
religion, God, the Allah of Islam, judges people by their kind and loving heart.
4. The Concept of Punishment: It is viewed all over the world as totally barbaric to witness
Islamic governments using the “eye for an eye and the tooth for a tooth” type of
punishment to deal with their people. The Master Teacher of Nazareth who is highly
revered in the Koran by all good Moslems, told the people of his time: The God you preach
is not the God I know. You preach a God who advocates the eye for an eye and the tooth for a
tooth. The God I know is a God of love and mercy and not a God of revenge. He is a God that
when you strike Him on one check not only he does not retaliate and strike back, but, on the
contrary, He would react toward you with love and mercy even to the point of letting you
striking Him on the other check.
We have witnessed in Libya, Iran and other Moslem nations that when someone is caught
steeling, for example, the government would amputate one of the hands of such a thief, no
matter how minor the item may be. Again, this is viewed as barbaric and vicious to say the
least and as crazy and satanic to say the most. These Moslem leaders who are responsible
for such atrocious amputations are shaming the holy religion of Islam by inflicting on it a
very dark spot that millions around the world find very difficult to erase. Some
psychologists have remarked saying that such punishments inflicted by Islamic leaders
reveal a dosage of cruelty that stems basically from sadistic tendencies.
Going back to religion, to when one wishes to change the mode of approaching God by
changing one’s affiliation to religion from Islam, say, to Christian, the Islamic government
in a number of countries intervenes and proceeds to inflict severe punishments on the
person who wanted to become a Christian. Such punishments do not usually consist of any
amputations but rather they would involve physical torture and even death. Again, the
world at large views this as inhuman and barbaric to say the least and as a direct meddling
with God’s inspiration to say the most. Such governmental interference with people’s
choice of dealing with God in the spiritual sphere has been referred by some spiritual
experts as blasphemy.
Of course, none of this is brought into the news media, nor written in a nation’s
constitution. The 'fear' element of expressing one's opinion or of changing religious beliefs
is deeply causing people to suffer anguish from their suppression of freedom in spiritual
choices. Although in some Islamic countries economy is bringing them money and luxury,
however, it is not freeing the hearts and souls of Islamic people from governmental ruthless
domination. Islam is a great religion and every single person needs to read the Koran at
least once.
Right of Worship Style Selection
Religion of any kind, be it Jewish, Christian, Islam you name it, cannot be enforced on
anyone, like we observe in some Islamic countries. There seems to be nothing wrong in
having a nation making a certain faith the established religion of the country in the sense
that laws would not be enacted that would violate the spirit of that religion. But it is
abusive and offending to the Divine Spirit to prevent people from changing their spiritual
style of worship in their dealing with God, the Allah of Moslems.
In 1984, Benzir Bhutto, daughter of former Pakistani Prime Minister Ali Bhutto who was
hanged for political motives, gave a talk at Harvard University. She was then in exile living
in England. She said: It is a pity that Islam which is such a good religion has been desecrated
by Islamic governments and small groups of fanatics. She added: While in the Koran women
occupy an equal place with men, Islamic governments always tended to treat women as second
class citizens. Hence, I plan to return to Pakistan and run to become the first Islamic woman
Prime Minister. The rest is history. She did become later the Prime Minister of this Moslem
nation.
In view of what has been stated, we may realize why people have mixed feelings about
Islam. on one hand, it is obvious that it is a wonderful and great religion. on the other
hand, systematic abuses by Islamic governments and fanatical Islamic groups relative to
the concept of jihad, adultery, religion and punishment have created in countless millions
around the world many negative feelings that have generated considerable lack of trust.
Throughout history, Islam, for one reason or another, has developed a reputation of being
a rather violent religion due mostly to the four concepts outlined above. The time is ripe
when we need to eliminate these negative and destructive aspects of Islam as to have the
entire world concentrate on this religion’s positive and constructive aspects, the sooner the
better. This way, Islam, may in due time prove itself to be one of the best instruments in the
promotion of international understanding and world peace.
-----------------------Judas Iscariot: Patron of Christian
Fundamentalists in America
The New Webster’s Dictionary of the English language tells us that the adjective
fundamental is derived from the noun fundament meaning that part of the body on which one sits, commonly known as the anus. In plain language one’s anus is referred to as one’s
ass. In conversation a person who tends to act irrationally is often viewed as being an ass,
that is, as one who has reached the stage of hopelessness when dealing with him.
Characteristics of Christian Fundamentalists
Those Christians in the United States that have become so deeply set in their way of
thinking and in the way they pass judgment on others that they are being described as
fundamentalists. By nature, Christian fundamentalists believe that they are the guardians
of God’s laws, the protectors of God’s righteousness, and the promulgators of God’s will on
earth. They tend to view everything from one angle and what they see is absolute and final.
When you agree with them it means that you are right. When you happen to disagree with
them it means that you are wrong.
These Christian fundamentalists forget that there are 360 angles from which we may view
anything that we may come cross. once they make up their mind, they become thoroughly
incapable of viewing things from a different perspective. In order for us to comprehend the
mind of Christian fundamentalists in the United States we need to have an idea about their
culture, philosophy, and background. These extreme Christians were born in a capitalistic
society that prides itself in the so called American dream.
This dream consists of the fact that everyone can aspire to make it big in life and become
rich. The motto of this American nation seems to be: The sky is not the limit, which has
been now adopted as a slogan of various chambers of commerce throughout the country.
Needless to say, such limit refers to money and wealth.
If we were to analyze all the criticism made by Christian fundamentalists we will never find
any that was ever directed toward money-making and wealth-accumulation, even when
achieved by immoral and illegal means. As we may already know, the United States
represents the seat of capitalism in the entire world. Money and wealth becomes the de
facto God of the nation. When we read on the United States’ currency the motto: In God
We Trust, such a God does not refer to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob or the God
that Jesus of Nazareth spoke about. Far from it! It boils down merely to money and wealth.
Pharisees of the Twenty First Century
Of course, for the retention of this God, Christian fundamentalists do everything even
though their actions are often very subtle and they have to be read through fine print. This
brand of Christians is found not only among the laity but among the clergy as well, even
though we do find quite a good number of exceptions in churchmen. If we were to have a
clear understanding of the Pharisees during the time of Jesus of Nazareth, we will
automatically develop a perfect concept of Christian fundamentalists who are the de facto
Pharisees of the twenty first century.
For those who may not know, the Pharisees were known for their meticulous observance of
the law as it is revealed in the exterior. Because of this, they expected everyone to view
them as exemplars, virtuous, good and prefect with admiration and reverence. Jesus
described the Pharisees as tombs who look clean from the outside but they really stink
from the inside. The Pharisees were judgmental and they tried to put everyone down that
did not observe the law to the letter. To this end, Jesus warned the Pharisees that the
Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath. In other words, rules and
regulations were set up to fit the needs of people and not the other way round.
Christian fundamentalists, headed by a number of clergymen, shout and scream that
abortion, that is, the termination of the life of the pre-born, is murder. Because of this they
consider it sinful to vote for a politician who is not adamantly opposed to abortion. At the
same time, when there is a simultaneous termination of life of both the mother and the preborn child caused by a war that was viewed unjust by Pope John Paul II, former South
African President Nelson Mandela, former Costa Rican President Oscar Arias, among
numerous others, Christian fundamentalists remain silent. They do not even shed one
crocodile tear!
And to turn insult into injury, some of the fundamentalist clergymen that come from
various denominations, which would include the Southern Baptists, the Churches of Christ,
as well as the Episcopalian and the Catholic Church, among several others defend their
position saying: Abortion still remains an intrinsic evil! So these pathetic church leaders
refer to the killing of the child through abortion, as tolerated by so called pro-choice
politicians, as intrinsic evil! At the same time, these pitiful church leaders refer to the
simultaneous killing of both the child and the mother, as instigated by the self-proclaimed
pro-life politicians through the war they authorized in Iraq, merely as collateral damage!
Wolves in Sheep Clothing
This is certainly outrageous to have Christian fundamentalists not only condoning the
massacre of both the mother and her pre-born child, like these helpless victims were a
piece of furniture, but to refer to such a shameful event in the Iraqi war, for example, as an
act of patriotism. Christian fundamentalists speak of our obligation to support the
American troops, where in essence they are supporting the “abuse” of American troops
that were sent to an unjust and unlawful war basically by self-proclaimed pro-life
politicians whom they supported and elected to office.
Recently, the United States decided to send its troops to Fellujah in Iraq to kill the
terrorists. American soldiers were asked to enter and search for terrorists into every single
home. And they literally killed tens of thousands, including women and children, not to
mention the tens of thousands that were maimed and ruined for life. The question raised
here by the younger generation of several countries was this: When American soldiers
enter houses and see young men there how are they going to recognize who might have
been the terrorist and the innocent?
Did the terrorists have any mark on their forehead like some sort of a tattoo so that they
could be distinguished from those young men who were innocent and never wanted to have
a part in terrorist activities? We learned that American soldiers were instructed to literally
wipe out everyone they come across, since they were told everyone could be a potential
enemy! Christian fundamentalists glorify war. They support the continued manufacture
and sales of weapons. They have no objection to see the United States government cut
money from the health care needs of people and the education of our children to pass them
to the weapon industry to create more sophisticated and devastating weapons.
Christian fundamentalists would rather see weapons of mass destruction orbiting our
planet in tens of thousands, supposedly for American protection, than to see countless
millions of people who sleep in the streets hungry and without homes like strayed animals,
being provided with food and with pre-fabricated homes. Actions speak louder than words.
Hence, we are not here expressing a personal view or opinion. We are being faced with
tangible evidence, with absolute facts.
War as a Business Enterprise
We might have been aware of the fact that in the United States the weapons industry has
become a very lucrative business. Those who work in this industry make good money. And
we all know that for an industry of any kind to boost its assets and to remain in business, it
must continue to demonstrate that its product is of utmost importance. The need for its
product should be always felt increasingly. To this end, the weapons industry vouched to
remain in business by creating more and more opportunities for struggles and wars. Those
Christian fundamentalists that work for the weapons industry view the money they make
as God’s blessing! Of course, they do not hesitate to share it with their respective churches
by making substantial contributions.
Ironically, the clergymen of such churches view all the money they get as a sign of divine
providence! The making of money and the accumulation of wealth, which is a basic
characteristic of a capitalistic nation, become the achievement of a lifetime goal. These
Christian fundamentalist clergymen and laity need to go to the New Testament and read
that segment which says that when Judas Iscariot saw that he betrayed Christ with 30
pieces of silver, he took the money and gave it back to the Pharisees. But the Pharisees
refused to take it back because they said: This is blood money.
The Christian fundamentalist clergymen and laity need to learn that the money that is
being generated from the machinery of death that is represented by the weapons industry
is blood money and should not be accepted in the first place. More than any one else,
Christian fundamentalists need to realize that they represent the Pharisees of the twenty
first century society, that segment of society that Jesus of Nazareth was so vocal in
speaking against by criticizing it and by exposing its hypocrisy. In view of what has been
stated, we may fully realize and understand how Judas Iscariot may be viewed as the
legitimate and lawful patron of Christian fundamentalists in America.
-------------------------------
Waging of Wars:
Anathema to World Peace
During the twentieth century, more wars were waged and more people were killed through
wars than in any other period of history. on the eve of World War II, Pope Pius XII
warned both Great Britain and Nazi Germany saying: In a war everyone is a loser, no one is
a winner. In spite of this, the war went on and the Pope proved to be right. Besides,
numerous other wars took place since then and the Pope’s statement is still being
vindicated to this very day.
Dealing with the Culture of War
The leaders of the world have been born and raised in a culture of war and they do not
seem to know anything better. If they do not get what they want fast and smooth, they tend
to resort to war to take by brutal force what they feel they cannot take without any hustle.
For them war seems to be the right thing to do once you get afterwards what you want
regardless as to whether this would be considered morally and legally acceptable or not.
The culture of war in our earthly society is so deep that we tend to resort to wage war on
everything.
We even hear the President of the United States talking repeatedly on television saying that
he wants to wage war on terrorism and on poverty. on more than one occasion, Pope John
Paul II who is known as the Vicar of Christ, has warned the American President that the
waging of wars would not solve the problems the world faces but, on the contrary, such
wars would make such problems get much worse in the long range.
The Pope said that the best way to solve problems that are plaguing the world is to go their
source to understand them in order to procure rightful remedies. Instead of waging war
terrorism or on poverty, we simply need to seek for remedies that would cure such a
problem. This way we will enable ourselves to adopt peaceful means to problems we
encounter. In waging war on anything, we are eventually using brutal violence that would
backfire in due time.
In one of his speeches at Harvard University, President John F. Kennedy observed that the
practice of every profession -- be it in medicine, law, business, teaching, you name it -requires a period of study and preparation. Then he remarked saying: Ironically, the most
important of all professions, the political profession, does not require any period of study and
preparation at all. The only requirement needed to become a politician and serve in
government is to be a US citizen and to have reached a certain age, nothing more and nothing
less.
Government as Source of Real Problems
Confronted with this reality, we may begin to understand and realize why the source of
numerous problems may be traced to the government itself. Imagine a dear friend of ours
entering hospital to undergo a heart surgery. Instead of having a team of physicians
operating on him, he will have a team of lawyers or businessmen. Even though these are
viewed as professionals but they were not trained for that kind of work. In fact, for that
kind of work they could all be considered as functionally illiterate, thoroughly incompetent,
and a total disaster that would lead prospective patients to certain death unnecessarily.
Now we may begin to understand why, in spite of their charisma and popularity, our
politicians continue to set up priorities that are not in the best interest of the people as a
whole. And since the people as a whole constitute the entire nation, then we may conclude
that what our politicians do on the whole is not geared toward the welfare of the nation.
Ironically, our politicians try to justify anything crooked they do in the name of that
magnetic and hypnotizing phrase: national security! In a way this is true when we consider
that the “national security” they have in mind is not the welfare of the population but
mostly the financial interests of big business headed by the weapons industry.
The best way to remedy the situation is through a well-coordinated national educational
program. This could be launched through schools but even here we may encounter serious
problems. Those that run our schools were born and raised in a culture of war that taught
them to view the manufacture of weapons of mass destruction and their use to destroy the
infrastructure of nations, along with the destruction of millions of innocent people, as a
necessity for “national security!” They were also indoctrinated to view the indiscriminate
sales of weapons to anyone that would give the right price as an intrinsic part of the
capitalistic system that entitles you to sell your product, no matter how lethal it may be, to
become rich fast and smooth if possible.
In spite of this, there are always schools, especially private ones, which do understand the
fallacious polices of a nation that is deeply versed in the culture of war. Besides, we have
numerous educational and civic organizations that understand fully well the importance of
replacing our culture of war with the culture of peace. These organizations have been
blessed with quite a few millions of members all of whom could work hard to procure
remedies to the problems we face, rather than resorting to the waging of wars and more
wars ending up putting the entire nation, in the long range, on the brink of disaster and
collapse.
Preservation of Democracy
The USA struggled hard to grow and develop when it became independent from Great
Britain in 1776. Since then, democracy became its foundation where all people had an
opportunity to achieve their ideals and to live in prosperity and peace. However, slowly but
surely, the capitalistic system crawled in unnoticed like a little snake. But when the snake
grew big and became huge, it succeeded to crack the foundations of democracy. The focus
then shifted from the needs of the nation’s people to the greed of big business that has now
replaced democracy with capitalism. For practical purposes, we may group all nations of
the world into three major orientations: communism, capitalism and democracy.
Communism and capitalism are two extremes while democracy is like a pendulum that
shifts from left to right trying to get the good of the two extremes. In communism, the
government controls everything, while in capitalism big corporations control everything
including the government. In democracy, those in charge are the nation’s people who
structure their priorities and who exercise their right for free education and for free health
care in accordance with the Natural Law. Such rights are generally offered by communism.
In democracy people have freedom of movement and of free speech without any fear of
arrest or persecution. These two elements seem to be more provided by capitalism.
In view of what has been stated, the idea of waging wars against anything that the few elite
of government officials do not like has proven to be unwise to say the least and devastating
to say the most. This explains why we should stop all kinds of wars. We must stop the war
on terrorism and the war on poverty, in addition to other types of wars. Instead, we need to
procure remedies by going to the source of existing problems, following the advice of Pope
John Paul II, the Dalai Lama and a number of outstanding statesmen ranging from Kim
Dae Jung of South Korea to Oscar Arias of Costa Rica and Nelson Mandela of South
Africa.
----------------------------
United Nations Primary Goal:
Lasting World Peace
If we were to analyze carefully the documents of the United Nations that were produced
over the past fifty five years, we would soon discover this organization’s real objective with
crystal clarity. The primary goal of this world body of nations is the creation and the
promotion of a permanent peace. The question which needs to be raised is this: How come
that after more than half century the United Nations did not succeed to bring about a
permanent world peace? one thing for sure is this: The United Nations cannot be blamed
for the turmoil the world has been going through all these years.
United Nations in Perspective
In the first place, we need to explore what the United Nations is all about. In theory, it is
what it says, that is, it constitutes a union of various countries. In practice, the situation is
somewhat different because it constitutes more of a confederation of various governments
that are very different in structure, policies, and philosophy. Some are communist like
China and Cuba where the government is in charge of everything including big industry.
Others are socialist like the Scandinavian countries where top priority is given on a free
health care and education to all citizens.
Still, others are democratic, like Switzerland and Austria where people have equality of
opportunity to be elected to any political office. Others are dictatorial, like Pakistan and
Burma where the head of state took power through an organized coup. Others are
composed of a monarchy, like Jordan and Morocco where the king virtually runs the
country through an approved government. Others are capitalistic, like the United States,
where the rich control everything, from big industry to the country’s government. And the
list goes on. In fact, the governments everywhere tend to vary from each other immensely.
The ability of the United Nations has been to initiate an on-going dialogue between all
nations that enables them to accept each other the way they are. Regardless of a country’s
form of government, the UN is expected to put top priority on people’s vital needs, which
may be summarized as health care, lifelong education and social needs. Problems at the
United Nations arise when countries begin to embark on a course of their own looking after
special interests while disregarding the interests of the rest of the world.
While small countries may create inconvenience with their policies that may serve as a
pimple on the nose, the larger nations are generally those that create surmountable
problems in the world at large. At this stage of history, the most dangerous countries are
not those that are described as communist, socialist, capitalist, or dictatorial, to mention
but a few. The most dangerous countries in the world today, that need to be prosecuted by
an International Criminal Court for horrendous crimes against humanity are those who
manufacture weapons of destruction and use such sales as a lucrative business.
Nations Impeding World Peace
The list of these countries is quite long. However, the United States alone manufactures and
sells weapons of mass destruction more than the rest of the world combined. Hence, like
former South African President Nelson Mandela has said on more than one occasion in
they year 2002, the United States, and not Iraq or any other country, has emerged to
become the most dangerous nation on earth. Like a ferocious and devastating demon, the
United States tries to sell military ammunitions to virtually every single country on earth.
In most cases, briberies are used to make the head of state commit his nation to the
purchase of numerous war ammunitions.
Other major culprits in the business of war may include Russia, the United Kingdom,
China, France, Germany, Italy, India, Pakistan, Japan, South Korea, Saudi Arabia,
Indonesia, Nigeria, Israel, and Iran, in addition to others. As long as the United Nations
does not proceed to take drastic steps to curb the continued manufacture of weapons of
mass destruction, the world body of nations would be destined to become utterly futile in
many ways. The government of every single nation that purchases weapons and all kinds of
military ammunitions, in particular the responsible head of state must become a suspect.
International humanitarian organizations, as Amnesty International and religious related
groups, must work to bring to an International Criminal Court such responsible
governmental officials for crimes against humanity through their abuse of power.
It is a fact that the United Nations remains the major hope of world peace in the world. If
our nations’ leaders are bringing a lot of suffering to countless millions in the world, that
does not mean that the United Nations has rendered itself hopeless in the achievement of
world peace. This will simply mean that we must try to guide all people toward generating
positive energy to have our heartless, greedy, and vicious leaders be replaced by others who
are compassionate, generous, and determined. To this end, prayer, meditation and
persistent effort should serve as our major tools to bring the drastic changes in government
we need, as advocated by several outstanding spiritual leaders of the caliber of Mahatma
Gandhi, Pope John Paul II, Mother Teresa and the Dalai Lama. Regardless of its
problems, the UN primary goal still remains to be world peace.
----------------------------Feminism and Peace
When we speak of feminism we are dealing with women or with issues pertaining to
women. The word feminism is derived from the Latin word femina, which means woman.
The role of feminism in securing world peace on a permanent basis is indispensable.
Women, by their very nature, are more oriented to be peaceful and to solve problems they
encounter by peaceful means than men have demonstrated to be for the past 6,000 years of
recorded history.
Characteristics of Feminism
Although feminism refers to women, it is not a quality that belongs exclusively to women. It
is an individual characteristic that stems directly from the heart and which views
everything one encounters from the inner self. Compared to women, men in general tend to
view everything from the mind. This explains why they seem more philosophical in their
approach to the solution of problem. Although theoretically men seem to be more
determined and courageous, in practice women are more intuitive and practical.
Women's heart is stimulated by love and compassion, while men's mind is urged to
perform activities from the point of view of justice and righteousness. Ascetics tell us that
had not God used his maternal qualities in dealing with people over the past several
millennia, human beings would have become exterminated long time ago. The maternal
qualities of women throughout the centuries have been used to promote love, respect, and
peace everywhere.
We have had several men in history who have contributed immensely to the promotion of
peace on earth. Every man has the potential to reach perfection in life because of feminist
seeds which lie latent in his subconscious power. Every man needs to recognize this inner
latent gift and try to bring it into the open and to let it shine. When Nelson Mandela
became president of South Africa, there was a fear that a civil war may take place shortly
afterwards. In his first speech as president of this apartheid nation, Nelson Mandela talked
from his heart revealing love and compassion for all the people of his nation without
exception.
When asked how he was going to deal with the white minority which
deprived the black majority from their rightful place in society for so many years, Nelson
Mandela was quick to reply: Let bygones be bygones. Let us move forward toward a
hopeful and progressive future. Let us continue to build upon the progress, which was
initiated by the previous governments of our nation.
Feminism at Work
President Nelson Mandela's speech revealed rich feminist feelings, which were dominated
by love and compassion for the oppressed and the oppressors alike, for people of all races
including the white minority. Numerous outstanding men in history were successful to
contribute greatly toward the promotion of genuine peace because they let their inner
feminist qualities take control in the process of their decisions. Among numerous others, we
find Konrad Adenauer of West Germany and Oscar Arias of Costa Rica.
On June 13, 1997, the Blessed Virgin appeared to Mother Maria Rosette in Hiroshima and
among other things she said to her: It is not enough for priests to be fathers of people. They
need to be mothers as well. Without the exercise of such motherhood the priestly life is
defective. This statement of the Blessed Mother reveals the importance for all people
without exception, including men, to cultivate in them the seeds of feminism which are
latent deeply in their heart and to bring them out to let them shine in their actions. What
makes feminism important in the promotion of peace does not lie with the structure of the
human body. It lies with the spiritual qualities attached to women by the law of nature
itself. In fact, we do have several women who secure positions of responsibility who do not
make use of their maternal instincts to help promote peace on earth.
The reason for this is simple. For many centuries women have lived in a patriarchal society
that trained them to accept men's way of action as a way of power and government. No
wonder why we notice, in terms of behavior, that when women climb into positions of
power they do not seem to make much difference. In other words, women who are trained
to act like men in a female body do not use their innate rich feminist qualities of love and
compassion to bring about a genuine peace on earth. This was revealed in Margaret
Thatcher of the United Kingdom and Golda Meir of Israel, in addition to several others.
Feminism is not to be identified with softness and weakness but with a combination of love
and compassion along with justice and righteousness. It is a sum total of perfection that is
capable of making world peace a tangible reality.
----------------------
Searching for Nirvana
In Buddhism, nirvana is viewed as the state of perfection. It is viewed as the final beatitude
attained through the extinguishing of desire and human consciousness. As one Zen Master,
Dr. Seo Kyung Bo, once put it, we reach nirvana when we become in a state of oblivion to
the human reality with respect to all worries and frustrations. In other words, the state of
nirvana is achieved when we always feel satisfied and happy independently of any material
things.
Nirvana in Operation
Buddha himself was a rich man but he never felt satisfied and happy. When he decided to
leave his riches behind him and to become a poor man freed from any earthly desire, he
soon found joy radiating in his heart. People were so impressed with him that many
became his followers and he kept on amassing followers in tens of millions to this very day.
Although nirvana is explicitly found in Buddhism, its concept has transcended
other religions as well. Every good human being of every religion and from every walk of
life has practiced the idea of nirvana widely. St. Francis of Assisi, a Christian monk who
has been widely admired and loved throughout the world, like Buddha before him, left all
the riches he was meant to inherit behind him and went to live a monastic life as a pauper.
He detached himself so well from anything of comfort that this world could offer him that
he soon developed a high degree of sanctity, which attracted toward him millions of people
to this very day.
In Hinduism, we come across numerous gurus who practiced the nirvana
so well that millions of people flocked to them for all the spiritual assistance they could
possibly muster. And God was so pleased with them that He gave some gurus the gift to
perform even miracles with their faithful followers. After all, God is the Father of all
people whom He loves dearly especially those who try to detach themselves from the
worldly things which surround them.
Jesus of Nazareth once said that it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle
than it is for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. He was merely referring to the
deep attachment the rich people have for their wealth. They put all of their happiness and
satisfaction of life in their wealth, which prevents them searching for nirvana, far less from
ever reaching it. All the happiness that people yearn to have in their heart needs to be
sought in the nirvana and in nothing else.
Nirvana as a Primary Goal
Everybody could search for Nirvana.... people from every walk of life
and profession, the rich or poor, as well as people with diversity of philosophy, culture and
ethnic background. The essence of nirvana does not consist of not having anything or of
having the bare essentials. It simply consists of a complete detachment from the worldly
things that surround us. The very rich could reach nirvana without having to abandon
their riches, provided, deep inside, they are not attached to their wealth. This means that
they are interiorly disposed to loose it all if that were to bring them genuine peace of mind,
joy, and serenity.
The capitalistic system, which is so dominant especially in western nations, makes it
somewhat hard to attain nirvana. This is due to the fact that the capitalistic system tries to
make people never satisfied with what they already have. They try to push them to have
more and more and more, even if people do not need to have anything else in life. one of the
greatest problems we have with capitalism is that it is often identified with democracy,
which is a big mistake. Democracy stems from the people who want to have say in all
governmental affairs, which affect their life directly or indirectly. on the other hand,
capitalism stems from the rich who try to manipulate the population into buying
everything they present to the people in the hope of getting richer and richer.
If there were one thing that people of all nations wanted always to have, that would be
peace with themselves, their relatives, their friends and all people. Peace leads to inner joy
and serenity. It broadens one's mind and one's horizon of life and it enables us to solve
numerous problems through prevention, which is better than cure. It is far better for
anyone to avoid getting into mischief than to get into mischief and then get out of it
afterwards. Nirvana is something that could be achieved. It should be the goal of every
human being... a goal that enables us to enrich our character and develop a pleasant
personality.
-------------------------------------
Culture of Peace
Those who are well versed in theology tell us that God is so great that He succeeded to
create billions of angels and humans all entirely different from each other. They differ
from each other in character and personality as well as in psychology and philosophy.
There are no human beings anywhere who may be considered to be identically the same.
Even perfect identical twins, whose biological make-up is exactly the same, differ in some
way or another, in character and personality as well as in psychology and philosophy.
Meaning of Peace
In spite of such differences, human beings, from the beginning of times, have yearned
desperately for one common element: peace. Every single person on earth, deep inside,
would not trade peace for anything else. In spite of this reality, human history is
characterized by one war after another. There is hardly one era of history, which was
termed as peaceful.
Peace is described as a state of quiet and tranquility. It is viewed as freedom from war,
cessation of hostilities, absence of strife, tranquility of mind, quiet of conscience. Peace in
the community means harmony among diverse people. The question which needs to be
raised here is this: If peace is something which everybody wants, how come no one seems to
be able to get it, at least for an extended period of time? The reply is simple. The seed of
peace is found in the heart of every individual human being. In other words, peace develops
from the inside of the human being. It is not imposed from the outside on a person or a
nation. Peace, by its very nature, is linked to the spiritual aspect of the human being and
not to the physical sphere.
Also, peace is the source of happiness. Most people search for peace in the wrong places.
They believe that wealth and money are sources of happiness that having a new car and an
excellent house constitute a source of enjoyment, and that being a success in life, as
revealed in one's popularity, contributes to serenity of life. Unfortunately, such people all
proved to be wrong.
If wealthy and successful people prove to be happy, it is because they have peace in their
heart. This means that, although they value every material good they have, they are, by no
means, attached to it. Gautama Siddartha, who later became the famous Buddha of
history, was born in a wealthy family. He had everything he wanted except for one thing:
peace. To secure peace he was ready to do anything unconditionally, even giving away all of
his wealth.
