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Real Source of Major World Problems When people face a problem there are generally two ways that may be adopted to hopefully reach a successful outcome. One of these ways will enable us to solve the problem we face on a permanent basis, that is, in a way that such a problem will not likely to ever surface again. The other way, which seems to have been quite dominant in history to this very day, will enable us to bring the problem under control in a number of ways but never on a permanent basis. Two Distinct Approaches In order to comprehend the nature of these two approaches to the solution of a problem we come across, it would be better to start with the illustration of an example. Let us imagine there is a nice hall in town, which people tend to use every now and then to hold some special event. Just a few days before the event, some committee members visit this hall to make sure everything is in order and under control. They soon discover that there has been some water on the floor and the furniture was not in place. Needless to say, they proceed to dry the water away and put the furniture in order after which they return home satisfied looking anxiously forward for the projected event. The day before, they double-check the hall again and they find everything was in perfect order the way they had arranged it. However, they do discover some water scattered here and there on the floor. Of course, without hesitation they dried it up and everything was ready to go. In fact, the following day the event went smoothly and every participant was fully satisfied. This was one way of solving the problem on the spare of the moment. Unfortunately, this has been the dominant approach adopted throughout the centuries when quite a number of people were faced with a problem. They use methods that would solve the problem fast and smooth visibly on the surface for the specified time that was needed. In fact, other groups in the past that needed to use this same hall did experience the same problem and they all tended to adopt the same approach for a solution. The stated solution of the problem involved was based on an approach that would enable us to overcome the obstacle of water on the floor simply by wiping it out properly and effectively. If the problem we face anywhere in the world keeps on being repeated that would mean that we have to get to the source that causes such an involved problem to take place over and over again. Our first step is to think and meditate while raising to ourselves seriously the question: Where did such water come from in the first place? Was there any leak somewhere, like from a pipe or even the roof? Getting to the Source If, say, we find out the leak was in the roof, then we need to go on the top of the roof and cement the crack or small hole from where the water was coming. Once we block the very source of the problem, we may feel virtually certain that such a problem of finding water on the floor of the involved hall will not likely ever to be repeated again. This would be the best and most effective way to solve a problem on a permanent basis, no matter how long it may take us. As we may fully realize, our world is literally saturated with serious problems. There is surely one thing that all people from every walk of life and profession have strongly in common. No one would like to be confronted with problems of any kind whatsoever. Problems tend to create tension which may lead to high blood pressure. They tend to make us lose our inner joy and the full power of concentration when we are in the process of doing something that is especially positive and constructive. Besides, problems in general tend to be a nuisance, something that is generally undesirable. Some 2,500 years ago, Greek philosopher Socrates underlined the fact that we are capable of solving any problem in life we come across provided, he added, we take seriously the first step. What is the first step? He said this would be to bring the problem into the open for everyone to see because, he continued, unless people are aware of the existence of a problem they will do nothing to bring it under control. History has shown that when people become aware of a serious problem, they would do anything to solve it fearlessly. However, he stressed, once the people become aware of the existence of a problem, they will immediately begin to figure out how such problem may eventually affect them. And once they see that with clarity action is immediately taken and the problem is solved. Since then, Socrates has been fully vindicated century after century with no exceptions whatsoever. It is good that we talk about problems and try to discuss them the best we can. Yet, if we do not take positive and constructive actions nothing should be expected to happen. If we were to visit every single major country in the world we would soon discover that people share similar problems, regardless of their background, nationality, cultural heritage, philosophical orientation and religious profession. And if we were to go to the very source of all major problems we would quickly see with crystal clarity that, on the whole, their respective government emerges to become the real source of all their headaches. This reason is very simple and fully clear. While the job of the government is to serve the people, in practice such a government makes it a point to boss the people around. Violence Replacing Diplomacy This governmental approach has been the source of enormous suffering that has resulted in so many people being poor and homeless as well as being deprived of adequate health care, if any at all. Besides, people are deprived ruthlessly from most of their sacrosanct human rights, which includes free education from the cradle to the grave. A government that provides such an element to its own people is enabling its nation to be fully developed as to become highly constructive in all national endeavors. People of all nations do not want their government to resort to wars to solve human differences. Yet, as we have witnessed in history, the people are fully ignored and wars are waged that always end up with tragic consequences. This means people are forced to experience unnecessarily that in a war everyone is a loser and no one is a winner. Today we have reached a point in history where conventional wars do not make sense any longer. It has been predicted that World War II might have been the last conventional war in human history. We all remember the so called 9/11 attack on New York and Washington, DC in 2001. The attackers did not represent any government. They consisted merely of 19 young men, mostly from Saudi Arabia, whose