Secret of Peace
Buddha, who has been revered by millions of followers for some 2,500 years, gave
everything he had to the poor and went out to lead a very simple life. He concentrated on
the practice of virtue, which enabled him to find genuine peace within himself. Afterwards,
he was in a position to pass it to others to this very day. Some of the most admired people in
history proved themselves to be highly spiritual beings. Mother Teresa of Calcutta, who
devoted her life to work among the poorest of the poor, won the heart of the entire world.
She was a woman of peace that touched the heart of everyone who came across her.
Mahatma Gandhi, who virtually single handedly drove the mighty British out of India,
discovered peace in his heart and brought it out of himself to share it with others very
successfully. To this end, he elevated his spirituality to a higher level than that of the
average person, through the practice of such virtues as humility, patience, meekness,
persistence, and perseverance. Jesus of Nazareth stated that His purpose on earth was to
bring peace in the heart of everyone who was ready to accept it. He exhorted His disciples
to give everything to the poor and to go and follow Him. By this Jesus meant that we should
not attach ourselves to the material things on earth to the extent that we value such earthly
elements as more important than the spiritual sphere of life.
Peace is altruistic which means that we must be concerned about the welfare of all people
without exception. Such a concern will move us to do anything that is legitimate and
appropriate to this end. In view of this, we may easily understand why governments
throughout history did not succeed to bring about a permanent world peace. Governments,
by their very nature, tend to be selfish and inconsiderate to the needs of others. In fact, we
often hear government officials speak of American interests, Chinese interests, Russian
interests, British interests, French interests and so on and so forth. Governments will
become instruments of peace when they start viewing the whole world as one global
family.... when they start thinking world interests instead.
World peace could be achieved on a permanent basis if we keep in mind the words of
former US President Dwight D. Eisenhower when he said in his farewell speech to the US
Congress: All people of all countries want peace only their governments want war. We
need here to explore why government officials, while in theory they advocate peace, in
practice they promote war. As a result, the priorities of the nation are generally upside
down.
War Promotion by Big Business
In the United States, as well as in all industrial nations, big business controls the entire
economy of the nation including the government. The ultimate objective of big business is
the never-ending build-up of money and wealth. The concept of peace as a spiritual reality,
as far as big business is concerned, does not exist, not even remotely. This explains why the
United States keeps on pouring countless billions of dollars every year on weapons of
destruction while, at the same time, it keeps on cutting down money from the social needs
of the people, education, and health care.
This explains also why in the United States, for example, millions of people die every year
from various kinds of cancer, while millions of others continue to suffer from multiple
sclerosis, epilepsy, AIDS, and heart disease among numerous other maladies. All these
maladies, which are making a whole nation suffering, apart from having millions dying
prematurely every year, stem from the fact that the US government is primarily concerned
not with the interests of the American people, far less with the interests of other people, but
with the interests of a small elite of big business headed by the weapons industry.
World peace is a human right that is sacrosanct and cannot be violated. We learn from
history that when nations prepare for war, they all end up waging wars. At the same time,
when nations prepare for peace, they all end up implementing peace. The most dangerous
nations on earth are those that are manufacturing weapons of destruction and sell them for
profit to anyone who is ready to give the right price. The people of such nations are faced
with a great challenge and they have a great mission to fulfill boldly and courageously, as
we shall see shortly. Among such nations we may enlist the United States, Russia, China,
Great Britain, Japan, France, Germany, Saudi Arabia, Italy, South Korea, Taiwan, and
India. These countries spend separately from $10 billion to over $300 billion dollars every
year on weapons of destruction while they neglect, at the same time, the vital interests and
welfare of their own people.
If one wishes to get accurate figures as to what various countries spend on weapons of
destruction every year, one may request such an information from the Center for Defense
Information, 1779 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20036. The money the
United States spends every year for the preparation and eventual waging of war exceeds
$300 billion dollars, more than all the countries of the world spend on such weapons of
destruction combined. No wonder why we have so many regional conflicts and so much
violence going on in the world, from North and South America to Africa, Europe, and
Asia!
Communism and Capitalism in Perspective
When the Soviet Union collapsed, the world took a sigh of relief. Everyone was convinced
that the time for a permanent peace was in sight at last. The Soviet Union, the architect of
world communism, served as a living example of how the government controls everything
imaginable. Such a tightened control was not only revealed on people from the cradle to the
grave but also on big industry, including the weapons industrial complex.
For a while, the world looked at the United States, which is viewed everywhere as the
architect of world democracy, for the leadership which was needed to make world peace a
tangible reality. It did not take much time for the world to realize that not all that glitters is
gold, that, after all, the United States was a nation guided by plutocracy and not by
democracy. In spite of its democratic garb, the United States showed quickly its real teeth.
Instead of embarking on a program of world demilitarization, it embarked on a program
of rearmament. The weapons industry, which is the most lucrative business in the nation,
along with other big industries, vouched that they would not let their business go down the
drain because of the collapse of communism. So they began hard to figure out the creation
of conflicts all over the world as to justify the continuation of their business under the
magic words of national defense and security!
For the first time, the world began to see and realize that after all, a nation whose system is
built on capitalism cannot be a nation of democracy. Capitalism and democracy constitute
a contradiction. For the first time, people everywhere began to open wide their eyes and
they began to see and realize that while under the Soviet system everything was ruthlessly
controlled by the government, including big industry, under the American system
everything was ruthlessly controlled by big business, headed by the weapons industry,
including the government.
As every one knows, in the United States to be elected for any office one must have millions
of dollars. Big business finances the campaign and election of virtually every major
government official... from the US President to Senators and House Representatives, from
governors to mayors, you name it. After being elected, these government officials feel they
owe their governmental position not to the American people, who voted for them, but to the
big industries, which financed them. This explains why the US government keeps on
advocating the continued increase in military spending on weapons of destruction.
Meaning of Culture
From what has already been stated above, we have now formed a clear understanding of
peace and its obstacles. We need now to proceed to discover what culture is all about in
order to envision a culture of peace, which could be implemented on a global scale. When a
nation promotes peace or war, such a nation reveals a certain culture, which needs to be
properly understood so that we may figure out a strategy of peace. Culture may be
described as people's way of life, improvement by mental or physical training, education or
refinement.
This means that if we study the people's way of life in a nation, we are learning about that
nation's culture. We comprehend the mental and physical training people receive from
early childhood. In other words, the culture of a nation is based primarily on the kind of
education we procure to the people of such a nation from birth to death. If we promote
love, we will notice people's respect for each other. If we promote hatred we will discover
people's suspicion for each other. While the first one leads to peace, the latter one leads to
war. Is it possible for us to develop a culture of peace on a regional and global scale? The
answer is in the affirmative only if we are willing and determined to do our share in this
respect. We should not expect positive results overnight since we all know that Rome was
not built in one day, as the proverb goes.
We need to proceed to do several things at the same time. Some of us may concentrate on one thing, while others may concentrate on other things, which are vital to achieve our
ultimate objective: the creation of a culture of peace. To create a culture of peace we need
to do two things: (1) promote and implement anything within our power and disposal
which is positive and constructive relative to the establishment of a culture of peace, and
(2) slowing down, to the point of eliminating them, the forces or obstacles which are
preventing the promotion and implementation of a culture of peace.
Education is the best and most effective tool to promote and implement a genuine culture
of peace. We need to keep in mind here that education is derived from two Latin words, e +
duco -- out of + lead. This means that education is a process that enables us to move people
hopefully out of darkness into light, out of ignorance into knowledge, out of confusion into
clarity of mind. However, in education we may also lead people out of light into darkness,
out of knowledge into doubts and eventual ignorance, out of clarity of mind into confusion.
Much depends on the educator himself/herself.
Reality Versus Opinion
When we make statements we always risk the chance of having someone telling us that
what we stated reveals merely our opinion and cannot be taken as reality. In education,
every statement we make that is proven to be conducive to the welfare of all people without
exception cannot be viewed as subjective. If a statement is made which is proven to be good
for some people to the exclusion of others, than such a statement cannot be viewed as
objective, in the sense that we try to make it applicable to all people by all means. A culture
of peace is possible only after we create a system of government, which pursues actions that
are in the best interest of all people without exception, natives and non-natives alike.
This explains why the major nations of the world such as the United States, Russia, China,
Great Britain, France, Germany, among others -- are not equipped to provide any kind of
leadership to lead the world to a permanent peace. Each country is primarily concerned
with what is termed "its own interests" to the exclusion of the interests of others. In the
case of the United States, for example, the situation is even worse because when the United
States government speaks of protecting the interests of the United States, within the context
that means merely the interests of American big business headed by the weapons industry,
which helped finance the election of the senators and the members of the Congress and
even the election of the person who assumed the US Presidency.
We may begin to realize the great challenge our schools face in trying to create a new
generation that will be influenced merely by high moral standards based on the universal
welfare of all people without exception. We need to create a new generation which acts on
principles of high moral order, a new generation which views money and wealth as
occupying the bottom of all major world priorities, a new generation which views
happiness, serenity and peace as spiritual elements which are the key to true and genuine
success in life.
Some 2,400 years ago, Socrates, the first recorded philosopher of western civilization said
to his students in Athens: Every problem could be solved peacefully through the following
important steps: (1) Bring the problem into the open for everyone to see -- unless people
are aware of the problem they will never dream of doing anything about it; (2) once people
become aware of the problem and see that they are affected by it, they will definitely figure
out a way to deal with it properly and effectively; and (3) The kind of needed action is
eventually taken and the problem becomes solved.
Positive and Constructive Activities
Culture of peace involves the promotion constructive activities. Since peace is spiritual by
nature, we have to resort to the practice of virtue, such as: (1) courage to do what needs to
be done fearlessly in the best interest of everyone concerned, (2) wisdom to select between
alternative routes which lead to a genuine peace with ourselves and with others, (3)
comprehension of people's dire needs based on their sacrosanct right for decent life and
survival, (4) fortitude revealed in one's ability to encounter danger or to bear pain with
coolness and determination, (5) counsel which consists of our ability to give people the right
advice which is altruistic and humanitarian, (6) knowledge of moral righteousness which
consists of justice in doing to others what we would have liked others to do to us, and (7)
compassion which enables us to undergo any kind of sacrifice to eliminate suffering from
as many people as possible.
When it comes to education, the culture of peace is not to be viewed as a subject area in
addition to other subject areas existent in a curriculum. Culture of peace deals with the
individual character and personality. It deals with the individual feelings as explained in
psychology and with the individual frame of mind as revealed in philosophy. Human
feelings need to be respected in no lesser way than we should respect one's frame of mind in
philosophical terms.
This means that every teacher, in addition to the subject area one teaches, must feel
responsible for the development of the students' character and personality. Several years
ago, a former President of the University of Michigan remarked: Former students of ours
who graduated summa cum laude commit most of our sophisticated crimes in this country.
What are our universities doing? They provide students with knowledge but with no
character and responsibility. In other words, this university President was saying that the
culture of peace was missing in the educational process of students.
One of the greatest stumbling blocks we encounter in the implementation of the culture of
peace lies in most of our government and school officials. This is due to a variety of reasons
among which we may enlist: (1) ignorance which stems from viewing the school merely as a
business enterprise, (2) politics which forces them to use the school as a stepping stone to
advance their personal interests, and (3) power-abuse which stimulates them to appoint in
school administrative capacity people whom they could manipulate at leisure.
Prevention Better Than Cure
Some people say that when it comes to ignorance, politics, or power-abuse there is not
much that one can do. Of course, most of us tend to disagree with such a statement because
we know fully well that when there is a will there is a way. If we are truly determined to
wipe out ignorance, to bring into government people who are not contaminated by big
business, and to expose any wrong action taken while demanding adequate compensation,
many constructive and positive things are bound to happen as a result.
The general trend among people seems to be one of tolerance and resignation. This kind of
poor attitude will encourage government and school officials to pursue their policies,
regardless of how detrimental may prove to our children and to our nation in general in
the long run. Since prevention is better than cure, a bold stand needs to be taken in order
to make sure that, sooner or later, the culture of peace becomes an integral part of our
school curriculum at all levels of education. What we need to do is simply to take one single
step, the first Socratic step. This consists of bringing into the open every problem we
observe for everyone to see and to realize. We do no have to bother about the other two
Socratic steps because they will follow automatically, before we even know it.
In this regard, we need to write to public officials about the concerns we have relative to
the way schools are run and the way the curriculum is being implemented. We need to
utilize the news media -- radio, press, and television -- to this end as well. Besides, we need
to expose, when deemed appropriate, the ignorance, the politics, and the power-abuse of
our government and school officials not on a once-in-a-while basis, but continuously and
systematically until the culture of peace is thoroughly implemented in the entire
educational process of the nation. After all, we all want to create for our children a better
world than the one we have today. We all want for our children to live in a world, which is
characterized by happiness, serenity and peace.
The enemies of the culture of peace work silently seven days a week. They never stop to
take a rest. Like devils, they seem to have phenomenal energy. These enemies constitute the
evil of our society, which is basically composed of millions of good people who die every
year miserably because their responsible government officials have constantly suffocated
the culture of peace.
Exposing the Enemies of Peace Culture
By exposing the enemies of the culture of peace, I do not mean to draw a list of people that
would become our object of detestation. That would contradict the philosophy of the
culture of peace, since we need to be tolerant but firm. We must be tolerant in accepting
people's weaknesses and firm in not allowing such weaknesses mess up the lives of innocent
people anywhere in the world. We need to expose them in order to let them know that,
regardless of the fact that they work silently, we know that they have established
themselves as the mortal enemies of the masses of the population across every continent.
Among such enemies of the culture of peace, the way it has been explained we may enlist:
(1) The entire administrative personnel of every weapon industry like Raytheon, Boeing,
Teledyne, and General Electric, (2) Those who work for the weapons industry even if they
do so in good faith in the sense that they view their job merely as a way of making a living,
(3) The government officials of every country where they allow the manufacture and
transactions of weapons of destruction above all the United States, Russia, China, Great
Britain, and France, and (4) Those individuals, commonly known as the mafia, whose job is
to create factions between nations and people within the same nation as to sell them
weapons for big profits, like in the case of Burundi, Somalia, Congo, and Angola.
Over the centuries, we find out that every religion believed in the tremendous power of
spiritual energy, which generally comes from meditation and prayer. To this extent, Jesus
of Nazareth once said: With prayer you can move the mountain. He also said to Peter his
disciple: With faith you can walk on water. And the Blessed Virgin Mary said in
Medjugorje during the decade of the eighties to six children there: With prayer you can
suspend the laws of nature. As indicated earlier, Mahatma Gandhi, a Hindu by religion,
used the tremendous power of prayer, meditation and fasting to drive out successfully the
British from India, in spite of their military might. Through these spiritual devices, we are
well equipped to bring about the collapse of the most lethal industry in the history of the
world: the weapons industry provided we have faith.
The four types of enemies of the culture of peace as outlined above are characterized by
negative energy. We need to counteract them by generating positive energy, which is more
powerful than all the weapons they produce. Such a positive energy is bound to defeat the
objective of their lethal product which is outrageous, to say the least, and inhumane, to say
the most.
Needed Positive Steps
We are all familiar with the saying: Actions speak louder than words. Several years ago, one businessman in the United Stated commented on why schools were not achieving as
much as expected and even more. He said: People in business do little talking but they
perform a lot of action, while the instructors of our schools spend all of their time
conducting discussions with hardly any substantial action ever taken afterwards. The
positive steps that could be taken to make the culture of peace a living reality everywhere
are so numerous, that we could write a book merely on this item alone. However, we may
outline a couple of serious steps, for purpose of generating some good food for thought,
which may be taken immediately:
1. Communicate with the US Ambassador of our respective nations stressing the
importance for the US government not to send any more weapons of destruction to
countries all over the world. We must make it clear that the US government, instead,
should send to such countries medicine, books, computers, prefabricated homes for the
poor and the homeless, and construction companies to build factories for canned food
especially. Besides, we must insist that the US government should take immediate steps to
develop a program of disarmament and development on a global scale. This would enable
the USA to use its present role of world leadership constructively rather than destructively.
2. Approach the Head of State of our respective nations urging a drastic cut in the
purchasing of weapons. Indicate that such money saved from such lethal elements may
then be spent: (a) on providing people with a good health care system and with some of the
best hospitals in the world, and (b) on furnishing the nation with a good educational system
and with new schools equipped with all new means of technology.
Once these two steps are taken and visible results begin to be observed, the creation and
implementation of a culture of peace, on a long-range term, would make a long cherished
dream become a true reality.
Related Bibliography
Boutros-Ghali, Boutros, Building Peace and Development, United Nations Department of
Public Information, United Nations, New York 10017, USA, 1994.
Choue, Young Seek (Edited by), Peace Studies, Kyung Hee University Press, Seoul, Korea,
1983.
Choue, Young Seek (Edited by), Proposal for Peace: The Last Optimum for Humankind,
Kyung Hee University Press, Seoul, Korea, 1986
Choue, Young Seek (Editor-in-Chief), World Encyclopedia of Peace, Oceana Publications,
Inc., Dobbs Ferry, New York 10522, USA, 1999.
Dewitt, David, David Haglund & John Kirton (Edited by), Building a New Global Order:
Emerging Trends in International Security, Oxford University Press, Don Mills, ontario
M3C
1J9,
Canada,
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Harris, Ian M., Peace Education, McFarland & Company, Inc., Jefferson, North, Carolina
28640,
USA,
1988.
Hicks, David (Edited by), Education for Peace: Issues, Principles and Practice in the
Classroom, Rutledge, London EC4P 4EE, UK, 1988.
Ikeda, Daisaku, A New Humanism, Weatherhill, Inc., of New York, NY 10012, USA, 1996.
Reardon, Betty & Eva Nordland (Edited by), Learning Peace: The Promise of Ecological
and Cooperative Education, State University of New York Press, Albany, New York 12246,
USA,
1994.
Thompson, W. Scott & Kenneth M. Jensen (Edited by), Approaches to Peace: An
Intellectual Map, US Institute of Peace, Washington, DC 20005, USA, 1991.
Toynebee, Arnold & Daisaku Ikeda, Choose Life: A Dialogue, Oxford University, Press,
Oxford OX2 6DP, UK, 1992.
Wirth, Arthur G., Education and Work for the Year 2000: Choices We Face, Josey-Bass,
Inc., San Francisco, California 94104, USA, 1992.
----------------------------------------
European Unification: Dream or Reality?
Shortly after World War II was over, the European Economic Community was created to
bring a monetary union among the nations of Europe. The primary purpose was ultimately
to avert future wars on the European continent. From initial six nations, the EEC grew to
twelve and then additional nations kept on coming in. The passports were eliminated and
people could move with same ease as people in the various states of the USA.
European Economic Community
The European Economic Community concentrated on developing strong European nations
through a strong civilian economy. Following World War II, both defeated Germany and
surrendered Japan grew fast in their civilian economy, even though such economy was
totally shattered. Their rapid economic growth and development was attributed to the fact
that they abolished the military as a concept of a strong nation. Poverty, which was then
rampant these vanquished nations, had disappeared for all practical purposes and their
citizens became among the best economically equipped in the world.
The success of the European Economic Community brought hope of the
creation of a United States of Europe, while each nation would retain its territorial
sovereignty, laws and traditions. But this nice dream, just when it was on the verge of
achieving its peaceful goal through progress and prosperity, made the weapons industry
get into panic. This industry soon fell into the hands of greedy, vicious, and heartless
capitalists and dictatorial regimes. The mafia took the opportunity to have its finger in the
pie and became heavily involved in the transactions of weapons, which became increasingly
expensive.
To justify the need of their lethal product, they created factions within several nations in
various global areas and equipped each faction with all the weapons they could. This
explains the numerous wars we have been having one after the other in Africa, Latin
America, Central and Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Eastern Europe.
From the time World War II ended to the time the Soviet Union disintegrated and
collapsed in 1987, the threat of World War III was hanging over our earthly planet. It was
a period that enabled us to witness the growth and of the Cold War which was visibly
observed through the presence of the Warsaw Pact, on one hand, and of NATO on the
other. The Warsaw Pact was under the control of the Soviet Union while NATO was under
the control of the United States. Hence, the arms race took a momentous leap forward.
Weapons Industry Hinders Union
In spite of this, the European Economic Community moved forward with its plan of
economic union. At the same time, the weapons industry fell heavily under the thumb of
both the United States and the Soviet Union. This lethal industry has made the people of
these two nations suffer immensely since both the United States and the Soviet Union put
top priority not on the vital needs of their own people but on the interests of the weapons
industry. How the weapons industry succeeded to put under its ruthless thumb the
governments of such leading nations needs to be explored.
This explains why we find so many poor people in both the former Soviet Union and the
United States. It explains why the people of these two big militaristic nations, whose
policies have been largely dictated by the might of the weapons industrialists, have been
deprived of so many necessities in life.Now that the Soviet Union collapsed, the United
States has become the sole military power on earth. The government of this nation is ready
to purchase any new weapon of destruction, which is devised by the weapons industry at
phenomenal lucrative prices. The reason given for the justification of the countless billions
of dollars spent on weaponry is always the same... the defense and security of the nation
and the American people!
Yet, the military is doing nothing to house numerous Americans sleeping in the streets and
to give adequate nourishment to hungry American children. According to a report from
UNICEF, one out of every five American children lacks adequate nourishment. Besides, the
USA has become the most violent nation on earth with people more killed every year by
guns than in all of the countries of the world combined! If the European Unification has to
move from a dream to reality, such a dream may become realized only through economic
strength and political cooperation. As long as the Europeans keep on relying on the
military for unity, European unification will remain merely a dream.
-----------------------------
A Malignant Tumor Develops
On the Continent of Europe
Of all the continents in the world, Europe has always proved itself to be the most important
and the most influential. The entire continent of North and South America and the entire
continent of Africa as well as the entire continent of Australia were, at one time or another,
ruled by Europeans especially by the British, French, Spanish and Portuguese. Europeans
also ruled most of the countries in central and Southeast Asia for an extended period of
time. The Europeans have always been viewed in history as people who are conspicuously
intelligent and who are very advanced in civilization.
Europe in Historical Perspective
Needless to say, because the various nations of Europe tended always to work in
competition of each other rather than in cooperation with each other, they had many
conflicts that led to wars. As a result, countless millions of people lost their lives
unnecessarily and countless millions of others were maimed and spent the rest of their life
as disabled persons. Anything that initiated in Europe for the better or the worse has
usually exerted an effect on the whole world.
This means we cannot take the continent of Europe lightly. We need to find ways to keep
this continent united as much as possible because this would be in the best interest not only
of Europeans themselves but also of the entire world. When World War II ended, the
whole world was in a very bad shape, and the economy of all the nations, which were
engaged in this global war, both winners and losers, was in a state of total collapse. Some
50 million people were left dead and some 10 million people were maimed and left disabled
for life.
Besides, most of the rich cultural heritage was destroyed, as well as huge buildings, colossal
monuments, large libraries, good hospitals, and numerous beneficial factories. This was all
brought about by one single element: the military whose purpose, by its very nature, is not
to retain peace but to promote war. It is not to preserve our life and our environment but,
on the contrary, to destroy these two precious elements of ours. The military may be
viewed as an institution that is legally commissioned by a legitimate government to commit
atrocious crimes against humanity.
When World War II came to en end in 1945, the Europeans in particular were hoping
that there would be no other war waged in their entire lifetime. Shortly afterwards, the
United Nations came into existence, which brought hope for world peace.
Unfortunately, the nations split into two political camps: western democracies headed
by the United States and eastern communism headed by the Soviet Union. A political
iron curtain was built which segregated the west from the east.
Initiation of the Cold War
In view of the tension that kept on building between the two factions, the whole world
soon found itself plunged into a Cold War with preparations being made for an
eventual World War III. To this end, the east created a military alliance known as the
Warsaw Pact while the west created a military alliance known as the North Atlantic
Treaty Organization (NATO). The arms race was on and people on both sides of the
iron curtain were deprived from various necessities of life because all of their resources
were put on military build-up.
As a result, the rich human resources, which could have been used to cure cancer, heart
disease, leukemia, multiple sclerosis, and epilepsy among other maladies, were used to
device the structure of newer weapons of destruction that proved to be more deadly and
devastating than those which were already in existence. This meant that the millions of
dollars, which would have gone to alleviate the suffering of millions of people in the
developing nations of Africa, Southeast Asia, and Latin America, were transferred to
the weapons industry.
Very soon, the weapons industry became a lucrative business. Through manipulation
and tactics of fear, the weapons industry began to control numerous governments
draining them mercilessly from their financial resources. As a result, we began to notice
widespread of epidemics, drug abuse, and increase in the number of poor and homeless
people, not to mention organized crime, which became rampant. The weapons industry,
which claims it exists to save the lives of people, became soon a main source of people’s
suffering, a financial burden on entire nations, a cause to numerous regional conflicts,
and the greatest threat to our environment.
Both scientists and physicians from around the world tell us that the toxic wastes which
are being produced, particularly by the weapons industry, are destroying our ecological
system. Countless thousands of species have been exterminated same way as the
dinosaurs, while millions of people were exposed to cancer and the vast majority of
them have already died as a consequence.
Moreover, most land has become contaminated and it cannot grow food anymore. What is
ironic is the fact that our government officials, who became the chief spokespersons of the
weapons industry, tell us that all this is done in an effort to protect our life from possible
future enemies! The weapons industry cannot quench our thirst by making us drink
poison. It cannot satisfy our hunger by giving us toxic wastes as food. Whenever the
weapons industry steps in there is always devastation and death with people uprooted from
their homes and forced to undergo crucial pain both physically and psychologically. If we
were to judge a tree by the fruit it gives, then the weapons industry must be viewed as the
most satanic and vicious device that ever existed in human history.
Collapse of the Soviet Union
When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1987 and the Warsaw pact was dissolved, the whole
world took a sigh of relief. The cold war was over. The military was going to become either
history or simply have its scope changed and be used instead for constructive purposes. But
the weapons industry vouched not to let itself going out of business. So, it proceeded to
create an elegant lobby in Washington, DC and began to get after every US Senator and
Congressman and after every official at the Pentagon to convince them of the importance
to create new weaponry system.
The question raised was simply this: Who was the enemy? The answer came quick: North
Korea, Libya, Iraq, Iran, and Vietnam! This was very embarrassing to say the least when
you consider that these nations are banana republics for all practical purposes and that
most of their weapons have been manufactured in the USA itself and bought via third
countries. Besides, such countries have so many overwhelming problems of their own
that it would be utterly incomprehensible to believe that they have time to figure out how
to get after the USA. Most of their people are dying of starvation and of other diseases and
they have been deprived from the basic necessities of life.
Finally, the weapons industry set its eyes on NATO as its scapegoat. It tried to convince US
government officials and its NATO allies that NATO should be expanded to create a safer
and more united Europe. Their rational was that Europe is safe only if it were to have a
great-united military force, the strongest military force in history! So, with President Bill
Clinton as their primary tool, and now with George W. Bush as their spokesman, the
weapons industry succeeded to have NATO expanded indefinitely. The weapons industry
finally got its way in order to continue to manufacture newer systems of weaponry, thus
making more and more profit. As the Center for Defense Information in Washington, DC
well expressed: The purpose of the weapons industry is not the defense of the nation but to
make profit. By the way, this Center is composed of US retired top military leaders and
Pentagon officials.
The European nations, especially the former Eastern European countries, which were still
undergoing financial difficulties, felt flattered when they were asked to join NATO. They
figured out they would be more secure in the event Russia would try to annex them back
and revive the former Soviet Union! Besides, the European nations which are not, as yet,
members of NATO, are beginning to view NATO more as a prestigious club and they are
trying to become members as well!
Kosovo as NATO's Guinea Pig
In the meantime, the weapons industry that succeeded to turn NATO into its greatest
business tool, wants to find ways how to try its new weapons. The only way to this end is to
create regional wars. NATO in essence, devised the Kosovo tragedy even though the NATO
countries, headed by the United States, tried to put the blame on Milosevic of Yugoslavia.
In approximately three months, the NATO forces bombarded Kosovo and portions of
Yugoslavia killing more people and destroying more buildings and monuments than Tito
and Milosevic have done over the past 50 years!
Let us keep in mind that NATO is a military organization whose product is not food or
candy but weapons of destruction. Kosovo was not the end but the beginning of a
contemplated devastated Europe. We have had wars waged in Europe throughout history
more than in any other continent on earth. When are the Europeans going to learn that the
waging of wars cannot solve problems?..... that forming expensive military alliances at the
expense of people’s life cannot solve problems?
Problems can be solved best through healthy dialogues, a sound education, and a good
health care system and by means of a spiritual revival where people become aware that
they are interdependent and to be successful they have to care for each other. NATO's war
in Kosovo did not stem out of concern for the Kosovo people but more out of an eagerness
to use and test new weaponry systems. The weapons industry wanted to find a way to
justify the effectiveness of its weapons and to develop new and more expensive ones. We all
know that such weapons are not donated to the USA and to the NATO countries. They are
sold to them at very lucrative prices.
If for some reason there is no money enough for the purchase of such weapons, then the
governments of such countries will simply proceed to borrow, thus putting a financial
burden on the people of their respective countries. It is a no win situation for all practical
purposes. There has never been one nation in history that had a big military without
having people, at the same time, suffering from every kind of deprivation, like lack of food,
lack of shelter, lack of adequate nutrition, you name it. This applies to quite a few millions
of people in the United States today.
What is tragic and sad about Kosovo is not the countless thousands of innocent people who
where massacred by NATO forces, but that Kosovo is one of a never-ending series of
tragedies NATO has initiated. The purpose is to justify the necessity to manufacture and
purchase newer weapons. Europe was moving in the right direction with the creation of the
European Economic Community (EEC). The members of the EEC became so friendly and
mutually trusting that they eliminated the passports and the boundaries, which kept their
respective people apart.
Europeans for a Better Europe
By way of contrast, NATO is destroying everything positive and constructive the EEC has
built over the past years. A line will have to be drawn now before it is too late. With the
EEC we had no countries of Europe which harbored suspicion, which felt threatened, and
which convinced them they had drastic measures to take against possible dangers ahead.
By way of contrast, with NATO we have quite a few countries in Europe, above all Russia,
which harbor suspicion, which make them feel threatened, and which convince them they
have to take drastic measures against possible NATO miscalculations. As long as NATO
continues to operate, people in Europe are bound to suffer numerous consequences as a
result. NATO’s presence in Europe may be viewed is a bad omen.
Whereas the EEC planted seeds of peace, progress, and prosperity, NATO has germinated
seeds of war, deterioration, and misery. NATO did not free the Kosovo people from
Milosevic. It merely turned this little nation into a nightmare through continued
bombardment, which annihilated most of the country's inhabited areas. Unfortunately, the
bulk of the Europeans seem to have been indoctrinated to view NATO as an element of
hope, prosperity, stability and peace. Well, the people in Russia and in Communist
countries were also once indoctrinated to view communism that way and people believed it
for a while. At the same time, the people of the United States and in western nations were
also indoctrinated to view capitalism same way and several are still believing it.
This is so in spite of the fact that in the USA, for instance, more people are being shot and
killed every year than in all of the countries of the world combined, more people sleep in
the street and suffer from malnutrition than most of the developing nations in the world.
The time for Europeans to wake up and see things clearly into perspective has arrived.
They need to start viewing NATO not as their faithful friend but as their brutal enemy who
is using them as a piece of furniture, under the pretext of national security and peace, to
boost the financial interest of the weapons industry. If 50% of the money spent on NATO is
spent on people, the Europeans will have numerous problems solved almost overnight.
There will definitely be jobs for everyone. All people will be guaranteed of an adequate
shelter and every European will have free education and medical care.
In view of what has been stated, Europeans should recognize, the sooner the better, that the
continued existence of NATO at this stage of history is not a blessing but a curse. They
should try to have NATO abolished from the surface of Europe by taking the first Socratic
step: Put into the open all the evil, which NATO caused in Kosovo, which brought untold
suffering and misery. Let all people realize that today the welfare of the people of Kosovo
has been destroyed by NATO and tomorrow may be your turn -- hodie mihi, cras tibi -today it was my turn, tomorrow it will be yours.
Exposition of NATO's Liability
Everyday, concerned Europeans ought to bring news in the media -- press, radio and
television -- critical of NATO and advocating its abolition. Numerous letters need to be sent
to the government officials, at all levels, of the NATO countries, demanding that they quit
NATO. Dialogues should be established with government officials to have NATO either
abolished or to have its scope entirely changed, from a military institution to a
humanitarian agency.
This way NATO could see to it that there are prefabricated homes for every single person
who is homeless, trees planted along the highways of each respective country, food for
everybody without exception, free transportation for the elderly and the disabled, schools
and hospitals equipped with all means of modern technology, and tendering constantly
after the needy and the sick, apart from doing several other types of humanitarian work.
What is surprising, as explained earlier, is to see so many Europeans believing that NATO
is there to protect them! The question they need to answer is this: To protect them from
what?.... from Russia? .... from Iraq? .... from Libya? .... from the North Pole bears?
Europeans should find their strength not in military weapons but in spirituality. They need
to follow the footsteps not of Adolf Hitler and the Nazis who believed their security lied in a
strong military, but in the philosophy of Mother Teresa of Calcutta who proved that we
can conquer the world through our love, dedication, and service to the poor.
At this stage of history, an agency or establishment, which makes the security of people
based on military weapons, has become misleading and deceitful. The presence of NATO in
Europe has become more a liability than an asset. NATO has proven to be merely an
effective tool in the hands of the weapons industry, headed by the United States, to
safeguard the lucrative business of the weapons industry. The time for NATO to follow the
footsteps of the Warsaw Pact is within reach. We can make it happen sooner than later.
Europe’s top priority should consist in developing a program of disarmament, which can
never happen as long as NATO continues to exist.
Addendum
Many Europeans are beginning to become aware of how NATO is increasingly becoming a
malignant tumor growing on their continent. They should take drastic steps and do their
very best to truncate this malignant tumor before it is too late. If they feel they should
hesitate, then it would be very appropriate and wise to read the following brief and true
story uttered in Dachau, Germany in 1941 by one of the Nazis' victims:
I Didn't Speak Up
In Germany, the Nazis first came for the communists,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a communist.
Then they came for the Jews,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew.
Then they came for the trade unionists,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Catholics,
and I didn't speak up because I was a Protestant.
Then they came for me,
and by that time there was no one left to speak for me.
The tens of thousands of Kosovo's people who were devastated by NATO firmly warn their
fellow Europeans with each one of them stressing loudly:
Hodie mihi, cras tibi! -Today it was my turn; to morrow it will be yours!
----------------------------------Meaning and Purpose of Terrorism:
How to deal with it Effectively
The New Webster’s Dictionary of the English language describes terrorism as a system of
government that rules by terror and intimidation. Terror is derived from the Latin world
“terreo” meaning to frighten. Hence, terror involves fear, which agitates the body and
mind. Throughout history, governments and various groups used terrorism systematically
when such entities felt highly threatened for various reasons. It was a last resource they felt
they had when dealing with a situation that was getting out of control.
Roots of Terrorism in Perspective
Since a problem is best understood by going to its source, terrorism can be dealt with
properly and effectively by going to its roots. Unless the root of terrorism is fully realized,
we are bound to experience this brutal event periodically till the end of times. The reasons
for terrorism may vary from one global area to another. Such reasons cannot be taken
lightly. They need to be properly explored and analyzed because they constitute the source
of systematic serious threats.
Although the roots of terrorism may stem from numerous sources, for all practical
purposes we may concentrate on the following four: (a) religious fanaticism, (b) political
extremism, (c) governmental abuse and (d) military intervention. The targets of terrorists
differ, depending on which of these categories they may belong. Let us examine each of
these categories of terrorists.
(a)Religious Fanaticism
In some global areas, people have been brainwashed to view things in a certain way and to
pursue actions proposed to them accordingly with no questions raised. Most terrorists have
been viewed as religious fanatics who developed a clear misconception of God. They sought
to gather support and momentum by immersing people in phenomenal ignorance relative
to the realities that eventually surround them. This step is important, especially when
people are trained to perform sadistic actions by inflicting enormous pain on others and
without feeling any remorse of conscience.
Religious fanaticism may lead to sadistic practices, which may be used to admonish people
of what is awaiting for them if they were to follow certain ways. Inflicting pain for the sake
of pain is often the ultimate objective of this kind of terrorism. Religious fanatics in
Afghanistan, for example, have destroyed anything that had the semblance of Buddhism,
regardless of the fact that Pope John Paul II condemned their actions. Terrorists of this
kind would proceed to do anything, which they believe would bring more observance of
rules and regulations within the boundary or their religious beliefs.
(b)Political Extremism:
In political extremism we always find a group of people who are determined to get what
they want by all means, regardless of the consequences. Most terrorists of this nature seek
to destroy anything, which is not in line with their objectives. Although the motivation for
their heinous crimes may differ, they tend to reveal sensitivity in the selection of their
targets. Very often, innocent people die as a result, even though their death was not a part
of the terrorists’ conceived plan. Such terrorists feel they cannot stop certain evil,
especially when dealing with power-abuse at the very top level of society.
Moreover, in political extremism we may find dedicated groups that are determined to
whip things into order in a way as to stop injustice from spreading. In spite of good
intentions they may have, these political extremists seem to function on the Machiavellian
philosophy: the end justifies the means. This philosophy has been viewed as immoral by
many and even condemned as evil in a number of instances. Unfortunately, this philosophy
has become the foundation of terrorism in all of its various forms.
(c)Governmental Abuse:
Most of the dictatorial regimes, which assumed governmental power through coups and
other illegitimate means, have been known for their brutal rule that terrorized an entire
nation. Since terrorism is linked with brutal actions, most terrorism in history has been
instigated and practiced by governments. In fact, this type of terrorism has been the most
brutal, merciless, and wicked in history. People are imprisoned and executed on mere
suspicion without any trial or recourse to any law.In essence, these government officials
may enter the Guinness Book of World Records as the greatest terrorists in the history of
the human race.
As a matter of fact, Mao Tze Tung of China has been enlisted in this book as having been
responsible for the massacre of 29 million people within the confines of China alone. To
add insult to injury, such dictatorial regimes have used their military systematically to kill
anyone who tries to protest injustice and who tries to demand better treatment. Most of
those massacred were women, children, the elderly and the sick.
(d)Military Intervention
Regardless of what we may hear to the contrary, if we were to examine the purpose of the
military in history we will always come to the same conclusion. Its primary purpose is to
control whole populations through the promotion of terror. In fact, the military people
carry guns and rifles and all kinds of weapons of destruction. Dictatorial regimes have used
the military to terrorize their people systematically and brutally. Ironically, such vicious
regimes have purchased their weapons of destruction mostly from so-called democratic
nations, including the United States.
What do such nations as Indonesia, Burma, Cambodia, Nigeria, Angola, Sudan, Chile,
Bolivia, Paraguay, among others have in common? Their respective governments used the
military to terrorize their own civilians, killing tens of thousands of innocent people that
included women, children, the elderly and the sick. We are all familiar with Tienamen
Square in Beijing when in 1989 the Chinese government ordered the military to invade
with students’ peaceful protests and to shoot them down. The military, by its very nature,
is trained to perform acts of terrorism, which are viewed as legal.
Spiritual Meaning and Purpose
Since the recent terrorist act on New York and Washington, DC has captured the attention
of the whole world, we need to reflect upon this brutal and heinous act. We need to mourn
genuinely the victims of this atrocious event and to demonstrate compassion to their
relatives. We need to find out the real motive behind this unexpected event. Also, we need
to raise the question: Is there anything we could do to avoid similar repetitions of these acts
of terrorism in the future? Like St. Thomas Aquinas says: Ex nihilo nihil fit – nothing
happens out of nothing.
The best way to understand terrorism is to view it from the spiritual level. Every religion
offers an explanation to the terrorist problem. Acts of terrorism against the United States
have been going for years now. Some 2500 years ago, Confucius said: Do not do to others
what do not want others to do to you. And about 500 years later Jesus of Nazareth said: Do
to others what you would like others to do to you. When St. Peter took the sword to strike an
enemy for purpose of defending Jesus, the Master Teacher was quick to tell him: Put the
sword where it was because he who kills by the sword will die by the sword.
In Buddhism we have the teaching of karma, which has proven to be true for some 2500
years already. In this doctrine we learn that what we give to others it will come back to us.
When we inflict pain on others, that pain will bounce back ending up feeling it ourselves.
The recent terrorism on the United States has been viewed in religious circles as a “wakeup”call. Is it possible that the United States has now began to reap the fruit it sowed for so
many years since World War II ended in 1945?
Maryknoll Productions in New York and the Center for Defense Information in
Washington, DC have produced numerous videotapes showing how the United States has
equipped the most notorious dictators in the world with all kind of sophisticated weapons.
Such weapons were then used to massacre innocent people, mostly women and children,
the elderly, and the sick simply because they protested injustice and demanded better
treatment. Most countries, including Angola, Sudan, Liberia, Somalia, Cambodia, among
others are infested with American landmines with hundreds of people, including children
still dying each week. Those who survived American landmines have had one or both legs
amputated. When fairly recently the United Nations voted to outlaw landmines, the United
States was virtually the only dissenter, the only one that refused.
Examination of American Foreign Policy
When communism collapsed in 1987, the whole world took a sigh of relief. Every nation felt
that under the leadership of the United States the world was finally bound to have a
permanent peace. But it took only a few months for the United States, which houses the
seat of capitalism, to show its real teeth. Instead of embarking on a program of
disarmament, as advocated by the United Nations, the United States embarked on a
program of rearmament. Instead of enfolding NATO and bringing it to an end, now that
the Warsaw Pact was dissolved and the Soviet Union ceased to exist, the United States
moved to expand NATO while urging those who joined to spend billions of dollars on new
weapons all purchased from the United States.
For the past few decades, the United States has manufactured and sold weapons of
destruction every year more than all the nations of the world combined. Not only so, but
the United States sold weapons to opposite factions within the same nations, like with the
case of Burundi where we had the Hutu fighting the Tutsi, killing each other in tense of
thousands weekly. Some of the most notorious dictators to whom the United States
furnished weapons without limit, which were used exclusively to kill their own innocent
and helpless people, were: Pinochet of Chile, Abacha of Nigeria, Suharto of Indonesia,
Saddam Hussein of Iraq, Mobutu of former Zaire, and Galtieri of Argentina.
Since World War II ended in 1945, some 50 million people were massacred brutally with
American weapons. And such a massacre with American weapons is still going on to this
very day! Millions of relatives across every continent are still mourning the loss of their
beloved ones who fell victims of American weapons. The exhortation of the Master
Teacher: He who kills by the sword will die by the word, cannot be taken lightly. Also, the
Buddhist teaching of Karma: You will be treated same way as you treated others, needs to be
taken very seriously.
Terrorism cannot be stopped by counteract it with terrorism because terrorism breeds
more terrorism. Just as the destruction of New York and Washington, DC reveal acts of
terrorism, the destruction of Afghanistan by US and British forces also reveal acts of
terrorism. In both cases, thousands of innocent people died. While the United States refers
to those innocent people who died in New York and Washington, DC as “victims” the same
nation refers to those innocent people who died in Afghanistan by US bombs as “collateral
damage.” This is somewhat degrading to refer to innocent Afghanis women, children, the
elderly and the sick recently killed with American weapons as “collateral damage” like
these sacred human beings were nothing but a piece of furniture.
Bringing Terrorism Under Full Control
In view of what has been stated, we have to realize that the security of people everywhere is
not to be sought in weapons of destruction and in the formation of military alliances.
People’s security is linked with good health, good education, good housing facilities, along
with a healthy environment and a spiritual revival. The relatives of those victims who died
of American weapons in Latin America have besieged the American government, saying:
Do not send us anymore of that military aid which was used to kill our helpless and innocent
people. Instead, send us food and medicine and other necessities of life.
When the United States and its NATO allies bombarded Kosovo for three months, under
the pretext of freeing the people from Milosevic of Yugoslavia, during these three months
alone more people were killed in Kosovo with American weapons than in the previous 55
years in the same territory under Milosevic all the way back to Tito. This proves that the
act of military terrorism was highly devastating.
Terrorism could be brought under full control if the United States, in conjunction with the
United Nations, will stop relying on the military to solve world problems and instead
embark upon taking the following steps:
1. Put top priority on the suffering people everywhere. We are living now in a world of
interdependence. What affects one person will affect the rest of the world.
2. Promote a program of disarmament and development. The United Nations took good
steps in this direction. However, such steps were hampered by the weapons industry.
3. Assume the responsibility to develop a new world economy. The United States and
industrial countries cannot continue to rely on weapons to make quick money. This is a
lethal product, which leads to death.
4. Protect people from the exploitation of big business. The capitalist-oriented nations thrive
on the exploitation of people by instigating them to borrow money and to buy items they
do not really need.
5. Urge churches and civic groups to defend the helpless. Several of these agencies receive
money from their members who work for the weapons industry, which they never
criticize and condemn.
Terrorism is a brutal element, which should not exist any longer in our earthly
society. We need to go down to its roots in order to pull them out. The terrorist act in
New York and in Washington, DC, though utterly deplorable, had a specific message.
This act of terror was directed toward the seat of world capitalism and the seat of the
world military might.
Curbing Capitalism and the Military
Capitalism was singled out by Pope John Paul II as one of the greatest two evils of the 20th
century, along with communism. He said that both systems advance their objectives through the
exploitation of people. The capitalistic system has exploited ruthlessly the nations of Africa and
Latin America, not to mention others. As a result, most of these countries have turned into
deserts for all practical purposes. Besides, the millions of American landmines have turned a
number of these nations into cemeteries. only God knows how many millions of innocent people
suffered and are still suffering because of the ruthless exploitation of the capitalistic system,
which is headed by the United States.
The military has always been used in history to wage indiscriminate acts of legalized terrorism
which killed millions of innocent people, destroyed our environment and obliterated from the
surface of our planet most of our sacred cultural heritage. The toxic wastes produced from big
corporations headed by the weapons industry in the United States alone, has caused cancer to
two million Americans every year. If just 50% of the billions of dollars spent on the military
could be used for constructive purposes, the United States in particular and the world at large
will become a safer and more secure place of habitation.
With such money, we can feed all the hungry people of the world for the rest of this century,
procure prefabricated homes for the millions of homeless people everywhere, provide free health
care to all the people of this planet, give the children of all nations free education from
kindergarten, elementary and secondary schools through college and university, and provide to
the developing nations schools and hospitals equipped with the best available technological
means. This way we will stop the enormous suffering of this world and the roots of terrorism
will be obliterated before we even know it.
-------------------------------------------
Coalition of Peaceful Nations:
Their Strength and Asset to the World
In every era of history, we always had a group of countries which were drawn together by
mutual common interests and benefits. Such groups were referred to later by various names,
among the common ones we find that of alliance or coalition. For the past six thousand years of
recorded history, we have witnessed a world dominated by a patriarchy that tended to be
vindictive, merciless and brutal.
Characteristics of the Culture of War
This was mostly due to the fact that the patriarchs that assumed power were all born and
raised in a culture of war, which is characterized by distrust, suspicion, and belligerence.
Because of this, there are hardly cases of international significance where problems were tried to
be solved through genuine healthy dialogues. The philosophy of the patriarchy has been always
the same. It runs something like this:
“You talk for as much as you like and I will listen, but when my turn comes to talk, you
better listen very carefully because what I say will be final and the case is closed. Then just
follow what I say because otherwise I will force you to do everything I want through a
devastating war which will cause the destruction of the infrastructure of your nation along with
the death of countless thousands of your innocent citizens.”
Hence, the nations that are deeply trenched in the culture of war, such as the permanent five
members of the UN Security Council, are not equipped with the ability to ever bring about a
permanent peace in our planet. The only thing they could do is to continue to try to control the
world through fear and terror. Hence, the time is ripe where a coalition of peaceful nations needs
to stand up tall to defend and promote the sacrosanct right of every nation to live at peace with
itself and with others as well. This would require an international program of disarmament and
arms control. The world is safer with fewer weapons than with more weapons.
An international committee that would work to increase periodically the number of members in
the coalition of peaceful nations is being formed and anyone interested to join it as to become an
integral part of a positive and constructive world community, is welcome to send a brief note of
interest to: mercieca@knology.net or mgold@homeplanet.org for global coordination, and for
regional coordination to:
(1) tpaupp@aol.com or mazuruk@knology.net for North and South America,
(2) leorebello@hathway.com or dr_suryanathprasad@yahoo.co.infor Asia,
(3) dean@sbs.edu or instytutmed@wp.pl for Europe,
(4) makouelegoma@yahoo.fr or aiepmtogo@hotmail.com for Africa, and
(5) senseadventures@yahoo.com.au or paul@kalgrove.com for the South Pacific.
Characteristics of the Culture of Peace
For a country to qualify to become a member of the Coalition of Peaceful Nations, it must
demonstrate the will to achieve the following:
1. No foreign military bases established in its own territory. By their very nature, military bases
exist in the hands of politicians to plan, plot and wage wars brutally and mercilessly with the
same ultimate objectives: the destruction of the infrastructure of society and the massacre of
innocent people in tens of thousands.
2. No foreign military forces allowed within its land and water boundaries. Politicians who view
wars as a big business enterprise, have a way how to bribe heads of states and key figures of
peaceful nations as to allow temporary airbases and harbors to shelter military planes and ships.
The money offered should be refused as this would be blood money that carries a satanic curse.
3. Establishment of a loose federation between the countries of the Coalition of Peaceful
Nations. This means that the citizens could travel to any of these countries without the
requirement of a visa or even a passport, same way as we observe in the European Union. At the
same time, they could develop trade cooperation and sharing of their natural and human
resources.
4. Promotion of the culture of peace in all schools at all levels of education. This way, students
from various countries could go there to study the characteristics of the culture of peace and how
they could later serve to spread it in their respective nations. The ideal would be to have the
culture of war everywhere be replaced by the culture of peace.
5. Creation of a healthy environment through the protection of fair economics and natural
resources. In this area, the elimination of air and water pollution will become a necessity. This
will boost the longevity of the natives, keep every citizen spiritually and physically healthy, and,
above all, the spirit of happiness and joy would be given the opportunity to radiate deeply in
every inhabitant.
6. Safeguard of human rights. This is evidenced by the freedom citizens of the coalition of
peaceful nations may have to move around freely, to pursue any career they may wish, to have a
free education, and to enjoy a free health care system. In the absence of such worries, citizens are
bound to be more productive and beneficial to society where everyone will be a winner and no one a loser.
7. Changing the role of the military to purely humanitarian work. This means that the military
will no longer serve to train people to shoot and kill other people and to destroy the infrastructure
of their communities. on the contrary, the military will be trained to grow food for the hungry,
build houses for the homeless, and provide their communities with good hospitals and schools.
8. Disarmament and arms control and the establishment of nuclear free zones. This means that
military money would be used for the people’s good health and education. Ironically, the nations
that tend to be militaristic have plenty of poor, hungry and homeless people, and that includes
the USA where according to the United Nations, one out of five children dies of hunger related
causes every year.
9. Development of the human resources merely for positive and constructive purposes.Instead of
using the human intellect to develop more elaborate and devastating weapons of mass
destruction, that same human intellect could be used to find a permanent cure to such maladies as
cancer, multiple sclerosis, leukemia, diabetes, and heart disease in addition to others.
10. Refusal to allow any foreign nation to control the economic resources of its nation. The USA,
for example, describes a nation as friendly that would allow the US big corporations exploit
mercilessly a nation’s resources. If a head of state were to refuse that then the USA would refer
to that nation as unfriendly. That’s why Cuba and Venezuela, for example, were classified by the
USA as unfriendly.
As we know, every problem could be solved with the taking of the first step. We are now faced
with the prospects of a nuclear holocaust. We may talk and talk among ourselves and just feel
better. Or, we may take vital actions that would eventually enable the world to have the culture
of war being replaced by the culture of peace. The official establishment of the Coalition of
Peaceful Nations would be a gigantic step in the direction of eventual permanent peace.
1. Countries of Africa (53 Nations):
Algeria, Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde,
Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo (Republic of), Congo (Democratic Republic
of), Djibouti, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea,
Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali,
Mauritania, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sao Tome and
Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania,
Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe.
2. Countries of Asia (47 Nations):
Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Burma
(Myanmar), Cambodia, China, Georgia, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Japan, Jordan,
Kazakhstan, Korea (North), Korea (South), Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lebanon, Malaysia,
Maldives, Mongolia, Nepal, Oman, Pakistan, Philippines, Qatar, Russia (Asia), Saudi Arabia,
Singapore, Sri Lanka, Syria, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Thailand, Turkey (Asia), Turkmenistan, United
Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Yemen.
3. Countries of Europe (46 Nations):
Albania, Andorra, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia,
Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary,
Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malta,
Moldova, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia (Europe), San
Marino, Montenegro, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey (Europe),
Ukraine, United Kingdom Vatican City.
4. Countries of North and South America (35 Nations):
South America: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay,
Peru, Suriname, Uruguay, Venezuela, Central America: Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador,
Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, North America: Canada, United States, Mexico,
Caribbean: Antigua & Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic,
Grenada, Haiti, Jamaica, St. Kitts & Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent & Grenadines, Trinidad &
Tobago.
5. Countries of the South Pacific (27 Nations):
American Samoa, Australia, Cook Islands, Micronesia, Fiji, French Polynesia, Guam,
Kiribati, Mariana Islands, Marshall Islands, Mocronesia, Nauru, Niue, New Caledonia, New
Zealand, Norfolk Island, Mariana Islands, Papua New Guinea, Pitcairn Island, Samoa, Solomon
Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, Palau, Vanuatu, Wallis & Futuna.
-------------------------------Cultural Bridges of Peace:
Two Women Take the Lead
As most of us may already know, men tend to rule from the mind, which abounds in doubts and
suspicion. This explains why men in general find it rather difficult to trust others. At the same
time, women tend to rule from the heart, which is characterized by love and compassion. This
explains why there were no traces of war during the matriarchal times when women ruled the
world. Since the arrival of the patriarchy, some eight thousand years ago or so, there have been
numerous wars that inflicted so much suffering to this very day.
Provision of Good Leadership
Of course, what makes women suitable to govern in every realm of society does not stem from
the structure of their body but rather from the spiritual enrichment their soul. This means that if
men where to be imbued with such noble qualities, they will be also in a position to bring about a
permanent world peace.But this would involve love and respect for all humans without exception
as a sine qua non condition.In spite of these natural good qualities that women have been blessed
with by Mother Nature, a number of the women today that try to work in public office tend to
find themselves somewhat handicapped.
This is due to the fact that they were born and raised in a patriarchal society that is characterized
by the culture of war. It explains why well known women of the caliber of Margaret Thatcher,
former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, and Golda Meier, former Israeli Prime Minister,
for example, carried out their job same like they were men trapped in woman’s body. World
peace is possible. It could be achieved and it will be achieved only after we will embark on
bringing back the matriarchal society to take the helm of every government.
Fortunately, nowadays we do have tens of thousands of women, amounting to millions on a
global scale, that are becoming more and more involved in public affairs. They are taking direct
interest in the promotion of world peace through justice as well as in the safeguard of the
environment from air and water pollution.
Besides, they are supporting an international program of disarmament and arms control
characterized by the abolition of all nuclear weapons and landmines. Moreover, such women are
doing their best to replace the waging of wars by the establishment of healthy dialogues as a
means to solve social problems effectively and peacefully. In addition, in dealing with the
solution of problems women tend to reveal an open and flexible mind, while men tend to reveal
stubbornness and closeness of mind. The list of women in history that made a big difference with
their presence and eventual involvement in community affairs, directly or indirectly, is too long
to enumerate.
Great Women in History
In olden times we read about Ruth, Judith and Esther as well as the Virgin Mary who has
transformed the world with her genuine love and compassion for everyone. In later centuries, we
come across Joan of Arc, Elizabeth of Hungary, Catherine of Siena, Margaret of Scotland,
Frances Xavier Cabrini, Maria Goretti, all the way to Faustina Kowalska, Mother Teresa,
Princess Diana and Loretta King to mention but a few. Millions of women work silently in
promoting love, compassion and peace in the various global areas where they happen to find
themselves. Their tremendous influence on the younger generation especially is instilling great
hope in seeing the growth of a new generation that is ready to take over the reigns of leadership
from the patriarchy in due time.
This way, the culture of war would be eventually replaced by the culture of peace. We
are all familiar with the traditional saying: “You cannot teach old dog new tricks.” This means it
is very hard for us to convince those patriarchs that are in power, who are deeply entrenched in
the culture of war, to do something positive and constructive. In view of what has been stated,
we are going to illustrate in a vivid and tangible way how cultural bridges of peace could be built
between east and west by valiant women who are deeply trenched in the matriarchal spirit of
society.
We are going to show how such women are strongly linked together in spirit and how
they perform similar activities that are meant to bring about peace and joy in the hearts of
everyone involved. By way of example, we will focus thoroughly on two young, energetic,
intelligent, and charismatic women. Their names are Shakuntala Balu from Bangalore, India, and
Sherry Mercieca from Huntsville, Alabama, USA. Although these two women never met and
never knew each other, yet they performed identical activities in an effort to help to bring joy
and peace in the heart of everyone they came across. Both have succeeded to enrich the lives of
tens of thousands of people everywhere particularly through the appreciation of arts as an
effective medium.
Both Shakuntala and Sherry lived a very active life dedicated to the welfare of all people
without exception. Both passed away unexpectedly shortly after their 51st birthday. Besides, they
were both accomplished scholars in their own right and both of them used the study of arts as a
medium for the eventual promotion of international understanding and world peace. Shakuntala
concentrated on producing beautiful paintings that were exhibited not only in leading cities of
India but also in several cities of Europe. on the other hand, Sherry concentrated on singing and
music and she was a professional stage actress as well that performed in several operas as prima
donna.
Shakuntala and Sherry in Perspective
While Shakuntala believed that every woman could express her deep love for nature through
painting, Sherry believed that every woman could sing and perform in public as to alleviate the
spirit of those present to a higher level of existence. Both Shakuntala and Sherry were very much
in the public eye. This was not due to the fact that they sought for publicity in which they had no
interest whatsoever. It was rather due to the fact that their life served constantly as a living torch
for others, a lively bright candle that was meant to enlighten the surroundings wherever they
found themselves. Both of them were married. Shakuntala was survived by her husband and
three children, while Sherry was survived by her husband and two children.