only major war equipment they carried consisted mostly of a few knives. These are described as terrorists who do not carry any badge or identification. On the other hand, the USA, which was trained in conventional wars, invaded Afghanistan and demolished the structure of cities while killing thousands of innocent people. As though this was not enough, the USA invaded Iraq under false pretences where tens of thousands of innocent people were massacred, in addition to causing some 2 million refugees, while creating thousands of orphans. Nowadays the real enemy consists merely of a handsome of young individuals who want to take matters in hand since they feel their respective government is eventually corrupt and cannot do things right for the people. The best way to deal with future enemies of this type is through education. Let us here bring to our mind the preamble of UNESCO, which states: Since wars being in the minds of men it is in the minds of men that the defenses of peace must be constructed. Of course, we cannot expect to solve the manifold problems we face overnight. We have to educate a new generation that views the entire world as its “native-land,” as Roman philosopher Seneca advocated in the first century. In fact he insisted saying: We will have a permanent world peace when we educate all of our children to look at the world and say: ‘Omnis orbs terrarium patria mea est – the whole world is my native land.’ Importance of Global Community Since Seneca made such a statement, 2,000 years have passed and there has never been a sizeable period of world peace. All of these 20 centuries that passed since then have been characterized by struggles and wars that inflicted suffering and death on several millions of innocent people. Confronted with this reality we should not be discouraged. We still have a chance, an opportunity to turn things around fast and smooth to the best we can. Recent events across the USA and other countries have been a gigantic step in the right direction. We are referring here to the “occupy” peaceful protests where highly concerned citizens demonstrate in front of governmental buildings as well as in squares and parks. People want to show that the time for continued suppression of their sacrosanct human rights is over. If we were to make a careful study of the human rights in virtually every major country we would soon discover that there is hardly one nation in the world that literally respects human rights, not just on the surface by words but especially in practice as evidenced in actions. Ironically, the United States is perhaps the most vocal country in the world that condemns violations of human rights as they occur from time to time. This is good and quite encouraging. The only tragedy we witness here lies in the fact that in its own territory, the USA does not practice what it preaches to others. For example, the USA was quick to condemn the brutal ways that were used recently in such countries as Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and Syria against young people who protested peacefully the tyranny they have experienced for years. When recently American young men and women demonstrated in New York and other cities to protest the way the poor and the middle class were exploited by US corporations, hundreds of police dressed with helmets and full military equipment went to confront these peaceful demonstrators. They went like they were soldiers going after their enemies to destroy them if that were needed. In fact, they hand-cuffed and arrested several of them without mercy. They also sprayed pepper on them that some of them could hardly see. When students in California gathered peacefully to protest the exorbitant fees increase of their university that would make it literally impossible to finish their studies, hundreds of police went to confront them dressed in helmets like they constituted a part of the military. These police, directed by local government officials, used violence against these innocent and harmless students that injured quite a number of them. These American police were no more or less brutal than the police in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, and Syria in addition to a few other countries that we witnessed in recent times. Safeguard of Human Rights While the US government condemns the brutalities of police against peaceful demonstrators in other countries, it condones and even instigates such police brutalities against peaceful demonstrators in its own territory. The sole purpose of the United States to have hundreds of military bases around the world is not to bring freedom and democracy to other nations. All these elements serve merely as instruments for the USA to police the whole world and to control it in any way possible. As stated earlier, the job of the government is to serve the people and not to boss them around. To this end, the government must listen periodically to what the people have to say especially relative to their imminent vital needs. One of the best documents on human rights is the United Nations Charter on Human Rights. In spite of this, there is hardly any country that observes fully well this well-written and inspired charter. Let us quote a few examples for us to realize what has been stated with great clarity. In accordance with this UN document, all human beings have a sacrosanct right to move around freely anywhere they wish in the world. Yet, a number of governments, the USA included, prevent their people from visiting a number of countries. For example, Americans are not allowed to visit Cuba, their peaceful neighbor and quite a few other countries. By way of contrast, Canadians are not prohibited by their government to visit any nation of their choice. Needless to say, when people travel they need to have some kind of identification. The most common identification that has been used for centuries is known as the passport. In spite of this, for many countries, a valid passport is not enough. Unless they issue you with the so called “visa” you are not free to visit your chosen nation even if you have many friends there. If this were a matter of routine or a means of making an extra income, since one has to pay a fee to secure the visa, then perhaps we may close our eyes. But in a number of instances, the visa is mysteriously denied. We are especially referring to the refusal of issuing a visa to teachers whose sole purpose to travel is to participate in an international academic conference or even a global peace convention. These are all governmental blatant violations of human rights. It would be appropriate if we were to make serious studies relative to what motivates governments to violate