Most importantly, both of them were deeply loved by everyone that knew them. From their
character and personality radiated tender love and genuine compassion. Through their eyes you
could see the inner beauty of their soul that fascinated those present. Needless to say,
Shakuntala’s work was not restricted only to painting. She gave herself also to batik, ceramics,
Ikebana, fashion designing, interior decoration and research on gold leaf paintings. At the same
time, Sherry’s work was not restricted merely to singing and music. She was a good pianist who
composed or arranged music periodically, performed on the stage to entertain large audiences,
and revealed a tremendous sense of humor. Besides, Sherry helped periodically battered women
with her wise advice.
Shakuntala’s marvelous and gorgeous paintings attracted the attention of such personalities as
Indira Gandhi, former Indian Prime Minister, and the world-wide known Mother Teresa. Both of
them were deeply impressed with Shakuntala’s artistic talents, with whom they had the
opportunity to meet. In spite of their busy life, both Shakuntala and Sherry put top priority on
their family needs always looking first after their husband and their children with tender love and
care. Both of them shared the same hobbies like the enjoyment of nature’s beauty and
peacefulness as well as swimming.
In the practice of spirituality, both Shakuntala and Sherry liked yoga and practiced
transcendental meditation. They both believed that every person has latent talents, which need to
be discovered and utilized for the benefit of others. Besides, both of them were good writers.
They viewed writing as the best medium to communicate positive and constructive messages to
people from across every continent. In addition, they both tended to believe that you can judge
fairly accurately a person’s character by looking straight and deeply into one’s eyes. In spite of
their variety of background culture, both viewed marriage as a holy sacrament where two are
joined into an indissoluble and sacred union.
Similarities of Character and Personality
Shakuntala was born and raised in a Hindu culture, while Sherry was born and raised in a
Christian culture. Yet, this diversity of culture did not affect the perfect unity that existed
between their souls. It looks like when love and compassion reign within the heart of an
individual, there ceases to be any room for division of any kind whatsoever. It is a pity that these
two spiritually powerful women who were blessed with enormous talents never had the
opportunity to come across each other in person in life. However, their husbands did come across
each other on more than one occasion after they both passed away. By coincidence, both
Shakuntala and Sherry showed deep respect for Sri Satya Sai Baba. They both viewed him as a
deeply spiritual man.
When both Shakuntala and Sherry passed away peacefully and unexpectedly at the same of 51
years, they both looked more like they were sleeping peacefully with a smile on their face than
otherwise. In fact, they looked more like they pretended to be sleeping with a natural smile that
was about to burst into laughter. They must have left this world feeling very proud of
themselves, of the positive and constructive things they did, and of the many enormous joy and
peace they brought into the heart of so many people. Their children afterwards said more or less
the same things. They remember their respective mother as being cheerful, optimistic, kind,
generous, gentle, encouraging and beautiful with a gentle smile that was viewed as characteristic.
What is amazing lies in the fact that every single statement made by relatives and friends of
Shakuntala about her after she passed away, may apply perfectly well to Sherry. At the same
time, every single statement made by relatives and friends of Sherry about her after she passed
away, may apply equally well to Shakuntala. There are many lessons that could be drawn from
the noble lives of these two valiant women. These lessons should not be taken lightly as they
may serve as a good guide to help build bridges of understanding and cooperation where
everyone will be a winner and no one a loser.
What are some of the basic lessons that the whole world could learn from these two valiant
women who lived half way round the world apart from each other and who were raised in two
entirely different cultures? How come they were so similar in character and personality, in
philosophy and view of life? How did they manage to establish the same identical priorities of
life in terms of importance and ability to contribute for a better and more peaceful world? After
all, they never met each other and they never knew of each other. There must be something that
needs to be brought properly into perspective.
Secret of Universal Success
Some 1700 years ago, St. Augustine, who is viewed the father of Christian education, said that if
you love genuinely and truly you cannot possibly break any law. His words were: Ama et fac
quod vis – Love and do what you like. This is not difficult to understand when we consider that
love is the only element in the human beings that is capable to transcend all boundaries of
division. Such divisions usually stem from diversity in religion, culture, philosophy, politics,
nationality, you name it. The opposite of division is unity, which is always there when and where
love is found. Mother Teresa was greatly revered and loved by people around the world, from
every religion, culture and nationality because she genuinely revealed love for all people without
exception.
Like Mother Teresa we had numerous outstanding people in history whose love for all people
without exception won the confidence and admiration of the whole world. Among so many we
find Francis of Assisi, Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela and the list goes on and on. What did
all these peaceful people have in common? They all showed genuine love and interest in the
universal welfare of all people without exception.Both Shakuntala and Sherry were genuinely
concerned with bringing joy and peace in the heart of all people without exception. Their true
love for every human being was unquestionable.
Maybe, if our world politicians, executives of corporations, and managers self-interest groups
start to do everything in the best interest of all people without exception, instead of in the best
interest of some to the exclusion of others, world peace would be given a chance to become a
permanent reality before we even know it. The philosophy of life that was practiced by
Shakuntala and Sherry needs to be implemented in all of our schools across every continent. The
younger generation especially, needs to learn, the sooner the better, what could be done as to
create a future where the very concept of war becomes totally obsolete, where eventual harmony
would bring about not only genuine peace and security but it will also add to the eventual
enrichment of longevity.
--------------------------------
Diplomat Most Likely to Succeed
Kofi Annan as UN Secretary-General
Although over the past several months there were many speculations as to who may succeed
Kofi Annan as UN Secretary-General, the name of South Korea’s foreign minister Ban Ki Moon
seemed to become dominant. This diplomat has been known for his hard work and good luck in
the sense that he tended to do the right things at the right time and to be in the right places at the
right time as well. His sense of adaptability in dealing with all kinds of people has been one of
his great assets in his diplomatic career.
Great Character and Personality
In his approach to people from every walk of life and profession he always tended to be cordial.
He adheres faithfully to principles that he views of vital importance. This has enabled those
around to know always where they stand with him. In part it may explain the reason for his
popularity wherever he finds himself. Mr. Ban is in his early sixties and he speaks fluently
English and French in addition to Korean. His vacations usually consist of change of work or
routine but he rarely ceases to work day in and day out.
In his political career, Mr. Ban came across some crucial incidents. one was when a Korean
worker was kidnapped and killed in Iraq in June 2006. The other was when several Koreans died
during the deadly tsunami of December 2005. In addition to his positive public image, he has
had the full support of South Korean President Roh Moo Hyun. All of this has helped to boost up
his image in being taken very seriously for the position of UN Secretary-General.
In his favor relative to the taking helm at the United Nations lies in the unwritten rule of rotation
by regional areas when taking the role of UN Secretary-General. This time the turn seemed to be
Asia. China could not file a candidate because the permanent member of the UN Security
Council cannot have anyone proposed to become the UN Secretary-General. Also, Japan’s
position at the United Nations is still controversial in a number of ways.
Mr. Ban was born in Chungju, Chungcheog Province, which is a very quiet city in southwest
Seoul. He established a reputation of being a nice and intelligent person. Among a few stories he
liked to say was the one that relates to how he decided to purse a diplomatic career. As a high
school student in 1962, Ban won an English speaking contest, winning a trip to Washington to
meet then President John F. Kennedy. He says it was at that time he decided to become a
diplomat.
Academic and Diplomatic Qualifications
Following this experience, he returned to South Korea and entered the prestigious Seoul
National University in 1970. There he secured a Master’s degree in international relations, which
enhanced his credibility in what he was trying to do with his life. Soon after he joined the
Foreign Ministry in 1970s, Ban served in many important posts, including a stint as Ambassador
to the United States. However, his first overseas job after passing the High Diplomatic Service
Examination was to work as Vice Consul in New Delhi, India, in 1972. Later, he became the
second secretary at the Korean Embassy in India followed by becoming first secretary at Korea’s
permanent observer mission to the United Nations.
In the 1980s Ban continued his work related to the United Nations as the director of the United
Nation's Division of the International Organizations and Treaties Bureau at their headquarters in
Seoul. Later, he served as a senior protocol secretary to the prime minister and as a counselor
and consul general at the embassy in the United States. In 1990, he became the director-general
of the American Affairs bureau and two years later worked as a special assistant to the foreign
minister. He was also the vice chairman of the South-North Joint Nuclear Commission. He
became minister at the Korean Embassy in the United States and later deputy minister of Foreign
Affairs for Policy Planning and Political Affairs respectively in 1995 and 1996.
His career entered a new phase in 1996 when he became the chief protocol officer to thenPresident Kim Young Sam. He was also a senior secretary to the president for foreign policy and
national security the same year. He became more directly involved in international affairs by
becoming the ambassador extraordinary to Austria and the International Organizations in Vienna
in 1998. A year later, Ban became the chairman of the preparatory commission for the
Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organization. In 2000, Ban was named vice minister
and later became chef-de-cabinet for the president of the United Nations General Assembly in
2001 for a year.
Besides, Ban assisted President Roh Moo Hyun as an adviser on foreign policy in 2003 and was
eventually named foreign minister in January 2004. In his academic qualifications, Ban also
secured a Master’s degree in public administration from the Kennedy School of Government,
Harvard University. He has been recognized throughout his career and was awarded the Van
Fleet Award by the Korea Society in September 2004, the Grand Cross of Rio Branco Order
from Brazil in February 2002, and the Grand Decoration of Honor from Austria in November
2001. He is married to his high school sweetheart Yoo Soon Taek and has one son and two
daughters
Qualifications for the U.N. Post
With this kind of background, in addition to his well accepted character and personality, there
seems to be no wonder as to why Ban have been viewed as the most likely successor to UN
Secretary General Kofi Annan. This office is often called the most impossible job in the world.
on paper, it is the highest post in the world's largest organization, but the UN secretary-general
holds no decision-making authority, rather he is in charge of encouraging every member to
tackle the right issue at the right time.
Although the job is responsible for nearly 16,000 staff in the headquarters, it cannot let its
nationality influence its personnel decisions. To describe it without further embellishment, the
UN secretary-general basically has to be the most unbiased person in the world. With such an
impossible task comes great honor but little glamour. The secretary-general's salary, which has
not been raised since 1997, is set at $227,253 per annum by the UN General Assembly.
"Nobody would do this job for the money," is what Secretary-General's spokesman Fred Eckhard
was quoted as saying. The secretary-general does, however, get a little slack by receiving a
budget for personal entertainment, free housing and security protection. The UN owned
residence is on Sutton Place, in an exclusive Manhattan neighborhood on the East Side. It is in
walking distance to UN headquarters.
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan from Ghana, who has lived in the house for the past 10 years,
has been scheduled to finish his term in December. He was the seventh secretary general since
the birth of the United Nations in 1945. The first secretary-general of the United Nations was
Trygve Halvdan Lie of Norway between 1946 and 1952. Sweden's Dag Hammarskjold
succeeded from 1953 to 1961 followed by U-Thant of Myanmar between 1961 and 1971. Fourth
was Kurt Waldheim of Austria between 1972 and 1981. Between 1982 and 1991 was Javier
Perez de Cuellar from Peru, before Boutros Boutros-Ghali from Egypt who served in the post
between 1992 and 1996.
As mutual as the post is, the selection process is still highly political. Despite calls within nonalliance members to make the process more transparent, the decision as to who will be picked is
still up to the five permanent members of the UNSC Based on the designation customarily
conducted in regional rotation, the 15-member UNSC carries out repetitive straw polls until they
reach a unanimous consensus. After several straw polls, they conduct another ballot with colors
this time - the permanent members voting on red papers and non permanent members voting on
white papers.
Process of Selection in General Assembly
This ballot will determine which candidates have the support of the key permanent voters.
Following the colored ballots which will narrow down the contenders into a single
recommendation, the UNSC will hold an official vote for the person to be relayed to the UN
General Assembly for a final approval. So far all candidates referred to the General Assembly
were approved with a signal of applause.
But the future process is likely to undergo change in terms of the regional rotation as well as the
omnipotent selection power of the UNSC. Such countries as Canada are calling for the voting
process to adopt more transparency and objectivity with reduced power of the permanent
members. By regulation, five permanent member countries to the Security Council cannot run
for the secretary-general seat and usually a candidate from a middle-sized country gets the job.
once elected, secretary-general of the United Nations is considered an equal to chief
administrative office of the UN headquarters and an international civil servant that is liberal from
influence from any government or organization.
The secretary-general enjoys the courtesy equal to a nation's leader. He is entitled to discuss with
all affiliated councils and organizations and adjust and mediate for the prevention of inter-border
conflicts by using "good offices" and executing "quiet diplomacy." The United Nations is
currently undergoing major challenges and works ahead including inter-state and internal
conflicts such as in the Middle East, Southwest Africa and Northeast Asia as well as rising
criticism against the effectiveness of peacekeeping operations.
There is famine, epidemics and environment issues, as well as the proliferation activities of
weapons of mass destruction, terrorism and non-state actors' organized crimes. Korea joined the
United Nations in 1991. It is the 11th largest financial supporter and 10th largest Peacekeeping
operation financer of the UN member states.
Korea supports an expansion of participation by middle-sized countries and more balanced
power in the decision-making processes of the United Nations. It also steadily backs the efforts
achieve the Millennium Development Goals to fight famine, poverty, and alleviation of
information gap but is more cautious on human rights issue due to the sensitive relations with
North
Korea.
Other Available Candidates
Vying for the post this time is Korea's Foreign Minister Ban Ki Moon; India's Shashi Tharoor,
Annan's under secretary general for communications; Latvian President Vaira Vike-Freiberga;
Surakiart Sathirathai, a deputy prime minister of the ousted Thai regime; Jordan's U.N.
Ambassador Prince Zeid Al-Hussein; and former Afghan Finance Minister Ashraf Ghani.
Ban Ki Moon, who has almost secured his position to become the next UN secretary-general
with a convincing win in Monday's straw poll, said in Seoul on Tuesday that he is happy to
reconfirm the Security Council's support for him, but he also said he has a ``strong sense of
responsibility.'' With a broad smile on his face, Ban, 62, told reporters that he will continue to try
to get support from all UN member states. He still has two more stages to go through before
being officially nominated as the next chief of the global body: a formal vote in the Security
Council presumably on October 9, 2006 and the following approval process of the General
Assembly within the next 10 days.
Mr. Ban, who currently heads the Foreign Affairs and Trade Ministry, is expected to visit New
York next week to meet leaders of the five regional groups in the General Assembly, ministry
officials said. In a telephone conversation, President Roh Moo Hyun congratulated Ban on the
good result in the fourth indicative poll, saying it demonstrates the capacity of South Korean
diplomacy.
All political parties in Seoul echoed the president's remarks by describing it an ``auspicious''
occasion and the most ``heart-stirring'' achievement in South Korea's history of diplomacy.
A public service expert in New York also praised Seoul's prominence on the world stage after
such a short period of time; the country joined the United Nations in 1991. ``The really
remarkable fact is the prominence of this candidacy given South Korea's relatively recent arrival
at the United Nations,'' Dennis C. Smith, professor of the Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of
Public Service at New York University, told The Korea Times. ``It is a tribute to the rapid rise of
both the country and the candidate in world stature, whatever happens now.''
Foreign ministry officials in Seoul looked tired as most of them stayed up until they got the
voting result at around 6 a.m.
They modestly told reporters that Ban has now ``turned the corner.''
``A formal voting session will take place at the Security Council next week,'' an official said,
asking not to be named. ``We also need to get him to pass the General Assembly's confirmation
process with an acclamation, following the United Nations' tradition.'' The ministry has been
worried about the possibility that the nonaligned group in the United Nations could stonewall the
candidate approval session, demanding the Security Council give a greater say to the General
Assembly in the process of selecting the next secretary-general.
Exerted Influence by U.N. Security Council
``For instance, some developing nations like India have suggested that the Security Council
present the General Assembly with three nominees rather than the one candidate normally
submitted for consideration,'' Brett D. Schaefer, a Jay Kingham fellow in international regulatory
affairs at the Heritage Foundation, said in an e-mail interview.
However, the concern has apparently dwindled as India's candidate, Shashi Tharoor, pulled out
of the UN race right after the Monday poll, a Seoul official who is familiar with the election
process said. The five permanent members of the Security Council: the USA, China, Russia, the
United Kingdom and France have also opposed the nonaligned group's request.
They worry that such a process could split the membership and weaken the next secretarygeneral, who would be viewed as lacking the support of all the membership, Schaefer said.
Article 97 of the UN Charter states that the secretary-general is to be appointed by the General
Assembly upon nomination from the Security Council.
But an exception was made by the General Assembly in 1953 when Dag Hammarskjold of
Sweden was elected by 57 to 1. The South Korean government plans to choose Ban's successor
for the Cabinet when the UN General Assembly officially names him the world's top diplomat,
government officials said. If elected, Ban will take office on January 1, 2007, succeeding Kofi
Annan.
------------------------------------------------------UN DAILY NEWS
from the
UNITED NATIONS NEWS SERVICE
13 October, 2006
===============================
BAN KI-MOON APPOINTED NEXT UN SECRETARY-GENERAL BY ACCLAMATION
Applauding in acclamation, the United Nations General Assembly today appointed Foreign
Minister Ban Ki-moon of the Republic of Korea as the world body’s next Secretary-General, to
succeed Kofi Annan when he steps down on 31 December. Smiling, waving and nodding to the
members of the 192-nation body, the man who will become the world’s top diplomat for five
years on 1 January was escorted by the UN Chief of Protocol through the Assembly central aisle
to the podium.
Continuing the Constructive Legacy of Kofi Annan
Addressing the assembled delegates, the Secretary-General-designate, who will be the UN’s
eighth chief and the second from Asia, pledged to carry out reforms, building on Mr. Annan’s
legacy. “My tenure will be marked by ceaseless efforts to build bridges and close divides.
Leadership of harmony not division, by division not instruction, has served me well so far. I
intend to stay the course as Secretary-General,” he said.
Mr. Ban referred to his own reputation of modest demeanor. “Asia is also a region where
modesty is a virtue. But the modesty is about demeanor, not about vision and goals. It does not
mean the lack of commitment or leadership. Rather it is quiet determination in action to get
things done without so much fanfare,” he declared.
“This may be the key to Asia’s success, and to the UN’s future. Indeed, our Organization is
modest in its means, but not in its values. We should be more modest in our words, but not in our
performance.” Mr. Ban noted that the road towards peace, prosperity and dignity for all has
many pitfalls. “As Secretary-General, I will make the most of the authority invested in my office
by the Charter and the mandate you give me. I will work diligently to materialize our
responsibility to protect the most vulnerable members of humanity and for the peaceful
resolution of threats to international security and regional stability,” he said.
Underlining the efforts to reform the UN, he declared: “Let us remember that reform is not
to please others, but because we value what this Organization stands for. We need reform
because we believe in the future. To revitalize our common endeavor is to renew our faith not only in the UN’s programs and purposes but also in each other. We should demand more of
ourselves as well as of our organization.”
Promising Open Administration for all States
Mr. Ban, who is no stranger to the world body, promised an open administration and
pledged to work closely with all Member States and with the media. Earlier in his diplomatic
career he served in his country’s mission to the UN and in 2001 was Chef de Cabinet to then
General Assembly President Han Seung-soo of the Republic of Korea.
Welcoming Mr. Ban, President Sheikha Haya Al Khalifa of Bahrain said his appointment
comes at a time when the UN is deeply engaged in a wide-ranging reform process. “We are
grateful to Secretary-General Kofi Annan, who has played a major role in shaping a clear and
comprehensive vision to address the many global challenges confronting us,” she declared. “I am
confident that the Organization will build upon its past achievements and move ahead to become
an even more effective body under the leadership of Secretary-General designate Ban Ki-Moon.”
Mr. Annan hailed Mr. Ban as a “future Secretary-General who is exceptionally attuned to
the sensitivities of countries and constituencies in every continent – a man with a truly global
mind at the helm of the world’s only universal organization. “More than 50 years ago, the first
Secretary-General of the United Nations, Trygvie Lie, used the following words in greeting his
successor, Dag Hammarskjöld, and I quote: ‘You are about to take over the most impossible job
on Earth,’ end quote. While that may be true, I would say: this is also the best possible job on
Earth,” he added.
The chairpersons of the UN’s five regional groups and a representative of the United States
as host country each took the podium, praising the Secretary-General-designate for his
diplomatic skills and personal qualities, and said the world body would be in able hands as it
faces the challenges to come. They paid tribute to Mr. Annan for his work in steering the UN
through 10 difficult years. After the speeches, Mr. Ban stood with his wife in front of the blue
and white UN flag depicting a globe of the world in its centre to receive the congratulations of
delegates and UN staff. The last Asian Secretary-General was U Thant of Myanmar (then called
Burma), who left office in 1971.
===========================
SECRETARY-GENERAL-DESIGNATE PLEDGES HIS
COMMITMENT TO DEAL WITH ‘DAUNTING CHALLENGES’
In his first press conference as Secretary-General-designate of the United Nations, Ban Kimoon pledged his commitment to deal with the “daunting challenges” facing the world, from the
recent nuclear test by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) to the humanitarian
crisis in Sudan’s Darfur region.
Focus on Constructive Dialogue
Shortly after the 192 members of the General Assembly appointed Mr. Ban to succeed Kofi
Annan when he steps down on 31 December, he also outlined to reporters “three main areas” that
he will focus on as the eighth Secretary-General of the UN, adding his hopes for a “constructive
dialogue” with the media in the years ahead.
“There are daunting challenges to peace, development and human rights,” he said. “A stark
reminder was the nuclear test conducted by North Korea earlier in the week. I hope the Security
Council quickly adopts a clear and strong resolution on this. The Iranian nuclear issue, the
security and humanitarian crisis in Darfur, the Middle East and conflicts in Africa also call for
concerted responses.”
Mr. Ban, who is Foreign Minister of the Republic of Korea, lamented the “current
divisiveness” between Member States. “I am very aware of the enormous challenges awaiting
the next Secretary-General. I see three areas where concerted action is needed: the first is to
rebuild trust among all stakeholders. The second is to stay the course with ongoing reform of the
Secretariat management. This is key to the revitalization of the Organization... The third is to
enhance coherence and coordination. The UN is simply too overstretched for the limited
resources available… I do believe that there will be room for some realistic steps.”
Responding to a question on the Middle East, Mr. Ban acknowledged that the issue was still
unresolved but repeated the message from his earlier acceptance speech that he was “basically an
optimist” and would do his best to “talk with the countries concerned and leaders in the region.”
Urging Nations to Avoid Negative Activities
Referring to the DPRK, he stressed that it is “absolutely necessary that the international
community should again send out a very strong, unified and clear message so that North Korea
will not have any temptation to engage in any further negative activities which may aggravate
the situation.”
“My understanding is that they [the Security Council] have almost agreed on the elements
of the draft resolution submitted by the United States. I hope that maybe by tomorrow they will
be able to adopt a very strong and clear message resolution so that this can be a concerted and
very determined will of the international community.” He also joked with correspondents about
the nickname given to him by some reporters from the Republic of Korea that referred to his
ability to avoid giving direct answers to questions. “Some reporters in Korea when I was serving
as Presidential Adviser gave me a nickname which I may or may not like as a ‘slippery eel’ but I
can tell you that all the press corps members in Korea have enjoyed working with me.”
“When you serve as a Foreign Minister or Presidential Policy Adviser, sometimes even though
you may have something in your mind it would be sometimes very much sensitive to tell
everything to the press corps while negotiations are going on. But I always cherish and value the
opportunities of engaging with the press corps to give the right directions where the situation is
going. This will be my policy.”
------------------------------------------------
George Versus Fidel: Who Fares Better?
We are all familiar with the traditional saying: Actions speak louder than words. In virtually
every language we have similar expressions, even though conveyed differently. In Maltese, for
example, which is a language that has been in operation for well over 2,500 years there is a
proverb that says: Il-hmar imlibbes to sultan hmar jibqa – an ass dressed as a king still remains
an ass. In other words, we have to assess a person not by what we hear about him but by what
such a person says and eventually does at the same time.
Accurate Analysis of Bush and Castro
Of course, this makes plenty of sense especially when it comes to objective analysis and
judgment. Needless to say, there seems to be hardly any educated person in the world who never
heard of George Bush and of Fidel Castro. If we were to judge these two world figures by what
people say of them, then we would experience the following. Those that like them and admire
them will say excellent things about them and those that do not like them and feel no respect
whatsoever for them would be expected to say nasty things about them. This is plain common
sense and there is not much to argue about it.
We will now proceed to help the reader develop a clear perspective of these two personalities,
George Bush and Fidel Castro of Cuba. Most of the people tend to make rash judgments about
each one of them, each time they hear what they should represent. George claims he stands for
capitalism that supposedly promotes democracy and freedom, while Castro says he stands for
socialism that helps equip people with a sense of security and better stability.
While both George and Fidel claim that the system they represent is much better than the other,
their respective populations do not seem to be quite aware of what the alternative has really to
offer. George tells his people that Fidel’s system is awful and that Fidel is a bad man, while Fidel
tells his people that George is dangerous as revealed from the way he tries to control the
economy of several other nations. Well, it would be ideal if the United Nations were to conduct a
referendum among all the people of every single country on earth and to see what they have to
say about these two world figures.
After all, we want to see finally the people speaking for themselves. We do not want to see any
longer a handful of people in the government assuming to be speaking on behalf of their people.
At the same time, we do not want to hear any longer what a handful of paid journalist want us to
believe about these two presidents that represent the USA and Cuba respectively. Hence, let us
here present an accurate picture of what Bush says and does on one hand and what Castro says
and does on the other hand. We will then be in a better position to make a value judgment on
these two important personalities.
Nature of Government in America and Cuba
Bush says he wants to put top priority on bringing democracy and freedom to every
country. The question that needs to be raised here is this. What does he mean by democracy and
freedom? Democracy is supposed to be a government of the people and for the people. In the
USA we have plutocracy where the government is composed basically of the rich and for the
rich. Here we have the usage of the word “democracy” merely to mislead and confuse the
people. Also, according the UN Charter on Human Rights, people everywhere have a sacrosanct
right to move freely in the world wherever they want. Americans are prohibited to visit a number
of countries including Cuba!
Castro says he wants to put top priority on the health care and good education of his
people. To this end, he built small clinics equipped with a medical doctor and a couple of nurses
every few blocks to look after the people periodically, checking their blood pressure, giving
them medical assistance, and providing them with hospitalization if needed. Everything is free of
charge. No money is needed and no insurance is required that would try to fleece you out of
every penny you have. He also provides free facilities for all the elderly people with room and
board free for life. His military exists merely for defensive purposes and it has been trained to
provide humanitarian assistance when needed, like repairing old bridges, among other things
He also provides all the people of his country with free education from the cradle to the
grave. Students in Cuba do not have any tuition fees to pay when they study in universities to
pursue higher degrees including doctoral programs. The idea of having to have money to pursue
higher education and of having to borrow money does not exist. By way of contrast, in the USA
there seems to be nothing free, not even a cup of coffee as Americans themselves can attest.
Unless you have insurance for almost anything you can imagine, you are bound to be in trouble
sooner or later financially. Unlike that of Cuba, the US military is trained to invade and attack
other nations where American corporate interests are especially involved.
When Bush sends his representatives to other nations in Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America,
he offers them weapons of destruction and all kinds of military aid. The purpose of such
transactions is to equip them with all needed material to be capable of waging wars for as long as
needed. on the other hand, when Castro sends representatives to other nations in Africa and Latin
America especially, he offers them medicine and physicians, as well as educational material and
teachers wherever they may be needed.
US New-Media View of Bush and Castro
Ironically, the news media in the USA has depicted a picture of Bush as a good man who goes to
church and prays to God. This same US news-media has also depicted a picture of Castro as a
bad man who has deprived his people from democracy. The question that has been often raised
around the world is this: Which is better to have a nation with a good man who does bad things
or a nation with a bad man who does good things? Just one ounce of common sense would be
enough for an accurate answer. If we were to examine the foreign policies of these two involved
nations, we find quite a contrast. Whereas Cuba’s foreign policies concentrate on establishing
good rapport with other nations, US foreign policies concentrate on controlling the good
resources of other countries.
This is initially done diplomatically but, when diplomacy fails, then the military is used,
even brutally, to achieve this end. So, as far as the world is concerned, do people in general feel
more secure with George or with Fidel? The answer is so obvious. While in Cuba people may
walk in their streets without any fear of being shot and killed, in the USA you may never know
what may happen to you since everyone is allowed to carry loaded guns like candies. Statistics
tell us that there are more people killed by the gun every year in the land of Bush than there are
people killed by the gun every year in all the nations of the world combined.
If the USA were to cut its military budget by 50% there would be enough money to
provide all the homeless everywhere with housing facilities, to feed the hungry for a long time,
to guarantee medical assistance to all those in need, and to cure such maladies as leukemia,
multiple sclerosis, diabetes, and heart disease. And there will still be money to help clean our
entire planet from its air and water pollution. This would lead to a better, healthier and saner
world where every one would be a winner and no one a loser. So, we are here faced with a
mysterious phenomenon: Bush, an assumed good man whose priorities are upside down and
millions of people are suffering as a result versus Castro, an assumed bad man whose priorities
are in proper order by making the people the most important element in all the nation’s policy
making endeavors.
------------------------------------------------------
My Recent Visit to India:
A Truly Enriching Experience
In the latter part of 2006 I had the opportunity to visit India twice covering four of the nation's
twentyeight states. Unlike the states of America, the states of India are conspicuously unique.
Every state is unique with itsown specific language that is different from that of others states. In
addition, such languages do not use the same typeof script. They differ from each other same
way as the Roman script, which is used in the USA, differs from the Greek,
Arabic, Russian, and Korean scripts.
Enrichment in Education and Culture
Besides, all those educated in one state are expected to be fluent in English and Hindi as well.
Hence, onemay virtually conclude that Indians as a whole are tri-lingual. Besides, there are
various different cultures and variousdifferent religions, even though Hinduism is viewed as
predominant. Some of the other leading religions are Buddhism,Islam and Christianity. In India
there is freedom of worship, freedom of communication, freedom of movement, and freedom
of virtually doing anything positive and constructive one may imagine.
Although India may have established a reputation of being a developing nation, it is quite
surprising tonotice the technology advance that is observed in many cities and in numerous
schools. More and more students are givingthemselves to business and become excellent
entrepreneurs. They have great ideas and they move forward in life with hope,determination, and
success. Although the food as a whole tends to be somewhat spicy, yet one may manage to find
all kindsof food, oriental and western alike.
Of course, this was not my first visit to India. In fact the first time I went there was in 1968 to
meetwith several educators in New Delhi, India's capital. Later, I had the opportunity to visit
India again quite a few times.The first time I went back to India in 2006 was in May. The
primary purpose was to visit Bangalore where I was scheduledto explore how students were
doing in their business studies at the Alliance Business Academy where they had a branch ofthe
SBS Swiss Business School with which I have been linked since 2001.
I was literally impressed with the rich culture I found in the State of Karnataka of which
Bangalorehappens to be the capital. This state has a population of almost 53 million and it ranks
9th in population size. Whatsurprised me was to discover the many Catholic Churches that exist
in Bangalore alone. Of course, the liturgicalcelebrations on week-ends are identical to those
celebrated by Catholic Churches in the USA. Needless to say, suchreligious functions in India
are found in various languages, including English. Also, what I found quite unique was thefact
that all Catholic priests with no exception celebrate the Mass barefooted.
Bangalore and Trivandrum
In Bangalore there are numerous schools at all levels of education, one of which was Christ's
College,which is run by Catholic Indian priests. This college has 4,000 students and it is
equipped with the most advancedtechnology one can possibly imagine. Besides, the campus was
intentionally built to create a Garden of Eden atmosphere,which is very peaceful and where
students can concentrate thoroughly on their studies with hardly any distraction at all.While in
India, I had the opportunity to visit Trivandrum, the capital of the State of Kerala, located south
of the Stateof Karnataka.
There I visited the University of Trivandrum and the State Office of Education. Kerala happens
to be the state ofFather Joy Chalissery, who is the pastor of Our Lady Queen of the Universe
Church in Huntsville, Alabama. I learned thatof the 28 Indian states, Kerala was the most
advanced in education where the rate of illiteracy was near zero for allpractical purposes. This
may partly explain why the homilies and speeches of Father Joy Chalissery sound so good and
look
so impressive. After all, he seems to come from the most intellectual state of India. The State of
Kerala has a populationof almost 32 million and it ranks 12th in population size.
My second visit to India in 2006 took place four months later during the month of September.
Needless to say, like theprevious visit, this one started also with going to Bangalore first the
purpose of which was to examine orally the thesesof some 50 students who were seeking to
graduate with a Master's degree from the SBS Swiss Business School of Zurich. Whenthis job
was over, I went to Gandhinagar, the capital of Gujarat State, to participate in a national peace
conference thatwas sponsored by the International Association of Educators for World Peace. It
was well attended not only by professorsand students but by others from various walks of life
and profession. In fact, some of these were policemen, while otherswere lawyers and judges.
I was surprised to hear judges saying that their primary purpose was to take genuine interest in
the promotion andpreservation of peace. Probably one never hears easily judges in the USA
making in the open similar statements. I foundsuch statements to be greatly encouraging. With
this kind of philosophy it is obvious that the future generations ofIndians may be more prepared,
as a whole, to promote and implement peace, than perhaps the future generations of severalother
countries, including the USA. Since Gandhinagar was close to the largest city in Gujarat State,
Ahmedabad, I havealso paid a visit there.
Gandhinagar and Bombay
By the way, Gandhinagar is known as the city of Gandhi where he spent several years. I was
quite surprised to see thathumble place of Mahatma Gandhi where he lived and how small it was.
But the location and panorama must have generated inGandhi plenty of inspiration because it is
really beautiful from every aspect one can imagine. Needless to say, inGandhinagar I met with
several members of the International Association of Educators for World Peace that gathered
there from various cities. This Association at the moment seems to be best organized in India
where we have active chapters invirtually every single state. The population of Gujarat State is
over 50 million and this state ranks 10th in populationsize.
Before I returned to the United States, I spent the last day in Bombay with the family of Dr. Leo
Rebello who is theVice President for Central Asia of the said organization. Among other things,
Dr. Rebello has specialized in naturalhealing about which he wrote numerous books. Because of
him I had the opportunity to visit well Bombay, the capital of theState of Maharashtra. It is
perhaps the largest city in India. It is a city that has many rich and many poor people. Infact,
millions live in slums, which I came to know became a spectacle for tourism. I personally
wondered how such peoplesurvive from day to day. The southern part of Bombay seems to be
more attractive and better developed than the northernpart. This big city has a good public
transportation. The population of Maharashtra is over 96 million and ranks 2nd inpopulation
size.
These four mentioned states that I visited happen to be all on the west coast of India and they are
all adjacent witheach other as follows from north to south: Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka and
Kerala that occupies the lowest tip ofIndia. This big nation of India, which is located in south
central Asia, has a population of over one billion people,which makes it second in population
size only to China. It is a nation with a very old history and a very old culture.Once you see it once, you may feel the urge to see it other times in the future especially that there are so many
thingsto see and to discover.
November 5, 2006
----------------------------------
Problem of Discipline in
American Public Schools
The American Public Schools as a whole have been blessed with many good teachers who view
their job as a mission to help create a better and more stable community locally and nationally.
Such schools tend also to be equipped with qualified administrators who are principals,
superintendents, and members of the various school boards, in addition to others. Most
importantly, they all mean well as evidenced by their genuine efforts to enable students develop
the maximum of their potential both collectively and individually.
Excellent Human Resources
In spite of the fact that the American Public Schools as a whole have been blessed with valuable
and highly qualified human resources, the problem of discipline almost everywhere cannot be
taken lightly. According to Socrates, who is viewed as the first recorded philosopher of western
civilization, every single problem we encounter could be solved only if we take the first step.
This consists of bringing the involved problem into the open for everyone to see because unless
people are aware of the problem nothing is done for its eventual solution.
However, the moment people become aware of an existent problem, they will immediately begin
to figure out how this would possibly affect them. Then, steps are taken with no further delay
and the problem is solved. Of course, we are all fully aware of this great problem of discipline in
American public schools. We will now simply go ahead to expose it into the open and, at the
same time, examine the eventual source of the said problem. once the source is discovered then
we would have no other choice except for the provision of an adequate and effective remedy.
Needless to say, once the source of this great disciplinary problem is discovered with tangible
evidence, then we need to know what kind of role the various components of the American
public school system should play for the eradication of such a problem. We are here referring not
only to the teachers but also to the various segments of the administration, since this problem
could only be solved through a full collective effort within the entire school system.
Since in a school system the teachers, as professional educators, are generally viewed to be the
most important component, we need to form a clear concept of this important office. In
accordance with St. Thomas Aquinas, who was considered to be a genius, the teacher is best
described as the physician of the human intellect. This means that the teacher’s job is not only to
convey knowledge to the students but also to analyze periodically the students’ individual
intellect and then present a report on the findings of such analysis.
Meaningful and Intelligent Grading
Hence, the grades that a teacher may give should not be interpreted as a reward or punishment
for students’ attitude in general, but rather as an accurate result that stemmed from the said
analysis. This means that there is no such a thing as the teacher “passed” of “failed” the students.
There is no such a thing as the teacher gives good grades to students who are nice but somewhat
bad grades to students who are not so nice. Let us illustrate this briefly. Six students are having
health problems all of them complaining of headache and nausea.
The physician will examine the six of them separately and then he will give a report on the
findings of his analysis. Although the symptoms looked the same, the source that causes such
symptoms varies from one student to the other. Thus, he procures them with different treatments.
For two of them, he may advocate to avoid certain activities and recommends eating more
nutritious food. For another two, he may advise to see an eye doctor because he finds out they
need eye-glasses. Whereas in case of the last two, he may prescribe a medication for a period due
to some stomach problem that he discovers.
What will happen if the students’ parents or the students themselves where to defy the doctor’s
advice or recommendation? In all probability, the students’ health will continue to deteriorate to
the point that their life may, sooner or later, be in jeopardy. Needless to say, if, as a result, such
students may reach in their health status a point of no return, their precious life would have been
ruined unnecessarily when it could have been easily saved from the outset if they followed the
advice and recommendation of their physician.
We are assuming here that all teachers go to their classes fully prepared to do an
excellent job by taking with them appropriate notes, relevant pictures or projectors to make the
topic of their presentation more appealing and interesting, in addition to related appropriate
material. We are also assuming that the various segments of the school management are fully
cooperative with the teachers’ efforts to do an excellent job in class. After all, the job of the
school management has been always to give a good service to the teaching personnel in a way
that the students would benefit even more than expected or anticipated.
So far, we got a very good picture of the American public schools. We have assumed
that, as a whole, all of them have a good management and well prepared teaching personnel. In
spite of this, the problem of classroom discipline is virtually getting out of control in many
public schools throughout the nation. Many teachers are finding it more and more difficult to
teach and many good students, who go to school in order to learn and to achieve great things in
life, are finding it more and more difficult to learn.
Positive and Constructive Approach
We are also assuming that everyone involved with the teaching/learning process, directly or
indirectly, has good intentions and would love to see our students securing a good education. We
are all convinced of the fact that with a good education everyone will benefit greatly. Hence, we
need to explore how we could get together the various components involved with the eventual
education of children. The purpose of this would be to develop healthy dialogues, which focus
thoroughly not on “who” is right but on “what” is right.
Regardless of who comes with the best proposal for the eventual solution of the problem
of discipline in public schools, such a proposal needs to be seriously followed. We are assuming
here that our teachers, school managers and everyone involved with the educational process,
including parents, are proven to be good-intentioned, that is, they mean well in what they say and
in what they try to do.This way, we may proceed together in a peaceful atmosphere with an open
mind without trying to pin-point or blame anyone involved and concerned.
It should not surprise us at all if we were to find out that the eventual source of the
problem of discipline in American public schools could be well traced to some political
implication. When we talk to each other with dignity and respect we refer to each other by using
such pronouns as I, me, you, he, him, she, her, we, us, they or them. But when we talk of politics,
of a devised rule that is applied blindly to everyone without any distinction and regardless as to
whether it would be beneficial or detrimental, the only pronoun used would be “it.”
In this regard, we need to explore as to whether or not the American public school system
is following some politically or unwise infiltrated policy that goes beyond the control of
teachers, administrators, and school board members for all practical purposes. once the eventual
possible source of the problem of discipline in pubic schools comes into focus, then we have to
decide either to do something radical about it as to bring it under control, or simply to accept it
and to continue with the present status quo, that is, with trying to contend with this problem of
classroom discipline indefinitely.
What is being stated here should not be interpreted as the expression of an opinion. on the
contrary, it should be evaluated a parte rei, that is, fully on its own merit as viewed or observed
in a very tangible manner, in terms of results or consequences. Here is one possible reason as to
why we do have a serious problem of discipline in American public schools.
Restlessness and Misbehavior
Some students in the classrooms of American public schools do not seem to be interested
in learning. This lack of interest is evidenced in their behavior that is generally revealed in
restlessness, followed by talking with others, and by leaving their seats without the teacher’s
permission, as well as by their spirit of defiance each time the teacher tries to ask them to be
quiet and pay attention. Under the circumstances, the teacher normally gives a nice warning,
followed by reporting them to the principal or assistant principal, who, in turn, admonishes these
disruptive students.
All this would be nice if something positive and constructive follows as a result. However, very
often the moment students return to the classroom they will continue to adopt an “I don’t care
attitude” while they keep on disrupting the entire classroom. This persistent misbehavior tends to
make our good, kind-hearted, and notably dedicated teachers literally worn out. Besides, the
apparent determination of those few students who misbehave to continue to do what they like in
the classroom, ends up distracting all the students who really are struggling hard to learn as much
as they possibly can.
What seems to be disheartening and discouraging lies in the fact that, most of the time, such
students continue to ignore the teacher as well as the principal or the assistant principal. It is
obvious that some students develop compulsive misbehavior, which ultimately becomes out of
control. The best way to solve this problem is to provide a remedy where students with
disciplinary problems would be put in a special class to be dealt with accordingly.
But even here, such a simple remedy with such a simple solution cannot be easily
implemented. The school system is pressured not to establish any class for students with
disciplinary problem on the ground that such students may develop an inferiority complex
unnecessarily! Hence, the system tends to view the formation of such a class as discriminatory
against students with a behavioral problem. Such a system tells us that we cannot “discriminate”
against students with behavioral problems, otherwise they may “risk” developing problems of
inferiority complex in due time!
For the sake of argument, let us assume that this is a justified reason for preventing the
formation of a classroom reserved only for students with behavioral problems. However, since
the problem of discipline in public schools has increasingly become a very complex problem, we
need to bring to our attention legitimately some important elements. For example, it is a tangibly
proven fact that most of the students go to school to learn. They want to go into college or
university later on and pursue a good career in life. This means that these students have a
sacrosanct right not to be distracted by fellow students.
Respect for Teachers’ Intelligence
At the same time, the teachers go to the classroom fully prepared to present students with
all basic knowledge that relates to an involved subject area. Even here, the teacher has also a
sacrosanct right not to be interrupted and disturbed by the periodical misbehavior of what could
be termed problematic students. In this respect, some questions need to be seriously raised. Why
is it that we do not create a special class for students with behavioral problems for fear that it
may be interpreted as discrimination against such students? Why is it that we do not seem to
show much concern for teachers who genuinely try to do a super good job in the classroom?
Why is it we do not seem to bother about students who really want to learn as much as possible?
When we can help teachers to perform a super good job and when we can provide
students who want to be attentive to achieve their objectives of learning, we should not hesitate
to take needed steps to this end. Otherwise, this could be interpreted, in some way, to be an act of
discrimination on the part of the system against the teachers’ right to teach properly and
effectively. It could also be viewed as an act of discrimination on the part of the system against
the well-behaved students who go to class to learn the best they can without being periodically
distracted with the misbehavior of problematic students.
Let us try to comprehend properly and carefully the problem of discipline in American public
schools. Suppose some of the students are found with a certain contagious disease that it is
assumed it would take quite a time to go away. What are we going to do under the circumstance?
Of course, one of the ideal solutions would be to create a special class for such students.
This way they could be given a special type of attention to help alleviate their worries
and to help them grasp the teacher’s presentations properly and effectively. Needless to say, as
this contagious disease starts to leave them and they begin to get better and eventually cured
completely, then such students could easily return to regular classes. This solution to the problem
of contagious disease would eventually make everyone happy and satisfied without exception.
The problem of discipline in American public schools needs to be taken seriously by the
school system itself, the sooner the better. Such a problem needs to be faced with courage and
determination. By the immediate creation of classes for students with behavioral problems,
everyone is bound to benefit 100%. Needless to say, the teachers who have to contend in their
classrooms with students that have behavioral problems day in and day out, must be assumed to
be the most qualified to single out such students.
Need for Drastic Change in Policy
After all, as St. Thomas Aquinas well put it, the teachers are the physicians of the human
intellect. They are in a better position than anyone else to analyze the intellect of their students
and to present a report on the finding of such analysis.It would be wonderful if then everyone
would be cooperative in the best interest of all teachers and of all students as well as in the best
interest of all school administrators and school board members. It is not enough for all of us to
recognize that the schools are seats of learning, that the teachers go to their classes to teach, and
that the students go to such classes to learn. We need also to recognize the importance for us all
to create a healthy classroom environment.
In view of this, teachers could present their well prepared lectures without any
harassment from students with behavioral problems. At the same time, students who really go to
the classroom to learn as much as they can to pursue a variety of careers in life would have the
opportunity to do so without any distractions caused by students with behavioral problems. As
many working in the American public schools could attest, most teachers tend to spend more
time trying to make students behave than in the eventual presentation of their lessons.
This is certainly unfair for the teachers whose health is obviously being affected
needlessly. It is also unfair for the behaved students to have their teacher constantly being
interrupted by the systematic misbehavior of fellow students. Maybe, in addition to the creation
of classrooms for students with a disciplinary problem, we could also device something that may
make students feel more as members of the same family. Each time a device of this nature was
tried both in the USA and overseas, it seems it always achieved positive and constructive results.
one of such devices could be the institution of a school uniform.
In conclusion, when it comes to classroom discipline, the American public schools are
faced with a clear cut choice: either continue to accept the status quo, leaving everything as is
while the system continues to put unfair pressures on teachers as well as principals and
superintendents; or simply take some drastic steps in the best interest of teachers and students in
the classroom in a way where everyone will be a winner and no one a loser.
-------------------------------------------The essays list of Ph.D. Charles Mercieca on the website up to April 15, 2006 :
1.What Tsunami, Katrina, Rita and the Military Have in Common
2.More Weapons Resulting In Much Less Security
3.Our Neglected Benefactors: Recognition and Appreciation
4.The United Nations as an Effective Source of Prosperity and Peace
5.An Old Friend with a New Name
6.A Well-Prepared Statesman Guiding the United Arab Emirates
7.Importance of NGOs: Their Vital Role in the World
8.American War on Terrorism: Analysis of Tangible Realities
9.New Statesman Emerges from the United States Congress
10.Deterioration of America: Need for Constructive Involvement
11.Why People Have Mixed Feelings about Islam
12.Utopia: Source of Motivation For Constructive Action
13.Sizing Up Political Leaders: Courage Versus Arrogance
-------------------------------------
1.What Tsunami, Katrina, Rita and the
Military Have in Common
The whole world was stunned to learn of the tremendous devastation that took place in Southeast
Asia with the advent of tsunami. Thousands of people lost their lives unexpectedly and thousands of
others that managed to survive lost their houses and all of their possessions. It was, indeed, a great
tragedy to see how Mother Nature could get so ferocious all of a sudden and at a time least
expected. The videotapes we saw of such a disastrous event may remain imprinted in our minds for
a very long time.
Infliction of Enormous Damage
More recently, hurricane Katrina hit severely the coastline of the Gulf of Mexico inflicting
enormous damage to a number of cities. The city hit most hard seemed to have been New Orleans
since portions of it were built below the sea water level. Many houses and numerous streets were
flooded. People tried to escape the disaster the best they could by going to the upper floors or even
the attic. But since the water kept on pouring in, most of these houses went virtually beneath it.
Boats and helicopters became involved to save people’s lives.
It was very sad and painful to see numerous houses destroyed. People packed in large halls for
shelter. All electricity was gone, which made it difficult for anyone to preserve food. In brief,
thousands of people became impoverished overnight. As though this was not enough, another
hurricane Rita followed shortly afterwards, which frightened several thousands of people that got
into their cars and drove away seeking safer places. Most family members were separated and the
search for missing children became quite extensive.
The damage inflicted by Katrina and then by Rita amounts to several billions of dollars. It will take
a long time to revive the city of New Orleans and other cities that suffered devastation. In the
meantime, these unfortunate people in tens of thousands who were hit by the hurricane became
refugees and many scattered in various states. Americans seem to unite and stick together very well
in times of disaster. Hundreds of hotels gave refugees free room and board.
Besides, many schools throughout the southeastern part of the United States opened their doors for
hundreds of children that lost their house and all of their belongings. The suffering and the anguish
that countless thousands experienced have created a trauma that may last for a very long time. The
billions of dollars that would be needed to rebuild everything that was destroyed may put a great
strain on the nation’s economy especially that the US government is still pouring billions on the
waging of wars in Afghanistan, Iraq and around the world.
Military Ultimate Goals and Objectives
If we were to examine what the military is trained to do we will soon discover that such an agency is
meant to literally compete with Tsunami, Katrina and Rita in its ultimate goal and objective. When
the world witnessed a token of the American military helping in the Tsunami disaster in Southeast
Asia, there was a sigh of relief. Finally, some thought that the military is being used for a positive
and constructive purpose. There was a similar sigh of relief when another token of the military was
used to help those Americans that were hit hard by both Katrina and Rita hurricanes.
At this stage of history, the purpose and objective of the military should be abruptly and radically
changed, from an agency of destruction to an agency of construction, from an agency that is meant
to inflict endless suffering on people to an agency that proves to be totally beneficial to all human
beings. What is ironic with the military lies here. Behind the façade of machismo, courage and
power there is phenomenal fear to the extent that wherever you find the military you always find
such people armed with devastating weapons. The scriptural dictum: “With the same measure you
will measure others it will be measured to you again,” seems to be fully vindicated.
The military personnel have constantly to carry weapons of destruction because their real ultimate
intent is to destroy the infrastructure of cities, like we have witnessed in recent times in both
Afghanistan and Iraq, after the example of Tsunami, Katrina and Rita. Their real goal, regardless
of what rationale the military establishment dares to give, remains the destruction of human lives
and the infliction of endless suffering and misery. By its very nature, the military in history proved
to be a sadistic organization that is subject to no laws whatsoever.
It feels it can disregard the Divine Positive Law at will, it can obliterate the Natural Law to the
extent it pleases, it does not hesitate to demonstrate disrespect to ecclesiastical laws when
convenient and it deliberately violates civic laws as it pleases in the countries it occupies by force.
Like Tsunami, Katrina, and Rita, the military does not feel accountable to anyone whatsoever.
When serious discussions were under way in the United Nations relative to the creation of an
international tribunal to prosecute all those responsible for the destruction of the infrastructure of
cities, the infliction of endless suffering on innocent people from very walk of life and profession,
and the unnecessary and needless deaths of millions of people on a global scale, the leading
militaristic powers, headed by the United States, raised objection. In view of this, we may fully
realize and understand why the military is viewed by many as being perhaps the most
unaccountable wicked institution in history.
Military Picture as an Establishment
When we speak here of the military we are not simply referring to the United States military. We
are talking of the establishment of the military, which is the same everywhere across every
continent. Let us look at pictures of Pearl Harbor after it was attacked and devastated by the
Japanese, of German cities in World War II after they were bombarded by the British and of
British territory that was destroyed by the Nazis, in addition to other countries with similar
experience. We will immediately discover that such pictures resemble 100% the pictures we have
see recently of regional areas hit by Tsunami in Southeast Asia and by Katrina and Rita in the New
Orleans area with no difference whatsoever.
When the Chinese invaded Tibet thousands of people were slaughtered like cattle by the military.
When the French military was in the former Indochina thousands of innocent people were equally
killed. When the British and French waged wars in Africa the people there suffered immensely.
Maybe, for Americans the Katrina and the Rita experience might have been, in a way, a blessing in
disguise. Since the news-media, particularly the television stations, are bringing pictures of the
phenomenal disaster with many people left homeless and suffering from all kind of deprivation, the
American people are given the opportunity to realize what the military does when it attacks
another country.
The tremendous disasters creating by continuous American military bombing of Afghanistan and
Iraq have created an environment very similar to that created by Tsunami, Katrina and Rita. The
infrastructure of cities was destroyed same way as New Orleans and other cities that were hit. Tens
of thousands of people were innocently killed same way as they were killed by Tsunami, Katrina
and Rita. The psychological pain that was inflicted on Asians and Americans respectively through
the loss of their beloved ones and the loss of all of their belongings was identical to that same loss
experienced by Afghans and Iraqis through the brutal bombing by the American military.
The time is ripe when the conscience of Americans and of all people in the world should open up
and begin to condemn the man-made Tsunamis, Katrinas and Ritas by the military commonly
known as wars. The clergy everywhere should condemn as sinful and criminal the use of military
ammunitions to destroy the infrastructure of cities and innocent human lives. Businessmen should
divest themselves from the manufacture and sales of military machinery including weapons. It is
their moral right and sacrosanct duty to follow this venue. Those that made money from weapons
and wars should give everything away to the poor, the hungry and the homeless.
Greed and Lack of Compassion
Jesus of Nazareth apparently knew fully well what he was saying when he stated: “It is easier for a
camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.” The
rich man tends to become greedy, heartless and eventually wicked. The entire world should be
educated to look at those who make money through the manufacture and sales of weapons as
satanic agents, as demons of death. We are not here criticizing the military per se. We are
criticizing the present mission and purpose of the military which is meant to bring destruction,
endless suffering and death.The military could be retained but with its mission and purpose
changed.
As stated earlier, people all over the world were fascinated to see the military providing
humanitarian assistance in the Tsunami event as well as in the Katrina and Rita episode, even
though this was merely a token. We need to replace the present system and structure of the military
with one that is purely and merely humanitarian in nature. Soldiers should be trained to plant trees
along the highways of all nations, to grow food for the poor and the hungry and then have it
personally distributed, and to build modest houses for the homeless that will be donated to them
afterwards.
Besides, there should be immediately a program of convergence where battleships are transformed
into floating hospitals, tanks used for agricultural purposes, and military planes changed into
means of commercial transportation. The money spent on weapons should be spent on providing all
people across every continent with free medical care, free facilities for the elderly and free
education from the cradle to the grave. Also, there should be improvement in hospital and school
building and in seeing to it that both of these establishments are equipped with the most modern
technology possible. This way we will provide an excellent opportunity for the military
establishment to disassociate itself completely from its present allies, Tsunami, Katrina and Rita,
for ever.
-------2.More Weapons Resulting
In Much Less Security
One of the most respected representatives at the United Nations is that of the Vatican, which may
be viewed to be the smallest nation on earth with a territory of less than one square mile. The Chief
of State of this small but seemingly influential nation is the Pope. The current one is Benedict XVI
who succeeded fairly recently the well-known and highly respected Pope John Paul II.Each of these
personalities has proved over the past few decades to be a real statesman in the strict sense of the
word.
Statesman Versus Politician
A statesman differs from a politician quite radically. While a politician reveals interest in the
promotion of good that would benefit some to the exclusion of others, the statesman demonstrates
genuine concern for the welfare of all people across every continent without exception. In fact, if the
government of every nation were to be guided by statesmen instead of politicians, the very concept
of war would be obliterated completely. World peace would become the characteristic for future
generations to enjoy and to cherish.
In the world at large, we do find politicians who may be termed as dangerous and obnoxious but we
hardly ever find statesmen that have proven to be a detriment to any segment of society. Whereas
politicians in general tend to cater for the powerful and the rich, statesmen as a whole tend to
dedicate themselves to the helpless and the poor to alleviate them from their misery. If we want to
judge government members in terms of being statesmen or politicians, let us see what they are
doing for their people in terms of the vital needs of life.
People in every country have a sacrosanct right by Natural Law to be provided with free medical
care and free education from the cradle to the grave. In countries where people are provided with
these vital opportunities, we may fairly suspect and conclude that such nations are being guided by
statesmen. Also, people have the sacrosanct right for survival through good nourishment,
environmental protection and adequate shelters, commonly known as homes.
Governments that demonstrate respect for such people’s basic human rights may be viewed as
statesmen for all practical purposes. We all know the dictum: Charity begins at home. The best way
to help other nations is to set for them a good example. This has been the problem in the past as
well as in the present with the leading nations of the world, known at times as world powers. Every
world power has demonstrated the urge to boss around not only its own people but the people of
other nations as well. Needless to say, this approach has created systematically among people
suspicion, distrust and restlessness that often led to acts of violence and terror.
Fallacy of Weapons as Security
When this happens we begin to experience rapidly a series of crucial complications. Instead of
having the governments resorting to fairness and justice by providing people with vital and
indispensable needs of life, such governments resort to equip themselves with more and more
weapons under the guise of self-defense. Since World War II ended in 1945, the weapons industry
has turned itself into a lucrative business where plenty of money is made through the infliction of
endless suffering on people everywhere.
While statesmen at the United Nations advocate a program of international disarmament and arms
control, politicians continue to encourage every single country to be equipped with the most
sophisticated and devastating weapons under the pretext of self-defense and the “preservation” of
peace. one of such countries happens to be the United States that is viewed as the only super power
in the world at this stage of history. The concern that the current United Nations’ SecretaryGeneral, Kofi Annan, reveals for all the people in every single country across every continent,
qualifies him to be more of a statesman than a politician.
The strategic plan of the weapons industry is to diffuse its product everywhere through a
widespread sense of fear. This tragic industry is pushing many nations to rearm to the teeth if
possible. Through this policy the world is experiencing more uncertainty and less security. The
Vatican has taken the lead to advocate that the United Nations should concentrate on the
achievement of one of its perennial established goal: disarmament and arms control.