constantly and systematically the human rights of so many people in general. Among possible reasons we may enlist ignorance, indifference, paranoia, irresponsibility, prejudice, stubbornness, machismo, stupidity and abuse, in addition to others. Eventual Control of World Problems The tremendous violations of human rights we witness periodically in the world at large are too many to enumerate. However, it would be appropriate if we were to study the violations of human rights in every single country while trying to pin point with clarity their very source so that we may go after it and block it for good. Since power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely, we cannot have the same people in government for the rest of their lives. We have to devise a plan to have people in government for only a fixed time. This is important because even if those in government happen to be good people initially, they will eventually, sooner or later, begin to demonstrate the symptoms of eventual corruption as time rolls on. Let us also keep in mind what Blessed Pope John Paul II said in Mexico during the decade of the eighties when asked as to whether he thought world peace was possible. He said: Yes but only after two great evils of the 20th century are gone: communism and capitalism, because they both advance their causes through the exploitation of people. Some leading political scientists tell us that if we were to eliminate all of the evil of communism and capitalism and try to preserve anything good we may possibly find in these two systems, we may hopefully create a viable and desirable government for all people to have and to cherish. This would involve the election of all governmental officials where the news media will bring systematic news about all those running for office free-of-charge. This would also involve that all people will have free health care and free education for life. After all, the people are the backbone of the nation. If they are healthy and well educated we will surely have a strong nation. If people are unhealthy and barely educated then we will have a weak nation. This type of government may be referred to by a number of names including such names as social democracy or democratic socialism. This will certainly bring to an end the monopoly that that big corporations have on government officials whose job nowadays ceased to serve the people but to boss them around. 08/12/2011
Peace Education: Source of National Unity and Global Harmony The Webster Dictionary of the English Language describes peace as a “state of tranquility; freedom from war; cessation of hostilities; and harmony.” In a peaceful community, we notice a great serenity radiating in the hearts of its members. Genuine peace emanates from the inside. It is implanted in the mind and heart of every human being from the moment of birth. Our job is to pull this element out from the inside as to share it with others. Educational Process in Perspective Considering that the world is confronted with a multitude of problems, the development and preservation of peace requires an educational process that is meant to enrich our lives. This would enable us to use our human potential more effectively as to become a part of a harmonious global community. The source of happiness in life is harmony. The car we drive moves smoothly if the four tires have an equal amount of air. If not, we may not have a pleasant trip. Peace education consists in enabling people to lead a happy life through the development of their human resources for constructive purposes. The traditional saying has been: “Make someone happy and you will be happy too.” The development and achievement of peace and harmony creates for us a win-win situation. That means everyone is a winner and no one a loser. A careful study of history demonstrates that in struggles and wars everyone is a loser and no one a winner. These negative elements always lead to lose-lose situation. We all recall the outcome of World War II. The Germans lost the war and their economy collapsed and people were poor everywhere. Most of their houses were destroyed as well as most of their medical and school facilities. On the other hand, the British won the war and their economy equally collapsed and people were poor everywhere. Not only so, but in spite of winning the war, the British Empire disintegrated and collapsed! When the various members of our body are in good shape, they all work together in harmony and we do feel comfortable and healthy as a result. When one or more of such members ceases to be in good shape, then we develop what may be termed to be a health problem of some kind. This may lead to a lot of inconvenience, especially if we start feeling pain of one kind or another. When the people of a nation work together toward the achievement of a common goal, we notice dedication and cooperation, which soon bring about harmony. On Creating our Own Destiny We are all familiar with the traditional saying: What goes around comes around. When we provide others with benefits of any kind, soon we will find ourselves surrounded with plenty of blessings, even much more than expected. If we were to analyze carefully all human conflicts that developed over the past 6,000 years of recorded history, we would soon discover that, quite often, the source of such problems could always be traced to some governmental sources. When the Soviet Union collapsed, many took a sigh of relief. They believed world peace was just around the corner. In fact, many talked of the so called “peace dividend,” little they knew that the weapons industry and the military industrial complex were determined not go out of business. Hence, mafia type of groups spread all over the world to create conflicts without limit, most of which resulted in civil wars. This, they firmly believed, would justify the continued manufacture and sales of endless weapons. Some members of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) have attested to this in books they wrote after they decided to leave it. The US military would intervene in any country where the natives elected democratically a government that was not pleasing to the USA. To quote one instance, when the people of Chile elected Salvatore Allende, who promised the people free health care and free education to all citizens along with adequate residential facilities for the homeless, the USA labeled him as a socialist and vouched that he should go. And we know the rest of the story. The CIA intervened afterwards and had him killed! We have witnessed here that for the USA, peace consists of its imposition on other countries in a way that US big business is enabled to confiscate good resources, even to the