From statistical studies made, it has been observed with tangible evidence that the surge in global
military spending, which has now exceeded $1 trillion dollars has served to instigate terrorist
attacks everywhere, new wars and a total breakdown in the process of international law. Increased
sales in guns, both large and small, is leading the world away from security rather than toward it.
The United States is largely responsible for the proliferation of weapons. In its constitution there is
a clause that refers to the “right to bear arms.” Even though this phrase was inserted by the
nation’s founders at a time when there were no telephones, no airplanes, no trains, no cars and no
means of any transportation except for horses, the US government still adheres to this clause. Even
though it has been proven that more people die of gun shots every year in the United States than in
all of the countries combined, the US government still wants to make sure that the sales of weapons
should be made as easy as “buying candy” to quote one teenager in California.
Importance of Setting a Good Example
The American government’s determination to continue to put top priority on the development of
newer and more devastating weapons, while advocating other nations to follow the same suit, is
forcing the same government to neglect noticeably its obligations to people’s education, health care
and housing. It is shameful that in a country that is viewed as the richest nation on earth has 20
percent of its children suffering from malnutrition with some 40 million people lacking vital heath
care necessities of life because they have no insurance. Recently, the United Nations compared some
regional areas of the United States with those of poorest developing nations.
In October 2004, in a speech that was delivered at the United Nations, Archbishop Celestino
Migliore, speaking on behalf of the Vatican, remarked saying: “The Millennium goals are left
lagging while military priorities claim scarce funds.” Several studies made by UN experts on the
safety and security of the world reveal that security and safety could be only achieved through a
program of disarmament and arms control along with the development of the human and natural
resources for positive and constructive purposes.
The benefits of disarmament are of great magnitude. It has been calculated that with an immediate
cut of 50% of military expenses, the world could rid itself of AIDS and most of cancer maladies.
The problem of hunger would be solved for good and all people across every continent would have
adequate homes where they could have shelter for the rest of their lives. Not only so, but the crime
rate would be reduced considerably and significantly. Countless millions would be alleviated from
their needless pain and suffering almost overnight. Weapons are being produced and sold
internationally on black markets as well as by state-sponsors. This reveals why more weapons are
procuring us with less security. These lethal objects are detrimental to all people without exception.
With them everyone ends up to be a loser and no one a winner in the long range.
The danger of the continued manufacture and sales of weapons lie in the fact that, sooner or later,
they may be secured by terrorists and use them to devastate entire populations. Prevention is better
than cure. We need to reduce the number of weapons considerably. We need, above all, to abolish
all nuclear weapons without further delay. Moreover, we need to develop an international
cooperative program where disarmament and arms control would become a tangible reality.
Besides, we need the expertise and cooperation of every single group, agency or organization we
have to enable our next generation to live in a culture of peace that would replace our present
culture of war.
Nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty
The Nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty, which initially gave the world great hope in the prevention
of a possible nuclear war, has become increasingly weakened. As long as we have nations with
nuclear armaments there is always the danger of other nations trying to follow the same suit. The
rationale goes as follows: If the United States, the United Kingdom, China, France, India and
Pakistan, in addition to others, feel the right to have nuclear weapons, a number of other nations
that would include North Korea and Iran would expect to have the same right or capability.
Those nations that do not have nuclear capability should not try to have any of such devices. At the
same time, those nations that have already nuclear capability should immediately develop a
program of complete elimination of such weapons. That would be a gigantic step in the direction of
safety, security and peace for all the nations of the world without exception. Until the whole world
is free of nuclear weapons, no nation would feel really safe. As Pope Pius XII said to Great Britain
and to Germany on the even of World War II, “In a war everyone is a loser and no one is a
winner.” The Pope’s warning proved to be prophetic. Germany lost the war and its economy
collapsed and people were poor everywhere.
Great Britain won the war and its economy equally collapsed and people were poor everywhere.
Not only so, but Great Britain, in spite of winning the war, lost its British Empire. The countries
that have taken steps to modernize nuclear weapons and to give them a fighting capacity have
emerged to become the most dangerous nations at this stage of history. The doctrine of preemption,
which was advocated by the US President, if followed it would lead to an assured turmoil and
lawlessness that was never experienced in history. This doctrine deals with an assumed nation’s
right to attack and devastate another nation without any warning or justification.
For those who believe that the safety and security of a nation lies in being equipped with
devastating weapons of destruction, in addition to conventional weapons, they need to reflect and
think for a moment. Would a nation feel safer when equipped with these lethal devices of death
while the surrounding nations are also equipped with the same identical devices? Or, would a
nation feel safer when it has no such lethal weapons while, at the same time, the surrounding
nations do not have any of such lethal weapons as well? This is not a matter of opinion. It amounts
to pure common sense.
Absence of Weapons Source of Security
To illustrate this in a more vivid way we may bring this example. Suppose we are in an auditorium
that has a capacity of 5,000 people and we are watching there a stage show. What makes us feel
safer, if each one of these 5,000 people is carrying a loaded gun or if none of these people is carrying
any gun at all? The answer is obvious and we do not need to be smart to figure out the correct one.
Also, the US President, supported by his government, spoke of the so called Strategic Defense
Initiative (SDI), which consists of putting endless weapons in space orbiting our planet. The space is
known as our last peaceful frontier. What really make us feel safer and secure if we were to have
orbiting in the sky over our heads thousands of weapons of destruction or if we were to have none
of such lethal devices orbiting over us? The answer is equally obvious.
In view of what has been stated, it is obvious that those politicians who are advocating the
manufacture of more and more weapons instead of promoting and international program of
disarmament and arms control must have ulterior motives. one of such ulterior motives is definitely
money, which is meant to come from the promotion of a lethal business that wants to build a capital
from the promotion of fear, the exploitation of peoples’ anxieties and the infliction of crucial
suffering. This policy is immoral to say the least and it reveals insanity to say the most. Teachers
and professors at all levels of education ought to become highly critical of such a dangerous policy.
Besides, businessmen ought to divest themselves from such detrimental space war ventures. In
addition, no conscientious citizen should allow himself or herself to work in the manufacture of
such space weapons. And finally, the clergymen ought to become adamantly and determinedly
vocal in condemning any political decision made that leads to the proliferation of weapons in space
ventures especially. This way, the rational and sane guidelines that have been provided by the
Vatican in the best interest of all people across every continent without exception would be allowed
to come to fruition.
---------3.Our Neglected Benefactors:
Recognition and Appreciation
The New Webster Dictionary of the English Language describes benefactor as “one who confers a
benefit.” Besides, the same dictionary describes benefit as “an act of kindness, a favor conferred,
whatever is for the good or advantage of a person or thing.” Hence, benefactors should be always
viewed in good light because in anything they do we may expect an outcome that is both positive
and constructive. It would be quite appropriate on our part to recognize and appreciate our
benefactors. Because of them we are bound to be better.
Benefactors in Perspective
Although, as a rule, we tend to be grateful to our benefactors there are times when we deliberately
ignore them and, maybe, even criticize them by saying unpleasant things about them in some way
or another. This way we end up neglecting them for all practical purposes. For those who had the
opportunity to live already for quite a few decades and to become involved in a lot of social
activities may easily understand what is being said in this presentation.
As we may fully realize, our benefactors may be divided into two groups: (a) Those who go out of
their way to help us as to enable us to achieve what we desire and (b) Those who take the initiative
to put stumbling-blocks in our way so as to find it more difficult to secure what we wish. In general,
we tend to view the former as friendly and likeable people while the latter more as unfriendly and
unlikable persons. Our problem, quite often, lies in the fact that we fail to realize that these latter ones are also good benefactors of ours in the long range.
In our lifetime, we developed the habit of referring to people as nice if they were good towards us,
while we try to refer to those who tend to be somewhat nasty and critical of what we do as bad and
vicious or dangerous. For all practical purposes, in this presentation we may refer to these bad,
vicious, or dangerous people as our neglected benefactors in the sense that we do not even dream to
recognize them as benefactors of ours not even remotely.
Those that turn against us, criticize us, create nasty stories about us, and try to do their best to put
as many stumbling-blocks as they can in the achievement of our noble goals and objectives, must be
viewed as benefactors in the strict sense.The enormous benefits we derive because of them by the
process of time may prove to be beyond comprehension. In the first place, when we talk about
others we tend to reveal more who we are than who the others, of whom we are talking, happen to
be.
Nature of Judgments
Let us illustrate this by example. Suppose two persons are observing a man peeping through a
window of a house. Let’s say the first person is a thief and the second person is a generous
individual whose sole ambition in life is to help the needy. The thief will immediately remark of
such a man by saying: “He is trying to see as to whether or not there are people inside the house so
that he could break in and steal as many items as he possibly can.” At the same time, the generous
person would say of this same man: “He is trying to see as to whether or not there may be people
inside the house who appear to be in need so that he could help them in any way he possibly can.”
When people develop the habit of talking well of their neighbors we will soon discover that their
presence and companionship would be of great asset to all of us. That is what some of the most
respected people on earth have done over the years like Mother Teresa, Bishop Desmond Tutu, the
Dalai Lama, and the list goes on and on. on the other hand, when people develop the habit of saying
nasty things about their neighbor we will soon discover the appropriateness to stay away from them
the best we can. This is especially so, if those being criticized and vilified happened to be persons
that we knew to be diametrically the opposite in character and personality.
These calumniators or detractors of ours should be viewed as benefactors because they are
providing us with the opportunity to see them exposing themselves quite naturally. They enable us
to see their character and personality into true perspective.This way we may learn how to adapt
ourselves to them without any regret of misjudgment on our part afterwards. We may refer to them
as our neglected benefactors because they often enable us to turn a crisis into a good opportunity.
All of us have friends and acquaintances. With some we may feel comfortable while with others we
tend to be more cautious. With their words and actions, these neglected benefactors of ours enable
us to preserve deeper friendship with our true friends. Besides, knowingly or unknowingly, they
help prune from our midst those whose trust we never really enjoyed.
We should always view those who do not like us, those who create stories about us, those who
misinterpret what we say as benefactors without having to neglect them. We should recognize the
fact that by their negative words and actions they are making us, slowly but surely, to look lively
and controversial. As a result, we will gain the admiration of several new friends that may prove to
be highly beneficial for us in the long range. We need to view anything negative they say or do
about us as a good and indispensable medicine or supplement that is meant to make us stronger
mentally, spiritually and physically as well.
Importance of Opposition
Ascetical writers tell us that we progress in life in proportion to the opposition and obstacles we
encounter. If we were to study the life of some of the most successful and most admired people in
the world in every era of history we will discover the verification of this very tangibly. What did
people of the caliber of Gautama Siddhartha, Jesus of Nazareth, Mahatma Gandhi, Joan of Arc,
Nelson Mandela, and numerous others who left a great mark in history have in common? They all
suffered persecution revealed in calumnies and opposition from which they have derived
phenomenal strength, great courage, and an amazing determination to move gallantly forward in
life toward their noble objectives.
In the long range, their very enemies proved to have been, in both the social and spiritual sphere,
their great benefactors. This explains why we should always try to develop the habit to recognize
any possible good we may detect in our “enemies” and bring it out. At the same time, we need to
express our appreciation to them for anything they might have done for us, pleasant or unpleasant
alike. Each time we do this, we enable ourselves to strengthen our character and personality even to
the point, at times, of becoming super human. Of course, we should not intentionally seek to make
people disliking us or hating us, in no way whatsoever. But, once this takes place, rather than
getting upset, we should take a deep breath, relax and look forward to climb the ladder of further
success in life in due time.
In view of what has been stated, we may fully realize and understand why we should develop
toward our neglected benefactors a feeling of recognition and appreciation. Because of them, we are
enabled to climb high in the sphere of spirituality. once this takes place, we become automatically
adorned with such gifts as wisdom, compassion, and fortitude. Besides, we become imbued with the
power of courage and fortitude and with the ability of having closer and more intimate relationship
with the Causa Prima, commonly viewed as God.
---------4.The United Nations as an Effective
Source of Prosperity and Peace
In spite of its problems, the United Nations still remains the best element the world has at its
disposal in the promotion of prosperity and peace. It is quite encouraging to hear the UN SecretaryGeneral and other UN officials talking of the importance for everyone involved and concerned to
help properly and effectively in the reformation of this world body of nations. The recognition of a
problem is already a gigantic step in the right direction.
Two Alternative Choices
We learn from history that human conflicts are generally solved in one of two ways: either through
healthy dialogues or through brutal wars. As far as the United Nations is concerned, all problems
the world encounters should be solved through healthy dialogues. If we were to study the origin of
every war that took place across every continent since World War II ended in 1945 and the United
Nations came to existence, we will discover that such wars were waged by individual nations
independently of the United Nations.
In view of this, it seems to be of paramount importance for this world body of nations to have more
power in world affairs in the best interest of all people of all nations without exception. There
should be a functional International Court of Justice to prosecute politicians that perform actions
that are detrimental to society in a number of ways. Besides, the United Nations’ goal of
disarmament and arms control should receive top priority by every single member nation.
In addition, no corporation should be allowed to produce lethal material that is detrimental to our
earthly environment and to human life in general. Above all, this world body on nations must
realize that every nation should abide by the same moral laws that are meant to protect the
sacredness of human life from conception to natural death. The waging of wars is an act of
aggression not only against human life in all of its stages, but also against people’s sacrosanct right
to prosperity and peace.
The idea that a war is waged to promote democracy, stability and peace constitutes a contradiction
in terms. Very shamefully, war has emerged to become a lucrative business enterprise where big
and influential corporations make plenty of money and build a never-ending wealth through the
infliction of atrocious pain on millions of innocent people. Quite often, this leads to the destruction
of human life that would involve women, children, the elderly and the sick along with social
workers that may include clergymen. In Kosovo, for example, more people were killed in just three
months by NATO military forces than people were killed during the previous 50 years under
Milosevic and all the way back to Tito. The military exists to wage wars and not to promote peace.
Need for United Nations’ Reform
Ironically, the United Nations needs to be seriously reformed from the inside, since its real enemies
are found among its member states, which tend to act independently of this world body of nations
in their foreign policies. The UN Secretary-General has a very difficult job. He has to be diplomatic
in the sense that he tries to be firm but without offending or alienating any of the member states.
This may sound to be easier said than done since the more powerful nations do not seem to feel
bound by any decision the United Nations may make, no matter how important and beneficial it
may prove to be to the world at large.
When it comes to prosperity and peace, all member states of the United Nations must abide by the
same rules. For example, it makes no sense at all for one nation to assume it has the right to have
nuclear weapons as much as it wants while, at the same time, it demands that other nations should
not have any of such weapons at all. In spite of the fact that the United States has its own
surmountable problems, it remains a tangible reality that its fifty states can work independently
with a separate government for each. At the same time, these fifty states can work together so
harmoniously that they do feel they constitute one solid and inseparable nation.
What is the secret of this harmony and peace that we notice among these fifty states? They are all
demilitarized. The idea that in the USA one state may be preparing to wage a war against another
state becomes laughable because a war of such a nature is viewed to be a virtual impossibility.
However, let us suppose that each state has its own military that functions independently of the
military of any other of the forty nine states and that there is no such thing as a federal army. only
God knows how many wars of some kind or another might have been waged over the past 200
years. This means that the United Nations’ program of disarmament and arms control should be
given top priority.
From the past 6,000 years of recoded history of civilization we learn that the military, as stated
earlier, serves always to wage wars and not to bring about peace. Hence, a strong United Nations
that would be instrumental in bringing a genuine peace is bound to emerge only after it would
succeed to implement its program of international disarmament and arms control. Maybe that
educational branch of the United Nations, commonly known as UNESCO, could take the initiative
to promote programs that are meant to educate government officials and to enlighten their minds.
Such programs may be viewed as philosophical, psychological, sociological, and biological in
nature.
Constructive View of Human Life
Philosophical Aspect: Philosophy deals with the way we view life for better or for worse. People
differ from each other for a variety of reasons but primarily because of their diversity in
philosophy. In spite of this, the fact remains that we are all living in an interdependent world, same
way as the various members of our body, though distinct, function interdependently. Hence, we
need to keep in mind that if one part of our body is injured, the rest of the body will suffer the
inconveniency as a result. A good philosophy at work will enable us to keep in mind the welfare of
all people without exception. This would be a gigantic step in the right direction.
Psychological Approach: Psychology deals with our inner feelings and with our emotions. All
people in the world have a feeling of belongingness. They all want to be loved and respected. They
all want to live at peace through harmony, progress and prosperity. The best gift we may give to
our relatives, friends and all people as a matter of fact is our substantial contribution to their state
of serenity and happiness along with a feeling of safety and security. This could be achieved
through the exercise of care and respect that is made possible through our altruistic services. Those
who demonstrate this kind of dedication are always viewed as great benefactors to the cause of
humanity.
Sociological Element: Sociology deals with community needs relative to shelter and style of life.
People everywhere have a sacrosanct right for adequate homes and for good education. There are
some members of the United Nations that give this element top priority in their respective
countries. Among such nations we have those where the government provides free or inexpensive
adequate homes and free education for all natives from the cradle to the grave. More nations
should follow this pattern in dealing with their people. After all, people may be viewed as the
backbone of the nation. The fewer problems they experience, the less problems the nation faces.
Biological Factor: Biology deals with life. A nation without people is viewed as lifeless. No one views
the continent of Antarctica as a nation simply because there are no native inhabitants living there.
For the people to survive and to live healthy they need to have good nourishment and good
environment. Air and water pollution become their poison, their instrument of slow and torturous
death. Hence, every government should put top priority on the provision of adequate food and
clean environment. Big corporations do not have a right to make money by jeopardizing people’s
lives. If they do not change their lethal product, then the government should quickly compel them
to do so.
Importance of Healthy Dialogues
The United Nations came into existence to bring all the nations of the world together to enable them
to solve problems through healthy dialogues rather than through devastating wars. This vital
organization is as important or as useless to the good of humanity as its determination to implement
boldly the major goals of the United Nations. Such goals relate in particular to peace education,
environmental protection, human rights and disarmament. If this world body of nations moves
ahead to implement such objectives by all means at its disposal, then its presence on earth may be
viewed as a heavenly blessing. If not, the United Nations may be viewed merely as an ornament of
bureaucrats and self interest groups that exert influence and power.
Those nations that would not abide by international laws that serve the best interest of all people
without exception should be ostracized or quarantined. They should be viewed as dangerous and
any official communication with them should be suspended. A newly reformed UN should measure
drastic actions that need to be taken to whip things into order not in terms of money a member
state may contribute or military might a nation may demonstrate to possess. United Nations actions
should be based on international ethical and moral laws that are geared toward the universal
welfare of all people without exception.
A newly reformed United Nations should view integrity of character and personality as
indispensable to generate itself into a source of prosperity and peace. The six billion people of the
world cannot continue to be exploited by industrial nations, which have provided the poor natives
of helpless countries with air and water pollution, epidemics and numerous health problems, while
depriving them of adequate shelter, food, medicine and other vital needs of life. The UN has the
obligation to stop such abuses. This way it will demonstrate to have a strong moral leadership that
is capable of whipping things into order as to give prosperity and peace a chance to work out
wonders in due time.
-------5.An Old Friend with a New Name
Throughout the centuries we have noticed changes of names taking place with regularity. Usually,
such changes take place for purpose of injecting new vitality and new inspiration. When the highly
respected Polish Cardinal Karol Wojtyla became Pope, he immediately changed his name and
became known as Pope John Paul II. Former US President Gerald Ford was born as Leslie King
but later his name was changed. A young lady from Macedonia that was born as Agnes, later
changed her name and became the famous Mother Teresa.
Creation of new Name
The time has arrived for the International Association of Educators for World Peace (IAEWP) to
change the name of its leading monthly publication, UN News, whose objective was to instill a
positive and constructive image of the Untied Nations primarily among its members. This well
written publication lasted for exactly seven years, from August 1998 to August 2005. This
newspaper has managed to retain the trust that people had for the UN and it succeeded to instill
interest in those who were lukewarm about this world body of nations.
Besides, the UN News was instrumental in correcting misconceptions and in eliminating prejudices
that many had of the United Nations, which we projected as a providential organization that is
determined to solve human conflicts through healthy dialogues rather than through brutal wars.
The time for a change in name has arrived with the publication of Diplomacy Journal, which will
concentrate thoroughly on proper and effective means that should be adopted by nations
everywhere to bring about progress, prosperity, and peace.
The International Association of Educators for World Peace is a Non Governmental Organization
dedicated to promote United Nations’ goals of peace education, environmental protection, human
rights and disarmament. All of this will be reflected in the continued publication of an old friend,
UN News, under the new name, Diplomacy Journal. The contributions made in this newly born
journal will reflect the importance of the noble goals of the United Nations that have just been
outline.
We decided to change our newspaper’s name for a number of reasons. We wanted to make sure
that the new readers of our publication would not think that the UN News might have been a
publication of the United Nations, even though in each issue we made it clear that such was not the
case. Besides, we wanted to find a way in revitalizing this monthly publication as to make it more
readable in order to be better expanded and more diffused all over the world. Needless to say, we
would want to see writers from every walk of life and profession contributing toward making this
journal a great success.
Universal Welfare of Humanity
Our articles will continue to reflect interest in the universal welfare of all people without exception.
For those who may not know, the International Association of Educators for World Peace operates
on the principle of the three Z’s consisting of Zero Bureaucracy, Zero Politics, and Zero Budget. It
has been operating successfully on these three principles since its conception in 1967 and its official
establishment in 1969. By Zero Bureaucracy we mean this. once our members conceive of activities
that are conducive to the universal welfare of all people without exception, there is no need to seek
the approval of anyone. They simply take the initiative and go ahead into work.
By Zero Politics we mean that when it comes to assign positions of responsibility, we do not go to
seek for votes and recommendations as to “support” one’s “nomination.” We simply explore the
kind of work that individuals under consideration have performed in terms of productive results.
Those that achieved most, especially at the cost of self-sacrifice, will be offered the projected
positions of responsibility. By Zero Budget we mean that we do not make money as a condition to
get work done. If the work is important and indispensable for the welfare of all people without
exception, we go ahead and do it by all means, even without money.
This is based on our philosophy, which maintains that what solves problems properly and
effectively as to improve the quality of human life everywhere is not sought in money but in
manpower, in people who volunteer to give their time, energy, and expertise for the good of the
human cause. We view money merely as a means to higher goals and objectives as to facilitate the
eventual success we are after. Those who are interested to learn about our organization may either
contact us at IAEWP, P.O. Box 3282, Mastin Lake Station, Huntsville, AL 35810-0282, USA.
Phone: 256-534-5501, Fax: 256-536-1018,
E-Mail: mercieca@knology.net/ Website: We have several websites all of which are being updated.
The projected official one is: www.iaewp.org
-------
6.A Well-Prepared Statesman
Guiding the United Arab Emirates
Former Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahayan was elected President of
the United Arab Emirates following the death of his father Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan al-Nahayan in
November 2004. The secret of his father’s success as ruler of this progressive nation for more than
30 years lied in the fact that he allowed different nationalities and religions to live together in
harmony and peace. The new President will continue with his father’s policies.
Sheikh Khalifa in Perspective
The present President of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is a well-prepared statesman who is
determined to carry on with the wise policies of his father. This nation has a population of 3.75
million. Some 80% of the people are viewed as expatriates. With only one year in power, President
Sheik Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahayan has continued to achieve progress, prosperity and stability
after the example of his father, Sheikh Zayed who succeeded to create a modern state without
losing its local traditional and cultural character.
Sheik Khalifa has inherited the deep love and respect the people had for Sheikh Zayed. This great
Islamic nation should feel very fortunate to have as a new leader one who was so close to his
predecessor, one who has learned so well how to make and how to keep a nation great from every
aspect. Sheik Khalifa has already gained the respect of the various regional rulers of his progressive
and peaceful nation. Moreover, he urged these regional rulers to work hard to bring the nation
abreast with all the various advancements taking place globally.
Sheik Khalifa was born in 1948 in the oasis of Al-Ain and he was the oldest son of Sheik Zayed. The
formation of the UAE took place in 1971 and since then Sheikh Khalifa has occupied many
important positions in the government.At one time, he was also deputy prime minister and deputy
commander of the UAE armed forces. When the UAE was established in 1971 this newly formed
nation was not viewed as economically strong.
However, today the UAE has amassed $70 billion dollars and it has become the third largest GDP
in the Arab world following Saudi Arabia and Egypt. This phenomenal progress was attributed
partly to the wisdom of the UAE leaders in the nation’s professional management of its
extraordinary oil wealth. The United Arab Emirates carries 10% of the world’s oil reserves and
4% of the global natural gas deposits. Its petrodollar surplus has made this great nation highly
inviting for leading institutional investors on a global scale.
United Arab Emirates at Work
The United Arab Emirates is the only Arab nation that refused to nationalize or expropriate
Western oil concessions. Instead, partnerships and joint ventures were created between Adnoc and
foreign energy giants as Total, BP, Mobil, and Chevron in addition to others. Making business with
UAE has allowed for such nations as France and Great Britain to feel fully secure in their ventures
with this Arab nation. one of the greatest elements that made UAE a great nation both
educationally and economically lies in the fact that the leader of this nation and his government
viewed the people, and not oil reserves and subterranean lakes of black gold, as the nation’s
greatest asset.
If the nations of the world were to assume this kind of philosophy, there will be countless millions of
people spared from their suffering and misery almost overnight. In fact, UAE has succeeded to
make education the real cornerstone of the development of the entire country. The new ruler of
UAE, Sheik Khalifa, has vouched to continue to make education as a top priority in the nation. He
seems to believe that the strength of a nation can be measured best by the kind of education its
people have and by the way the government looks after their individual and collective needs.
The citizens of this nation are enabled to become real estate owners. At the same time, the
government seems to have no tolerance at all for commissions, payoffs or corruption. In fact,
Transparency International has rated the UAE as the least corrupt nation in the Middle East. The
UAE may be viewed as a nation committed to privatization and new industrial ventures. Thanks to
the previous governmental leader, Sheik Zayed, no other leader in the developing world has left
such a deep imprint on the nation’s economy with the exception of Singapore’s Lee Kwam Yew.
Khalifa had been involved in numerous projects over the past several years and he will see to it that
the nation’s industrialization, economic reforms and privatization will be a top priority in his
government. The oil and gas industries are bound to grow indefinitely.
Like his father, the previous ruler, Sheik Khalifa seems to have a keen sense of justice. He is quite
interested in learning about the concerns of his citizens and to do his best to help them in any way
he can. In UAE, women’s rights are being taken into consideration more than in most other Arab
nations. To this end, many laws were promulgated for purpose of promoting women’s rights
everywhere.As a result, women are empowered to join the highest levels of education, culture,
rehabilitation and training.Besides, women are provided with the opportunity to enter
administrative and technical fields. Also, women may secure high executive positions in both the
government and private sectors.
Safeguard of Women’s Rights and World Peace
Nowadays, the United Arab Emirates has shown keen interest in having international organizations
that are concerned with women’s rights and with the prevention of violence against them to work in
the country. The implementation of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights has
also become one of the government’s objectives. The strategic oil business in UAE is primarily
geared toward the provision of prosperity and better life for all of the nation’s citizens. The
government wants the future generation of citizens to share in the oil wealth of the country. Sheik
Khalifa has taken several steps in this direction. Besides, the UAE want to play a big role in OPEC
for purpose of achieving peace and stability in the region and the entire world.
Under the new leadership of Sheik Khalifa, the UAE is guaranteed of continued progress,
prosperity and stability. In fact, Khalifa has urged the new ministers of his government to follow
the advancements taking place in the world and to make sure that their nation be second to none.
He also made it clear that his government will consist of a collaborative and cooperative ruling with
the members of the Supreme Council. Khalifa’s great experience in government is unchallenged.
He has ruled Abu Dubai, the richest of the UAE, for over 30 years. In its foreign policies, the UAE
has proved to be practical and peaceful.
This nation has asked non nuclear states in the Middle East, the Arabian Gulf Region, and South
Asia that were trying to secure nuclear weapons, to reconsider their position. It also encouraged
them to resort to self-control and peaceful means in order to settle their regional conflicts. During
the 60th Session of the United Nations’ General Assembly, the UAE insisted that nations who seek
nuclear power pose a threat to the region and help to endanger international peace and security.
The UAE has projected a philosophy of peace that stems from disarmament and arms control
rather than from arms building and expansion of the military.
The United Arab Emirates is highly concerned to see the world spending over one trillion dollars
per year in military expenditure whose ultimate objective seems to foster fear, create panic, and
promote various kinds of war activities. In addition, the military build up serves not as a means of
safety for the world but as an effective tool to its destruction. The government of this nation made it
clear that world peace is best achieved through international cooperation for the purpose of
promoting disarmament and arms control.This nation has also urged all nations to observe the
United Nations’ Charter and relevant UN conventions and treaties that deal with peace.
Importance of Disarmament and Arms Control
This great Arab nation felt quite disappointed in not seeing the United Nations incorporating in its
documents of the 60th Session of the General Assembly a commitment toward disarmament of
nuclear weapons. This was already advocated in the millennium summit of the year 2000 and yet
nothing substantially was done in this regard. Besides, it underlined the importance for an
immediate international program of disarmament of weapons of mass destruction in particular.
Relative to the turmoil we have had in the Middle East for so many years, the UAE advocated to
have this global regional area established as a zone free from weapons of mass destruction. This
was contained in the resolution of the UN Sixth Review Conference of the year 2000.
Sheik Khalifa firmly believes that his nation’s greatest asset is the people. This explains his concern
relative to the continuous upgrading of the human resources. He knows fully well that all ideas,
which are then followed by actions, stem from the human mind. If we educate the human mind in a
positive and constructive way, then we will expect an entire generation to perform actions that are
merely positive and constructive. He has encouraged the youth of his nation to take interest in
different fields especially education, economy, and sports in addition to science and technology.
In ultimate analysis, what makes Sheik Khalifa a great statesman lies in his ability to take interest
in the welfare of all people everywhere. He rather stays on the side of the powerless than of the
powerful. He rather provides help to the oppressed than seeks for the friendship of the oppressor.
He rather works for peace through disarmament and arms control than through the building of the
military and the promotion of wars. His presence in the UAE has proved to be a blessing not only to
his nation but to the entire region as well. At this stage of history, the world needs to have more of
such statesmen to govern it wisely with dedication and service in the best interest of all people
without exception.
-------7.Importance of NGOs:
Their Vital Role in the World
Since World War II ended in 1945 and the United Nations came into operation, we began to notice
the letters NGOs used with relative frequency. These letters stand for Non Governmental
Organizations. For all practical purposes we may conclude that all existent organizations that are
not governmental they must be Non Governmental. This may certainly be viewed as pure common
sense. Just as we do have a variety of governmental organizations, we also have a great amount of
different Non Governmental Organizations.
Nature of Governmental Organizations
In every country, each government is run by a series of organizations that may be referred to by a
variety of names like departments, agencies, and institutes in addition to others. Each of these
organizations is represented by a director or minister or secretary or any other title a government
may wish to devise or create. Needless to say, each one runs on a governmental budget and
everyone that works within such entities works on a paid salary.
The business conducted by such governmental organizations anywhere in the world seems to
function along the same lines regardless of the type or structure of government. on the other hand,
when we come to Non Governmental Organizations, the variety is enormous. This explains why we
need to learn more about the structure and purpose of such organizations, which are found in every
country across every continent.
Let us bring a few examples to illustrate this great variety of NGOs. Every religious congregation
or order, like the Dominicans, the Benedictines, the Franciscans and the Jesuits among numerous
others are all Non Governmental Organizations in the sense that they are not controlled by any
rules and regulations of any government.The congregation of nuns of the well-known Mother
Teresa has been undoubtedly an NGO from the outset. This type of NGOs may be classified as
religious.
Other types of NGOs may be enlisted as academic or educational like the National Education
Association, the Philosophy of Education Society, the Boy Scouts Association, and the list goes on
and on. Besides, we do have NGOs that stemmed from the field of sociology like Marriage
Encounter, Alcoholic Anonymous, and various supporting groups for widows and widowers and for
the handicap. In recent times, we find many NGOs working for a variety of vital human causes, like
peace education, environmental protection, human rights and disarmament. Some work on a
budget while others work merely as volunteers.
Importance of Non Governmental Organizations
The various governments of the world have at least one thing in common. They all know that
without people involvement in the solution of problems, the nation may deteriorate to the point of
disintegration and self-annihilation. In fact, in countries where we have plenty of volunteers
working through various Non Governmental Organizations, we tend to discover less problems and
less human suffering. Very fortunately, from the very outset, the United Nations has realized this
tangible evidence and thus it proceeded to establish good rapport with several NGOs. These good
relations of the UN with selected NGOs should continue to be strengthened, and to grow and to
develop further.
As to whether an NGO works closely with the United Nations through the establishment of some
link or not is irrelevant for all practical purposes. What should be important lies in the fact that we
do have volunteers who give their time, energy and expertise to help make the world better. Over
the past 60 years, since the United Nations came into existence, NGOs have played a big role in the
implementation of the peaceful objectives of this world body of nations. In fact, many believe that if
the League of Nations had been blessed with the assistance of Non Governmental Organizations, it
might have never disintegrated and gone into oblivion. It might have grown to become instrumental
in the prevention of World War II and many other conflicts that took place around the world.
Many even believe that had it not been for NGOs, the United Nations, the way we know it today,
would have ceased to exist quite a few years ago. Those that work within the confines of the United
Nations should be grateful to NGOs which were eventually instrumental to help them keep their
job. Moreover, those governments that tend to use the United Nations to exert their influence in any
way they wish in some global areas should also be grateful to NGOs for doing vital humanitarian
work that some governments tended to ignore. In essence, the presence of NGOs has always been
for the United Nations and the world at large a win-win situation.
Those NGOs that have established some link with the United Nations should concentrate totally
and thoroughly on the amount of contributions they could possibly make through the positive and
constructive utilization of their expertise. They should view as their primary mission the
implementation of the positive and constructive goals of the United Nations. Needless to say, when
it comes to the implementation of such UN goals, there should be no difference whatsoever in the
work of those NGOs that do not happen to have established some link with the world body of
nations.
NGOs in True Perspective
If we were to examine what outstanding NGOs that were religious in nature, such as the
congregation of Mother Teresa have done, we all notice that they dedicated their time and energy to
bring peace among all people they came across. Besides, they all tried to safeguard the purity of air
and water to the best of their ability. Moreover, they all showed sensitivity on the question of
human rights that relate to adequate shelter, proper nourishment, good health care, and relevant
education. And lastly, they all viewed peace as a sacrosanct human right that could be obtained
properly and effectively only through disarmament and arms control.
Hence, these UN humanitarian objectives are not a monopoly of NGOs that happened to have
established some link with the UN but they are the moral obligation to follow and implement of all
NGOs in every realm of society across every continent. Regardless of its defects and handicap, the
United Nations still remains the best instrument we have available in the world today to whip
things into order and to bring about world peace. We all should help the UN to create a good
environment where people could enjoy a healthy life, where people could communicate freely with
each other without any fear, and where violence that is often instigated through the waging of wars
would become a thing of the past.
In view of what has been stated, it is obvious that Governmental Organizations have a unique role
to play in the constructive management of a nation. At the same time, Non Governmental
Organizations of any kind have the sacrosanct duty to provide their expertise as to enable the
United Nations become more productive. In their work, Non Governmental Organizations should
maintain their identity as distinct from that of the UN by not printing any UN lettering following
the name of their respective organization, by never printing the UN logo in any of their
publications, and by focusing thoroughly on the UN goals they are trying to achieve. This way the
focus of NGOs on mere vital human needs would continue to bring about positive results
everywhere.
We may state categorically that the ultimate objective of NGOs, regardless of their character,
nature and eventual original purpose, is to make substantial contributions toward the creation of a
better and more stable global community. This ultimate objective is best achieved primarily
through a thorough dedication to the achievement of four main United Nations’ goals that were
mentioned earlier, that is, peace education, environmental protection, human rights and
disarmament. NGOs should become the source of inspiration for every government to respect and
implement these vital human needs.
Peace Education: The preamble of UNESCO starts with the words: “Since wars begin in the minds
of men it is in the minds of men that the defenses of peace must be constructed.” The schools should
serve not only as an instrument to impart knowledge but also as a seat of inspiration through which
students may learn how to use the acquired knowledge just for positive and constructive purposes.
Environmental Protection: For human beings to survive they must have both clean air and pure
water. The air and water pollution that is being emitted by big industries, ironically supported by
leading industrial governments, is leading millions a year prematurely to their graves through
needless cancer and other deadly diseases. NGOs must bring this episode into the open for everyone
to see.
Human Rights: one of the best documents in this regard is the UN Universal Declaration on Human
Rights, which was signed by all nations. In spite of this, every single nation without exception tends
to violate one segment or another of this sacred document. Human beings have a sacrosanct right
for free health care and education, for adequate housing facilities and appropriate nourishment.
Disarmament and Arms Control: We learn from history that the waging of wars never solved
problems in the long range. They always served to instigate more problems and to deteriorate the
quality of human life. NGOs in every segment of the community should emphasize the criminality
of war, which by its very nature, disregards all kinds laws: divine, natural, ecclesiastic and civic.
What is highly encouraging lies in the fact that several Non Governmental Organizations, from
every segment of the community, have already taken gigantic steps to dedicate themselves toward
the achievement of United Nations’ goals that we have just outlined, namely, peace education,
environmental protection, human rights and disarmament. Among such NGOs, that may or may
not have any link with the UN, we find religious groups, humanitarian and educational
organizations in addition to academic scholars and social workers that work harmoniously together
in the best interest of the entire world.
----------8.American War on Terrorism:
Analysis of Tangible Realities
Following the attack on the World Trade Center in New York and on the Pentagon in Washington,
DC on September 11, 2001, the United States was quick to declare a war on terrorism. This was
soon followed by the American invasion on Afghanistan and later of Iraq. The New Webster
Dictionary of the English Language describes terrorism as “a system of government by terror.”
Besides, terror is described as “extreme fear that agitates the body and mind.”
Nature of Terrorism
If we recall, the French Revolution brought terror in the entire nation as those occupying the seat
of government proceeded to execute all opponents mercilessly and brutally. This covered the period
from April 1793 to July 1974. Terrorism may stem from a government or it may also stem from a
group of individuals who act on their own independently of any government. Either way, a
tremendous amount of suffering is inflicted unnecessarily on many innocent people in a disgusting
and revolting way.
The brutal terrorist attack on the United States will never be justified till the end of times. The
question that has been raised and that needs an answer is this: In declaring a war on terrorism, did
the United States adopt the appropriate means to eradicate this problem properly and effectively
from the surface of our planet? The United States President went on to say on national television
that this American nation reserves the right to wage pre-emptive strikes on any global area that
may be deemed to be dangerous to the security of this country.
Some of the greatest statesmen of the 20th century, that included Pope John Paul II, Nelson
Mandela of South Africa, and Oscar Arias of Costa Rica, told the US President to be very cautious.
The Pope even asked the US President not to invade Iraq because, he said: “A war on Iraq is bound
to create great animosities between Christians and Moslems; besides,” he added, “Iraq may then
develop into a region where terrorism would reach a point beyond control.”
Later, Nelson Mandela said of the American invasion of Iraq: “The United States has emerged to
be the most dangerous country on earth.” Moreover, Oscar Arias asserted, like Pope Pius XII said
on the eve of World War I, that “in a war everyone is a loser and no one is a winner.” Since the US
President declared that the war was over, following the American invasion of Iraq, and that his
mission was accomplished, tens of thousands of innocent Iraqis were killed or maimed brutally and
the infrastructure of several cities was destroyed leaving people homeless, with no electricity, no
food and no water.
Provision of Good Remedies
Besides, over 2,000 Americans lost their lives unnecessarily and several thousands more were
maimed with arms or legs amputated, not to mention those that entered into a state of depression
some of whom committed suicide. The great saintly Pope John Paul II told explicitly the US
President that what the world needs was not a “war on terrorism” but “the provision of
appropriate and adequate remedies that would cure radically and effectively the sources that lead
to brutal acts of terror.” In waging a war on terrorism, the United States is faced with a big
handicap. Since the foundation of this nation over 225 years ago, the USA has prepared itself
always to fight wars against governments of some kind.
This nation knew its enemy and always figured out a way how to deal with the situation. It has
always viewed the preparation and the waging of war in terms of having a big military operation
that is equipped with sophisticated weaponry and devastating military machinery. In fact, this
nation spends more on the military and on the manufacture of weapons of destruction than all the
nations of the world combined. In a war, we always knew the name and the location of the country
we were going to fight: the British and the French, the Russians and the Germans, the Chinese and
the Japanese, the Spanish and the Portuguese and so on and so forth. A strategy of some kind could
be carefully planned and the war would then be executed with a sizable degree of success.
However, when it comes to terrorism, we are dealing with waging a war with individuals from
every walk of life and profession and at any age imaginable. To make things worse, we do not have
the faintest idea of who such terrorists may be except for uttering a dozen of names picked up from
here and there, as we have witnessed in this never-ending Iraqi turmoil. To make things worse,
while the terrorists know fully well their enemy, the USA, and where it is located, the Americans
have no idea were the terrorists are and who they are. They could be relatively young men and
women who come from very walk of life and profession and who wear no military uniforms.
Besides, so called terrorists are not assigned to any national army and they do not wear any insignia
that would enable us to distinguish them. This enables the Americans to become fully vulnerable in
spite of their sophisticated weapons of destruction. At the same time, the virtual anonymity of
prospective terrorists is bound to remain for as long as this conflict may last, for months, years, and
decades! If it is true that history repeats itself the world is bound to witness, during this very same
21st century, the end of Goliath with a mere sling shot.
Instigation of Terrorism
Very sadly, the United States, with its machismo and arrogance, has instigated the formation of
several duplications of little David who is ready to strike unnoticeably, undetected, and at a time
least expected.For the United States to reverse its present trend in dealing with terrorism is not yet
too late. All the American nation needs to do is to follow the guidance provided by Pope John Paul
II in this regard. We need to go without further delay to the very source of this seemingly
uncontrollable problem. Several months ago, some NGOs working closely with UNICEF in the
Middle East asked a simple question to young Palestinians who ranged between 8 to 12 years of age.
They were asked: “What would you like to do when you grow up?” For some 80% of these children
the answer was quick and unanimous: “Killing Americans.” These young Palestinians may be
viewed by American politicians who are trenched deeply in the culture of war as “prospective
future terrorists.” So, what shall we do about them? Shall we try to follow the footsteps of Herod
who killed all the children in Bethlehem to make sure the so called King of the Jews, Jesus Christ,
would be dead and gone before he even grows up? Ironically, Herod got rid of all the children of
the time except for the one he really was after. If Herod was the US President today, he would have
followed the same present US belligerent foreign policies, with no positive results whatsoever.
If we were to go to the source of the problem of terrorism, then our eyes may finally be widely
opened as to see things in true perspective. Appropriate steps may then be taken to solve the
problem of terrorism effectively. In fact, when these same Palestinian children were asked as to
why they wanted to kill Americans as their established goal in life, they said: “Because American
weapons have killed our dear fathers and mothers, our brothers and sisters….. because American
weapons have destroyed our homes and we lost everything we had: no food, no water, no clothes, no
place where we could sleep at night…… because such weapons have maimed our relatives and
friends whose arms or legs were amputated, and have severely disfigured others for life.”
These young and helpless Palestinians added saying: “In view of this, you may realize why we hate
Americans and want to kill them. American weapons took away from us our dear and beloved ones.
They also took away from us the will to live in the midst of continued American terror. We see
Americans as the source of all our deprivations, of our crucial suffering, and of our eventual death.
Yes, we hate them and we want to kill as many as we can even if we were to die with them at the
same time.” Of course, statements of this nature make us realize fully well how logical it is to have
the formation of suicide bombers everywhere.
Effective Solution to Problems
From this tangible reality we may conclude that if the United States were to take the initiative to
stop the further suffering of people in the Middle East and other global areas, which has been
singled out as the real source of terrorism against the United States, this problem is bound to be
solved. It is bound to be eradicated from the surface of the world before we know it. Theoretically,
this may sound to be easy to do but, in practice, it is rather difficult to execute for the simple reason
that the USA is a creature of capitalism whose ultimate goal is the continued accumulation of
money and wealth and not the real caring of people.
There is nothing wrong with the accumulation of money and wealth. But when we consider that the
big corporations would do anything to achieve this goal, even through the infliction of pain on
millions of innocent people, the situation cannot get worse. This tyrannical system, which wants to
control global economy, has instigated the kind of terrorism the world is facing today, which is
bound to continue until the capitalistic system collapses or gets modified by becoming more
humane. The US declaration of “war on terrorism” is merely a fantasy. If any meaningful war is to
be declared at all, it should be a “war on the abuses and exploitations of capitalism,” which is same
as big corporations.
Global terrorism is bound to come to an end only after we eliminate or reduce global suffering. Our
governments, headed by the USA, should divert the money spent on weapons and the military to
provide all people with free health care and free education, with good housing facilities, with
enough food and with adequate hospitals and transportations. Money spent on weapons and the
military should go for the discovery of permanent cures to such diseases as cancer, multiple
sclerosis, epilepsy, and heart disease, in addition to air and water pollution. Moreover, human
rights in all forms should be safeguarded. The USA in particular must take the initiative to develop
an international program of disarmament and arms control. If this were to take place, the existence
of terrorism would have no purpose and it will wither away sooner than later.
-----9.New Statesman Emerges from the
United States Congress
One of the greatest problems we have in this world at this stage of history may be stated as follows:
We have too many politicians and too few statesmen. A politician may be viewed as one who is
interested in the welfare of one group to the exclusion of others. on the other hand, a statesman may
be described as one who is interested in the welfare of all people without exception. Moreover, a
politician tends to act like he is always a master of the situation while deep inside he feels insecure.
Statesmanship in Operation
At the same time, a statesman is characterized by honesty and integrity of character. He is ready to
admit that he is wrong and asks for apology. Of course, a politician hardly ever dreams that he is
wrong and far less it ever crosses his mind to apologize. We all recall the recent American
presidential elections where George W. Bush was declared US President once more. If we recall, on
the Democratic presidential ticket we had US Senator John Kerry running for President and US
Senator John Edwards running for Vice President.
Both of these democratic candidates believed in the reasons that President George W. Bush gave
for his unilateral invasion of Iraq, even though this was viewed by the world at large as a violation
of international law. To this end, both of these US Senators voted to support the Iraqi war led by
President Bush. As time tolled on, it was revealed that all the reasons that the US President gave for
the instigation of the Iraqi war were not true and, hence, deceitful. The majority of the US Senators
who voted for the war and realized afterwards that they made a mistake have remained silent.
However, US Senator John Edwards has emerged as a new statesman in Congress with his recent
public confession to the whole American nation that he was deadly wrong in voting for the war in
Iraq. He made it clear he was misled by the US President and that if he knew about the Iraqi
situation what he knows now, he would have voted against the waging of this needless war.
The United States invaded Iraq because it said that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass
destruction. Such weapons were never found. It stated that Saddam Hussein got needed resources
from Africa to construct atomic weapons. Even this statement was proved to be untrue. It was also
emphasized that Saddam Hussein was a tyrant who killed the Kurds. Historical evidence tells us
that during the Iran/Iraqi war the Kurds were sympathetic to the Iranians who replaced America’s
friend the Shah with the Ayatollah Khomeini.
Historical Truth in Perspective
This episode instigated Americans to use Saddam Hussein to chastise the Kurds by providing him
with lethal weapons to use them against them. Saddam Hussein, for one reason or another
consented. The US President made it appear that this was the initiative of Saddam Hussein and
described him as tyrant. So, the Americans invaded Iraq supposedly to liberate the Iraqis from
Saddam’s tyranny. Strangely enough, the American military used the same tyranny to achieve their
end. They destroyed the infrastructure of several Iraqi cities, killing tens of thousands of innocent
Iraqis while leaving other tens of thousands maimed and disfigured for life.
Thousands of children today are orphans as a result. Women lost their husbands and the other way
round, not to mention most of their children as well.
Their houses were destroyed with no shelter, no food, and no medical attention. Confronted with
this tyranny which has been viewed by many Iraqis as infinitely worse than the so called tyranny of
Saddam Hussein, the Iraqis seem to have lost hope and the will to live. Hence, many wanted to take
action by opposing the invaders with the only equipment they felt they had: suicide bombers and
bomb explosions. Religious leaders like Pope John Paul II and Bishop Desmond Tutu of South
Africa have all condemned this war as illegal and immoral.
Besides, world statesmen of the caliber of Nelson Mandela of South Africa and Oscar Arias of
Costa Rica have rejected from the outset the reasons that the US President gave for the justification
of war. Even recently, the new Pope Benedict XVI said plainly that war should no longer be used to
solve national and international problems. At this stage of history, every head of state and politician
who firmly believes that the military ought to be strengthened and augmented to help solve national
and international problems has emerged to be very dangerous to the very survival of the human
race as we know it today. Instead of summarizing what US Senator John Edwards said in admitting
that he was wrong when he supported the Iraqi war, let us listen to what he said in his very own
words here below on November 13, 2005 to each of his friends.
A Special message from John Edwards, US Senator and former
US Vice Presidential Candidate to each of his friends
Dear Friend,
I was wrong.
I wrote these words about my vote to authorize the Iraq war in a Washington Post op-ed piece and
I want to share my views with you as well.
Almost three years ago, we went into Iraq to remove what we were told -- and many of us believed
and argued -- was a threat to America. But in fact we now know that Iraq did not have weapons of
mass destruction when our forces invaded Iraq in 2003. The intelligence was deeply flawed and, in
some cases, manipulated to fit a political agenda.
It was a mistake to vote for this war in 2002. I take responsibility for that mistake. It has been hard
to say these words because those who didn't make a mistake -- the men and women of our armed
forces and their families -- have performed heroically and paid a very dear price. It is not right, just
or fair that we made a mistake, but they pay for that mistake.
The world desperately needs moral leadership from America, and the foundation for moral
leadership is telling the truth.
While we can't change the past, we need to accept responsibility because a key part of restoring
America's moral leadership is acknowledging when we've made mistakes or been proven wrong -and to show that we have the creativity and guts to make it right.
The argument for going to war with Iraq was based on intelligence that we now know was
inaccurate. The information the American people were hearing from the President -- and that I was
being told by our intelligence community -- wasn't the whole story. Had I known this at the time, I
never would have voted for this war.
George Bush won't accept responsibility for his mistakes. Along with Dick Cheney and Donald
Rumsfeld, he has made horrible mistakes at almost every step: twisting intelligence to fit their preconceived views about Iraq's threat; failed diplomacy; not going in with enough troops; not giving
our forces the equipment they need; not having a plan for peace.
Because of these failures, Iraq is a mess and has become a far greater threat than it actually ever
was. It is now a haven for terrorists, and our presence there is draining the goodwill that our
country once enjoyed, diminishing our global standing. It has made fighting the global war against
terrorist organizations more difficult, not less.
The urgent question isn't how we got here, but what we do now. We have to give our troops a way
to end their mission honorably. That means leaving behind a success, not a failure.
What is success? I don't think it is Iraq as a Jeffersonian democracy. I think it is an Iraq that is
relatively stable, largely self-sufficient, comparatively open and free, and in control of its own
destiny. A plan for success needs to focus on three interlocking objectives: reducing American
presence; building Iraq's capacity; and getting other countries to meet their responsibilities to help.
First, we need to remove the image of the imperialist America from the landscape of Iraq.
American contractors who have taken unfair advantage of the turmoil in Iraq need to leave Iraq. If
that means Halliburton subsidiary, KBR, then KBR should go. Such departures, and the return of
the work to Iraqi businesses, would be a real statement about our hopes for the new nation.
We also need to show Iraq and the world that we will not stay there forever. We've reached the
point where the large number of our troops in Iraq hurts, not helps, our goals. Therefore, early
next year, after the Iraqi elections and a new government has been created, we should begin the
redeployment of a significant number of troops out of Iraq. This should be the beginning of a
gradual process to reduce our presence and change the shape of our military's deployment in Iraq.
Most of these troops should come from National Guard or Reserve forces. That will still leave us
with enough military capability, combined with better trained Iraqis, to fight terrorists and
continue to help the Iraqis develop a stable country.
Second, this redeployment should work in concert with a more effective training program for Iraqi
forces. We should implement a clear plan for training and hard deadlines for certain benchmarks
to be met. To increase incentives, we should implement a schedule outlining that as we certify that
Iraqi troops are trained and equipped, a proportional number of U.S. troops will withdraw.
Third, we must launch a serious diplomatic process that brings the world into this effort. We
should bring Iraq's neighbors and our key European allies into a diplomatic process to get Iraq on
its feet. It's not just in America's security interest for Iraq to succeed, but the world's -- and the
President needs to create a unified international front.
Too many mistakes have already been made to make this easy. Yet we must take these steps to
succeed. The American people, the Iraqi people and -- most importantly -- our troops who have
died or been injured there and those who are fighting there today deserve nothing less.
America's leaders -- all of us -- need to accept the responsibility we each carry for how we got to
this place. Over 2,000 Americans have lost their lives in this war; and over 150,000 are fighting
there today. They and their families deserve honesty from our country's leaders. And they also
deserve a clear plan for a way out.
John Edwards
US Senator and former US Vice Presidential Candidate
The above open letter of John Edwards, US Senator and former US Vice Presidential Candidate, is
self-explanatory and it does not need any comments. The waging of the Iraqi war in the absence of
any real provocation remains a violation of international law. This war has already gone down in
history as having been both illegal and immoral. It has set a very dangerous precedence for the big
fish to eat the small fish simply because it feels like it.
Unless this precedence is thoroughly condemned by all nations the future of the smaller nations in
particular becomes very precarious. The invasion of Iraq had set precedence for every nation to
invade any other nation at will without any warning and without any justifiable reason whatsoever.
Like Pope John Paul II predicted, the Iraqi war is instigating more and more acts of terrorism to
the point of becoming totally out of control. We cannot reverse the clock of history but we can
always admit our mistakes in the open and ask for forgiveness.
There is something phenomenally great in the power of forgiveness which is viewed as a spiritual
element that is divine in nature. Following the example of US Senator John Edwards, the US
President and his advisors should ask for forgiveness for the tens of thousands of lives that were
lost, not to mention those that were maimed, in a war that was reckless and unnecessary. The
waging of wars has become obsolete for in a war no one is a winner and everyone is a loser.
-------10.Deterioration of America:
Need for Constructive Involvement
Since the American Civil War took place, 1861-65, there has never been a war fought in the United
States. Hence, the American people, unlike people of many other nations, do not really have the war
experience. This explains why, following the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in New
York and the Pentagon in Washington, DC, the country plunged into a deep crisis and became
seriously haunted with paranoia. If we recall, some 3,000 innocent people died as a result of this
event.
Making the Wrong Decision
Instead of taking a deep breath and playing it cool while investigating seriously the possible
motivations behind such a brutal event, like Pope John Paul II insisted, the nation’s political
leaders decided to create scenarios to show the entire world their muscles through a devastating
military strength. First, the US military invaded Afghanistan supposedly to capture Osama Bin
Laden who was deemed to be the architect of this inhumane attack. As many veterans tell us: “War
remains a hellish way to settle a problem.”
In doing so, the American military destroyed the infrastructure of the Afghanistan civilian
community while killing thousands of Afghanistan innocent people and maiming brutally several
thousands of others. As though this was not enough, Iraq was targeted for invasion by the US
military to remove Saddam Hussein from power for serious accusations that were brought against
him all of which afterwards were proven to be false.
In the process of doing this, the Americans, once more, destroyed the infrastructure of Iraq, killed
several thousands of Iraqis while leaving several thousands of others maimed for life with legs
and/or arms amputated. Thousands of children remained orphans and hundreds of the Iraqi adults
became widows or widowers. Besides, thousands of Iraqis were left with no homes, no food, and no
medicine in addition to other deprivations.
Confronted with this unwarranted American invasion and the devastation of their own nation, the
Iraqis wanted to do something by way of retaliation. The only equipment they had at their disposal
was to attack American soldiers. Such equipment consisted of suicide bombers and explosions in
public places, in addition to the use of conventional weapons. Although the Iraqis did this out of
desperation, the US government viewed them as insurgents or rebels.
Importance of Constructive Involvement
The problem with the Iraqi war does not consist of the fact that the American government made a
grave mistake in invading this nation, but it consists of the fact that this same American
government refuses categorically to admit that the instigation of such a war was wrong. Of course,
we are all familiar with the traditional saying: “To err is human but to persist in error is
diabolical.” The presence of American troops in Iraq is being viewed as vicious to say the least and
as a source for the instigation of further terror to say the most.
Needless to say, we cannot put the entire blame of this Iraqi quagmire on US government officials
that were ultimately responsible for the initiation of this war. In a nation such as the United States
where freedom of speech and of movement are well observed to this very day, there are a few vital
American sources that may share in the continuous US belligerent foreign policies, at least
indirectly with their silence. These sources may be enlisted as the physicians, lawyers, businessmen,
teachers, clergymen and civic organizations.
1. Physicians: Medical doctors should know more than anyone else about the danger of pollution
that is being emitted by big corporations, in particular the weapons industry. They should be aware
that some two million Americans incur cancer as a result every year and most of them die of it
before they even know it.Yet, they never wage one protest against the US government for not
setting strict restrictions on the emission of toxic wastes that comes especially from the weapons
industry. They choose to remain quiet, perfectly silent!
2. Lawyers: Attorneys should know more than anyone else about the structures of laws that may be
conducive to the welfare or detriment of the people. Yet, they hardly ever take the initiative to
defend the people’s human rights for a clean environment that is free of air and water pollution.
They never utter one single word in defense of the citizens’ human rights to live at peace and not at
war with other nations, to have free medical care and free education. They never wage one single
law suit against the US government to protect such rights.
3. Businessmen: Many businessmen are involved with big corporations, the weapons industry in
particular. They deal with items that are detrimental to people’s life. They seem to have no sense of
ethics. Their respect for human life is near zero. Their only concern is to make more money and to
acquire more wealth. Instead of changing their product from destructive to constructive, they
continue to make more weapons of destruction and sell them at lucrative prices to anyone that is
ready to give the right price, friends and enemies alike.
4. Teachers: These teachers cover both lower and higher education. on the whole, they all tend to
do a good job in the classroom in the presentation of their respective subject areas. At the same
time, they do not seem to care much about preparing for their students a good and safe future. In
fact, they hardly ever dream of criticizing their government for putting billions of dollars into
weapons for needless wars instead of putting such money on people’s dire needs such as health
care, education, good housing facilities and adequate nourishment.
5. Clergymen: In general, clergymen are expected to be men of God whose responsibility is to look
after the vital needs of people both spiritually and physically. They seem to do just that on the
surface but when it comes to action the situation is different. While they are quick to condemn
abortion and euthanasia, they do not tend to utter one single word of condemnation when faced by
their government’ s waging of illegal and immoral wars that massacre thousands of innocent people
brutally and mercilessly.
6. Civic Organizations: There are thousands of civic organizations with some kind of good mission
to fulfill, from helping the poor with shelter and food to assisting in community building through a
better and healthier environment. Many profess believe in Jesus and put bumper stickers with the
words: “Jesus Saves.” But when it comes to urging the US government to provide nations with
medical equipment and educational material instead of weapons of destruction they opt to remain
silent, which vindicates the saying: “Silence brings consent.”
It is obvious that the USA is deteriorating both in the spiritual and physical sphere because of its
reckless belligerent foreign policies and because the above mentioned six elements are not doing
anything substantial on the whole to remedy the situation. They need to open their eyes widely and
to start urging their government to shift the billions of dollars being spent on weapons and wars to
the health care and education of people. This constructive involvement would eventually serve to
reverse the present trend from one of deterioration to one of social progress, prosperity, and peace.
This way the American nation would be safer and the world at large would feel much better and
more at ease.
--------------------------------11.Why People Have Mixed Feelings about Islam
Like in any other religion, Islam may be viewed like a coin: one element with two different sides.It
represents the positive and constructive on one hand while on the other hand it represents the
negative and destructive. This sounds to be a natural phenomenon. The concept of prayer, fast, and
self-sacrifice is to be commended. Women’s long garb along with the covering of their head instills
in many that same respect that nuns in a convent have enjoyed for a long time.
Good Aspects of Islam
Besides, Islam’s genuine belief in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and of all the prophets of
the Old Testament cannot be taken lightly. In addition, the respect that the Koran reveals for the
Holy Family of Nazareth that included Jesus and His Blessed Mother Mary is quite impressive to
say the least. Islamic families tend to love their children dearly and they try to raise them
responsibly the best they can.
In addition, the name of God, commonly known as Allah, is often invoked with great respect in the
open by all people from every walk of life and profession. The Islamic mosques are very beautiful
and they do serve as an inspiration for many who bow on their knees and even prostrate on the
ground as a sign of great respect to the creator of everything that exists. Those who had the
opportunity to deal with Islamic people can testify how nice, helpful, and altruistic these children of
God happen to be eventually.
In spite of what we hear to the contrary, Islamic people in general tend to adapt themselves to the
various cultures where they happen to be with relative ease. Even though in recent times small
bands of generally young Islamic men have performed actions that were classified as negative and
destructive, Islam as a religion that is built on the Koran remains a good and holy instrument to
bring people close to God in a number of ways. In general, Islamic people may be described as quiet
and humble and they tend to be somewhat altruistic.
Everything that has been stated here about Islam is quite positive and constructive. However, there
is another side of Islam, as judged from actions of responsible Islamic authorities, which seems to
be quite negative and destructive. We may here summarize briefly these unpleasant elements that
have incurred the anger and condemnation of millions of people from across every continent.
Among these millions we find also scholars from very walk of life, culture and religion. What
puzzles the minds of many lies in the fact that responsible Islamic governments remain deaf or
totally silent when confronted with such problems.
Negative Aspects in Perspective
These negative and destructive elements deal with the way some Islamic authorities interpret and
handle the concept of jihad, the concept of adultery, the concept of religion and the concept of
punishment. Like with the case of Christianity, it looks obvious that fundamentalist Moslems have
done a very poor job in portraying a good image of the Islamic faith in the world at large.
1. The Concept of Jihad:The word jihad refers to the waging of a holy war in the name of God! The
question that needs to be raised here is this: When we proceed to wage this holy war, we are waging
such a war against whom and against what? A holy war waged in the name of God cannot be holy
and far less having the approval of God, when such a war is deliberately waged against the other
children of God! We know even from the wise teachings of the Master Teacher, Jesus of Nazareth,
that God is a loving Father who would not want to see any of his children suffer even if they were
not good and pleasing to Him.
If one were to analyze the concept of jihad within its context one will soon realize that such a holy
war is to be waged against our passions. For example, if my neighbor were to offend me and acts
ugly toward me, it would be natural on my part to react negatively and destructively toward him.
Instead, here I would have the opportunity to wage a holy war, a jihad, against my own ugly
instincts that I am harboring against my neighbor. This could be demonstrated on my part by
showing acts of love and mercy toward the one that hurt me or offended me. This is all what jihad
is all about, nothing more and nothing less.
2. The concept of Adultery: The Moslems, like the Jews and the Christians, firmly believe in the
Ten Commandments that God gave to Moses. When the disciples asked Jesus of Nazareth to teach
them how to pray, He taught them the “Our Father who art in heaven” prayer. In this Jesus taught
us to tellGod the Father explicitly: “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those that trespass
against us.”
Our appeal to God to have mercy on us and to forgive us is based primarily on our ability to have
mercy on other people and to forgive them.The idea that the Islamic Sharia law allows an unwed
woman who becomes pregnant to be stoned to death is outrageous to say the least and an outright
misinterpretation and even desecration of the Holy Scriptures to say the most. When the woman
that committed adultery was brought to Jesus for condemnation, Jesus said: “Let the one who is
without sin among you throw the first stone.” They all left away.It was obvious that Jesus did not
approve of such a barbaric act.
3. The Concept of Religion: The New Webster Dictionary of the English Language describes
religion as the feeling of reverence which men entertain toward a Supreme Being; the recognition of
God as an object of worship, love and obedience; and any system of faith and worship. This would
include Jews, Hindus, Buddhists, Christians and Moslems among others. In spite of the fact that
religion is a supernatural entity, human beings in history have succeeded to distort this original
holy concept of religion as God always viewed it.
Hence, we have today what is termed as Established Religion, which the same dictionary describes
as that form of religion in a country which is recognized and supported by the state. We also have
what is termed as Natural Religion, which is viewed as the knowledge of God and of our duty which
is derived from the light of nature. In addition, we find as well Revelation Religion, which consists
of the knowledge of God and of our duty from positive revelation.
Religion in itself remains a holy spiritual element whose ultimate purpose is to elevate our mind to
God and to enable us to live closely to Him. The problem with religion comes when we shift from
the practice of religion as instituted by God, that is, revelation religion, to the practice of
established religion, which consists of merely its outward practice as advocated or expected by a
government or fanatical groups. Jesus rebuked the Pharisees as hypocrites for making religion
consisting merely of exterior behavior and nothing more.
How does God view Jews, Hindus, Buddhists, Christians and Moslems in addition to others? The one that can best give us this answer would certainly be the Blessed Virgin Mary who over the
centuries has won love and respect from people of every walk of life, religion and culture. She
professed to the six children in Medjugorje during the decade of the eighties saying clearly: I am
the mother of all people; I am the mother of those who love me and of those who do not love me; I
am the mother of those who accept me and of those who reject me; I am the mother of those who
know me and of those who do not know me; all of these are me children and I love them dearly and
infinitely.
In a revelation that was received by Archbishop John Bereslavsky, Patriarch of the Mother of God
Church Derjevnaya of Moscow, the Blessed Mother remarked: I wish to see my Christian children
learning from my Buddhist children detachment from the material things of this world. According
to several ascetical writers, the Blessed Mother, known in Christianity also as the Mother of God,
knows more about God’s mind and God’s feelings than all the people that ever existed and all the
angels combined. Whereas in the sphere of religion, human beings judge each other by their
affiliation to established or organized religion, God, the Allah of Islam, judges people by their kind
and loving heart.
4. The Concept of Punishment: It is viewed all over the world as totally barbaric to witness Islamic
governments using the “eye for an eye and the tooth for a tooth” type of punishment to deal with
their people. The Master Teacher of Nazareth who is highly revered in the Koran by all good
Moslems, told the people of his time: The God you preach is not the God I know. You preach a God
who advocates the eye for an eye and the tooth for a tooth. The God I know is a God of love and
mercy and not a God of revenge. He is a God that when you strike Him on one check not only he
does not retaliate and strike back, but, on the contrary, He would react toward you with love and
mercy even to the point of letting you striking Him on the other check.
We have witnessed in Libya, Iran and other Moslem nations that when someone is caught steeling,
for example, the government would amputate one of the hands of such a thief, no matter how minor
the item may be. Again, this is viewed as barbaric and vicious to say the least and as crazy and
satanic to say the most. These Moslem leaders who are responsible for such atrocious amputations
are shaming the holy religion of Islam by inflicting on it a very dark spot that millions around the
world find very difficult to erase. Some psychologists have remarked saying that such punishments
inflicted by Islamic leaders reveal a dosage of cruelty that stems basically from sadistic tendencies.
Going back to religion, to when one wishes to change the mode of approaching God by changing one’s affiliation to religion from Islam, say, to Christian, the Islamic government in a number of
countries intervenes and proceeds to inflict severe punishments on the person who wanted to
become a Christian. Such punishments do not usually consist of any amputations but rather they
would involve physical torture and even death. Again, the world at large views this as inhuman and
barbaric to say the least and as a direct meddling with God’s inspiration to say the most. Such
governmental interference with people’s choice of dealing with God in the spiritual sphere has been
referred by some spiritual experts as blasphemy.
Of course, none of this is brought into the news media, nor written in a nation’s constitution. The
'fear' element of expressing one's opinion or of changing religious beliefs is deeply causing people to
suffer anguish from their suppression of freedom in spiritual choices. Although in some Islamic
countries economy is bringing them money and luxury, however, it is not freeing the hearts and
souls of Islamic people from governmental ruthless domination. Islam is a great religion and every
single person needs to read the Koran at least once.
Right of Worship Style Selection
Religion of any kind, be it Jewish, Christian, Islam you name it, cannot be enforced on anyone, like
we observe in some Islamic countries. There seems to be nothing wrong in having a nation making
a certain faith the established religion of the country in the sense that laws would not be enacted
that would violate the spirit of that religion. But it is abusive and offending to the Divine Spirit to
prevent people from changing their spiritual style of worship in their dealing with God, the Allah of
Moslems.
In 1984, Benzir Bhutto, daughter of former Pakistani Prime Minister Ali Bhutto who was hanged
for political motives, gave a talk at Harvard University. She was then in exile living in England. She
said: It is a pity that Islam which is such a good religion has been desecrated by Islamic
governments and small groups of fanatics. She added: While in the Koran women occupy an equal
place with men, Islamic governments always tended to treat women as second class citizens. Hence,
I plan to return to Pakistan and run to become the first Islamic woman Prime Minister. The rest is
history. She did become later the Prime Minister of this Moslem nation.
In view of what has been stated, we may realize why people have mixed feelings about Islam. on one
hand, it is obvious that it is a wonderful and great religion. on the other hand, systematic abuses by
Islamic governments and fanatical Islamic groups relative to the concept of jihad, adultery, religion
and punishment have created in countless millions around the world many negative feelings that
have generated considerable lack of trust.
Throughout history, Islam, for one reason or another, has developed a reputation of being a rather
violent religion due mostly to the four concepts outlined above. The time is ripe when we need to
eliminate these negative and destructive aspects of Islam as to have the entire world concentrate on
this religion’s positive and constructive aspects, the sooner the better. This way, Islam, may in due
time prove itself to be one of the best instruments in the promotion of international understanding
and world peace.
-------12.Utopia: Source of Motivation
For Constructive Action
The word utopia has been invented by Sir Thomas More, which he applied to an imaginary island
that enjoys the utmost perfection in laws, politics and anything else. This is contrasted with the
defects of those nations already in existence. Since then, utopia has been used to signify a state or
place of ideal perfection. Those who work toward the creation of such a state or place are usually
referred to as utopians.
Importance of Utopia
Although admired by many, utopians tend to be viewed by others as “ardent but
impractical reformers” or as daydreamers. It is not important for us to discuss the feasibility of
utopia relative to its practicality. What is important lies in the fact that in anything we do we need
to be optimistic, we need to have faith in ourselves and in those working with us, and we should
never give up regardless of the difficulties that we may encounter. The difficulties we may face
could also be viewed positively and constructively.
In the first place, difficulties serve to test our strength and willingness to pursue our high
goals and objectives especially when they are geared toward the universal welfare of all people
without exception. Besides, when we try to achieve our noble aspirations in spite of difficulties that
may come along the way, we demonstrate our determination to move forward courageously. In
addition, our character and personality are bound to be strengthened.
However, in the process of achieving our utopian goal we have to be careful in not confusing
courage with arrogance as well as honesty with hypocrisy. In the achievement of any utopian goal,
which is an objective that is conducive to the welfare of all people without exception, we should
demonstrate by all means the constant practice of virtues. Such virtues may consist of kindness,
humility, prudence, patience, and compassion along with fortitude and wisdom for proper
guidance.
Since the early days of human existence, human beings who seriously wanted to do things better
and more constructively, they all tended to be utopians. This means that they sought to plan
carefully ahead of time what is it they wanted to achieve. Even at this stage of history, architects
design carefully and even meticulously projected new buildings, new cities, new vehicles, new
airplanes and ships, and so on and so forth. So, utopia is not merely a concept or a dream of Sir
Thomas More, it is an ideal that may be viewed as absolutely indispensable to produce anything
that could be termed as good and excellent.
Feasibility of Utopia
In view of this, we may begin to realize and to understand perfectly well why missionaries have
dedicated so much of their time and energy to help alleviate human suffering everywhere as to help
make the world better. We may see clearly the numerous concerns voiced by good people from
every walk of life and profession about the ravages of wars, which governments and individual
groups wage mercilessly. Wars, by their very nature, are vicious and evil because they lead to
destruction and not to construction. They promote death and not life, and, besides, they are
completely lawless and chaotic.
Those that have massacred thousands of innocent people in New York on September 11, 2001, have
been viewed as murderers by the besieged American people. At the same time, the Americans that
afterwards destroyed the infrastructure of both Afghanistan and Iraq and killed tens of thousands
of innocent people in the process, have been viewed US government officials, along with many
Americans, as heroes, as defenders of American liberty! Regardless of how we try to play with our
rationalization relative to the justification of war, the fact remains that war in itself is brutal
because it leads always to destruction, misery and death. A recorded history of 6,000 years is
enough for us all to learn that violence breeds violence and more violence breeds more violence.
Fortunately, there have been many countries in the world that tried to turn themselves into utopia,
even though they may not have succeeded 100%. Such countries are characterized by elements that
all people across every continent would love to enjoy and cherish. Such elements consist in
providing all people with free health care and free education from the cradle to the grave. Besides,
they also provide free retirement places for the elderly. In addition, corporations are not easily
allowed to pollute the air and water of their respective nations. Children in school learn the
importance of mutual assistance expressed in love and respect. Above all, such nations are either
demilitarized of have merely a token military. Hence, no money is wasted on destructive material.
As we may start to realize, utopia cannot be dismissed merely as an ideal or a dream. It is a clear
goal that we need to establish and to work for to the best of our ability. There is one thing that we
should keep clearly in our mind. In utopia everything is conducive to the welfare of all people
without exception. That is why politicians are difficult to create a utopia where the very concept of
war would cease to exist. By their very nature, politicians tend to promote the welfare of one group
to the exclusion of other groups. In fact they often speak of “national interests” and hardly ever of
international benefits.
Dire Need for Statesmen
Perhaps the time is now ripe to start replacing politicians with statesmen whose primary concern
has always been the universal welfare of all people without exception. When Pope John Paul II was
asked in Mexico as to whether he thought world peace was possible, he did not hesitate to reply
saying: “Yes, world peace is possible but only after two of the greatest evils of the 20th century are
gone.” Then he added saying: “These two great evils are communism and capitalism because both
of them advance their causes through the exploitation of people.” Three years later, communism
collapsed with the disintegration of the Soviet Union. Since then, the world has been waiting very
anxiously to see the collapse of capitalism following suit.
The American excessive expenditure on wars and weapons of destruction may be viewed, in a way,
as a blessing in disguise. The illegal and immoral waging of the Iraqi war has already caused the US
government more than $4 trillion dollars. As a result, millions of Americans are being deprived of
adequate health care benefits and of an appropriate education. Many live in shacks like animals in
human form. In fact, the United Nations International Children’s Educational Fund (UNICEF),
has compared some regions in the United States with the poorest countries of Africa.
The world is witnessing today the exploitation of millions of Americans who are constantly
living under the ruthless thumb of capitalism. This is a system that is controlled by big US
corporations. These capitalists view weapons and wars merely as a lucrative business enterprise
through which they try to make money as fast as they could. Capitalism uses or discards humans as
it fits best the successful waging of wars and the continued manufacture of weapons. In fact,
nowadays the United States has emerged as the nation where the very concept of utopia is viewed as
a joke with sarcasm and noticeable ridicule.The American people do not have much to do about it
since today the entire major news media in the USA is controlled with iron fist by big corporations.
To turn insult into injury, any nation that refuses to let American big corporations control its
resources is viewed by US government officials as unfriendly and even dangerous. By now, many
should have become familiar with the Jack Abramoff scandal in Washington, DC. This man
represented many big corporations to lobby for them with US senators and congressmen that
included also Whitehouse officials. He gave thousands and millions of dollars to US government
officials as to vote for the promotion of the products of these big corporations. one of such
corporations happens to be the weapons industry.
Wars as Business Enterprise
This explains, in part, why the US president is constantly saying that we need to improve our
weaponry system as to wage future wars more decisively. In essence, this means that through one
air raid we kill one million people instead of merely one thousand! Ironically, senators and
congressmen have received money from Jack Abramoff or others whose names are still not
revealed for the same purpose.The conspicuous absence of utopia from the USA should convince
every sensible and intelligent person that today there is no more democracy and no more freedom
within the confines of the American nation.
The efforts that are being made by groups for the setting up of utopian goals in the best interest of
everyone concerned are constantly being thwarted by US government. Numerous lies are being
used to control the American people and as many governments as possible. The Iraqi war was
virtually waged as a business enterprise through the de facto fabrication of lies….. Iraqi weapons of
mass destruction and Iraqi purchase of uranium from Africa, among others. The American people
are prohibited to visit a number of countries one of them is Cuba, America’s peaceful neighbor. For
four decades President Fidel Castro of Cuba has been depicted by the USA as a tyrant who is
making all Cubans suffer.
Well, if Americans were to visit Cuba they will soon find out that all Cubans have free
health care system and free education including at the university level. They also have free housing
facilities for the poor, and enough food for everyone not to feel hungry. Besides, Cuban physicians
found a cure to certain types of cancer that has not been achieved in the USA.The countries that
established utopia as a desired objective put top priority on peoples’ needs rather than on the
military and weapons. There is one thing for sure about utopia: no country can ever take it
seriously that puts the bulk of its expenditure on items that are negative and destructive. Our
global utopian goal and objective should be world peace. This could be achieved only through a
program of international disarmament and arms control.
---------
13.Sizing Up Political Leaders:
Courage Versus Arrogance
The New Webster Dictionary of the English Language describes courage as “that quality of
the mind which enables men to encounter danger and difficulties with firmness or without
fear.” It is also referred to as “bravery.” on the other hand, the same dictionary describes
arrogance as “the disposition to make exorbitant claims of rank, dignity, or estimation; the
pride which exalts one’s own importance; and pride with contempt of others.”
Reliable Criteria for Correct Judgment
Besides, the arrogant is viewed as one who believes to be determined and who
assumes to be powerful enough as to achieve what he wants by all means. In fact, nothing
would stand in his way even if many were to suffer as a result and lose their lives. In view
of this, we can easily analyze every single political leader anywhere in the world in virtue of
what he says and does. In the Holy Scriptures we read the famous statement of the Master
Teacher of all times saying: Judge a tree by the fruit it gives. This means that if the tree
looks like an orange tree but it bears lemons, then we have to call it lemon tree.
The courageous political leader is one who reveals concern for the welfare of all
people without exception. He would not do anything knowingly that would make innocent
people suffer and die unnecessarily. Such a leader is characterized by several spiritually
oriented qualities and is referred by people in general as being humble, modest,
determined, trustworthy, reliable and truthful, in addition to other positive and
constructive qualities.
People from very walk of life and profession speak well of him and they all feel sure
that he has been a blessing to the nation and the rest of the world. A courageous political
leader is referred to as a statesman who puts toppriority on the vital needs of people
everywhere related to health care, environmental protection, education and human rights.
Such a beloved leader rejects the eye-for-an-eye and the tooth-for-a-tooth philosophy. With
patience and perseverance, when things go wrong he would go in search of the source of
existing problems and then he would provide us with effective remedies or solutions.
When Nelson Mandela became the first Black President of the apartheid nation of South
Africa, the whole news media reporters were expecting from him some kind of revenge
against the previous minority government that put him unjustly in jail for 27 years. As we
recall, this minority government, for many decades, made the millions of Blacks in this
southern African country suffer so much. Blacks were humiliated by being deprived of a
good education, adequate health care, appropriate housing facilities, in addition to other
vital needs.
Courageous Leaders in Perspective
In his first speech to the nation as President, Nelson Mandela soon convinced the whole
world that he was an excellent and courageous political leader, a statesman in his own
right. When asked how he was going to deal with the former members of the minority
government for having oppressed the vast majority of Blacks for a long time, he replied
saying: “Let bygones be bygones. All the people in this nation are South Africans and we
need all to work together hand in hand to make South Africa a great, prosperous and
progressive nation.”
Nelson Mandela quickly convinced the world that he was a man of courage because he had
the ability to express in his speeches and actions love, compassion and care for all people
without exception. Of course, the world has been blessed with many courageous political
leaders whose ultimate goal was to do only what was positive and constructive in the best
interest of all people without exception. In fact, all people are members of one earthly
community.
Former President of Costa Rica Oscar Arias attributed the success of his nation to
his putting top priority on the health care, education and housing facilities for all the
people of his nation without any exception. He even succeeded to make Costa Rica having
the lowest infant mortality of any other nation in both North and South America. He
attributed the secret of his nation’s enormous recovery to the fact that he kept the nation
virtually demilitarized, with hardly any money at all “wasted on weapons and on the
military.”
Oscar Arias was a man of courage that admired immensely former U.S. President
Dwight Eisenhower who admonished the U.S. Congress during his farewell speech, saying:
“Remember that all people of all nations want peace, only their government wants war.”
And then he said to the members of the U.S. Congress: “Keep in mind that every dollar you
spend on the weapons and the military is a theft from the hungry and the poor.” Likewise,
Eisenhower was a courageous political leader because as a former U.S. military general he
knew well that in a war everyone is a loser, no one a winner.
Pope John Paul II was not only a religious leader but he was also a political leader.
As we know, the Vatican is a politically independent nation, which is viewed as the smallest
in the world and where the pope serves as the sovereign of this territory. He was, indeed, a
great political leader characterized by courage. In every word he uttered during his the 26
years of pontifical rule he proved to be a statesman, a courageous leader of all people
everywhere.
Characteristic of Courage
One cannot be viewed as a courageous leader unless his words and actions are
constantly geared toward the universal welfare of all people without exception. Hence, we
may understand why people of the caliber of Mother Teresa of Calcutta, Mahatma Gandhi
of India, the Dalai Lama of Tibet, Bishop Tutu of South Africa, and so many heads of state
of several countries, particularly the smaller ones, have been viewed as courageous simply
because they were concerned with the universal welfare of all people without exception.
What are the characteristics of courageous leaders in any sphere of society, be it
political, religious, you name it? They all want to pursue actions that are geared toward the
universal welfare of all people without exception that are not harmful to anyone not even to
one single person. Courageous leaders praise good actions and defend them even when
observed in the humble and unknown. At the same time, such courageous leaders condemn
evil actions even when stemming from people that occupy positions of high authority.
We are all familiar with the Master Teacher of Nazareth. He did not hesitate to
condemn the hypocrisy of the Pharisees who were viewed as leaders in those days. He did
not hesitate to condemn likewise and the evil intent of King Herod, whom he called “fox,”
which in today’s language could be translated as “son of a bitch.” In view of such
illustrations relative to courage and courageous leaders, we should now find it relatively
easy to recognize arrogance and arrogant leaders that are doing so much harm to the
world at large.
Since the heads of state seem to be in a position to wield plenty of power for the
better or the worse, we need to concentrate in our analysis on the political leaders of our
time. We need to use the brains that God gave us to make a value judgment free of any
indoctrination, manipulation and deceit. We need simply to ask ourselves: Are the actions
of this or that political leader being positive and constructive, that is, geared toward the
universal welfare of all people without exception? Or, do such actions reveal to be negative
and destructive that may lead to so much pain and suffering of innocent people in
particular?
We are all familiar with such names as Adolph Hitler, Mao Tze Tung, Vladimir
Lenin, Josef Stalin, Idi Amin, Augusto Pinochet, and Sese Seko Mobutu, in addition to
numerous others. What did these heads of state have in common? They were all arrogant
whose actions were constantly characterized by arrogance that made tens of thousands and
even millions of people suffer crucial pain, agony and death. Besides, they all had the guts
to view their phenomenal arrogance and vicious behavior in terms of “genuine courage” on
their part!
Comprehension of Arrogance
According to ascetical writers, courage is viewed to be one of the seven gifts of the
Holy Spirit. It is a divine element that the almighty and loving heavenly Father bestows on
His good and faithful children. on the other hand, arrogance is considered to be a satanic
device, which the devil uses as a successful instrument to inflict endless pain on millions of
people as to promote misery and death. Also, we learn from ascetical writers that the “devil
is the father of lies or of half-truths.” Hence, we may easily understand why those political
leaders who have proved to be fully arrogant talk constantly of their “courage” to take
bold (meaning “arrogant”) steps against the so called enemy.
For arrogant political leaders, the enemy is anyone who performs actions that are
not conducive to their evil and vicious intent. What is really sad here lies in the fact that, in
a number of instances, such arrogant political leaders manage to deceive many of their
listeners from every walk of life and profession. It is the sacrosanct duty of every citizen of
every nation to learn in distinguishing between courage and arrogance, between
courageous and arrogant political leaders. Educational, civic, humanitarian and religious
organizations, in addition to many others, ought to encourage the moral support of
courageous political leaders while, at the same time, they should discourage endorsement of
arrogant political leaders in anything they try to do.
Endorsement or rejection of political leaders ought never to be based on party
affiliation, religious creeds, background education, cultural link and the equivalent.
Endorsement or rejection of such political leaders ought to be based merely on “what” they
are doing in relation to the welfare of all people everywhere. Let us keep in mind that
actions speak louder than words. Hence, we are here faced with the importance of
analyzing their actions with such questions: Is what this political leader doing conducive to
the welfare of all people without exception? …. Or is it conducive to the welfare of some to
the exclusion of others? Are the means being used by such a political leader negative and
destructive or are they positive and constructive?
What is the eventual social philosophy of this political leader? Is it based on the
belief of the eye for an eye and the tooth for a tooth philosophy? Or is it based on
traditional assumption that one may catch more flies with honey? Is it based on the
conviction that all problems we encounter at the global level could be best solved through
the military and the waging of wars, through the manufacture of more devastating
weapons? Or is it based on the conviction that violence breeds more violence and that more
violence breeds more violence?
Supporting the Right Political Leader
If we were to support a political leader merely because he professes belief in God or
in some sacred book, we may likely regret it. We need to explore further elements. In his
behavior, does he act as though people of all nations were not necessarily children of the
same God? If that were to be the case, then we may conclude that he is obviously an
arrogant and dangerous person. one of the leading concerns today seems to be the Iraqi
war. In this regard, the American people should simply ask the following questions about
the caliber of their top political leader, the first U.S. president of the 21st century.
In accordance with the Geneva Convention, was the U.S. invasion of Iraq
justifiable? Were the reasons given for such an invasion that cost the destruction of the
infrastructure of the Iraqi community, the death of tens of thousands of innocent people
and the massacre and maiming of many young Americans appropriate? How does this U.S.
political leader view the continued manufacture of devastating weapons and the military?
Are they viewed as a sine qua non condition to get what he wants by hook or by crook?
Does he realize that the only road to peace would be through the development of an
international program of disarmament and arms control?
These questions may apply to all political leaders across every continent. Any
political leader that proves to be arrogant should be viewed as dangerous and we should
pray God for his replacement. Any political leader that proves to be courageous should be
viewed as beneficial. As we have seen earlier, the Master Teacher would never support an
arrogant political leader. In fact, this explains why the Master Teacher referred to the
arrogant political leader of his time, King Herod, by one strong word: fox, which translated
in today’s language, would be “son of a bitch.” It is very important for all people on earth
to have courageous top political leaders who spend all of their resources on the health care,
environmental protection, human rights and education of their people, while promoting an
international program of disarmament and arms control. Many problems would be solved
and the world would be much safer.