detriment of the native population. This explains why the saintly Pope John Paul II said in Mexico during the decade of the eighties: “World peace is possible and it will eventually come but only after two of the greatest evils of the 20th century are gone – communism and capitalism, because they both achieve their objectives through the exploitation of people.” Peace Education provides us with the solution of all problems that stem mostly from political corruption. This explains the well know saying: “Money talks,” which explains the story of briberies that take place behind closed doors. We can never have national unity if our politicians continue to promote the welfare of some to the exclusion of that of others. This explains why in the sphere of character and personality we are literally creating monsters that prove to be so brutal and vicious. Our secret of success lies in our faith in righteousness and in our hope that the good we genuinely seek will eventually triumph. Importance of Global Harmony All people of all nations are like the various part of our body. When every single part of our body works in cooperation with the other members of the body, everything moves smoothly. We enjoy life and all those around us are bound to benefit. However, when segments of our body become sick, cease to work constructively together, then we experience the creation of surmountable problems. This explains why obstacles created in our global community may go out of control in a way that may lead to surmountable suffering unnecessarily. Speaking on the art of happiness, some ascetical writers tell us that it does not take us much to achieve joy in our heart. If we treat others well, we will be treated likewise to our eventual joy. This is what global harmony is all about. We need to help others to the best of our ability in order to lead a life of perfect fulfillment. The focus of peace education should always be on making all people, from every walk of life and profession working together harmoniously. One Canadian Jesuit priest once exhorted his students saying: “When you pray keep in mind that everything depends on God; without Him you are incapable of doing anything. However, when then you leave the scene of prayer and go to work, keep in mind that everything depends on you; without you the Almighty God feels powerless and cannot achieve anything unless you make constructive contributions to the best you can in your life’s mission.” In recent decades the tendency among some of the leading governments has been to prepare for war as a means to achieve peace! This philosophy constitutes a contradiction since war always consists of violence. We do know that violence breeds violence and more violence breeds more violence. Wars do not have anything constructive to offer. They are always meant to really destroy the infrastructure of cities and kill millions of people mercilessly most of whom are women, children the elderly and the sick. The major focus of peace education should always be love and service to all people without exception. This will bring us to national unity and global harmony. Charles Mercieca,
Beyond Global Crisis: Reflections by Terrence Edward Paupp One of our greatest academic leaders is Terrence Edward Paupp, former US National Chancellor of the International Association of Educators for World Peace. He is now the Vice President of North America. Since 2005 he wrote quite a few articles and books to reach many people working together on issues related to global peace. He wrote four major books, the last one being Beyond Global Crisis: Remedies and Roadmaps by Daisaku Ikeda and his Contemporaries. World Peace in Perspective Daisaku Ikeda, who is a prolific writer, is currently head of Soka Gakkai International (SGI), which is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. His well-known peace philosophy has attracted numerous followers who are now scattered across the world. For Ikeda, the first gigantic step toward the creation of a global civilization starts with our transformed inner self that enables us to seek for the solution of all problems through healthy dialogues. When we consider that millions around the world share already this same vision, we should feel encouraged because that means we do still have hope. An examination is made in this regard of all major events that developed in our earthly community since World War II ended in 1945. What kind of lessons did we learn over the past 65 years? Many books were written to this end and they all demonstrate, like Pope Pius XII said to Great Britain and Germany on the eve of World War II, that “in a war everyone is a loser and no one is a winner.” Paupp’s current book speaks on virtually every single conflict that emerged, while demonstrating the lack of wisdom and serious consequences that developed from every war that took place since 1945. Some of the leading nations, headed by the United States, have embarked on a continuous military build-up while they have developed devastating weapons that are meant to lead eventually the entire world into Armageddon. In the initial part of this book under discussion, Paupp concentrates on Ikeda’s vision for the realization of global civilization. This noble dream will eventually materialize after we start viewing each other as members of one big family living in the same planetary environment. Ikeda was born and raised in Buddhism, a religion that teaches detachment from the material things of this world. This means that we should elevate our spirit to a higher level of existence where our character and personality become our distinctive characteristics. Culture of War in Operation If we were to give a rapid glance over the history of the last 6,000 years of civilization we would discover that the nations of the world as a whole were characterized by violence. In other words, we are born and raised in a culture of war. In spite of this, people in general are literally sick of wars. They just want to live at peace, the only true element that gives them genuine security. They really yearn to see the very concept of war completely obliterated. With this in mind, former US President Dwight D. Eisenhower, in his farewell speech to the US Congress, he said very emphatically: “Remember that all people of all nations really want peace, only their government wants war.” And then he added saying: “Remember also that every dollar you spend on weapons and wars is a theft from the hungry and the poor.” Unfortunately, since the United States seems to be thoroughly addicted to war, these inspiring words of such a highly concerned US President have been ignored to this very day. However, we should never give up hope. Ascetical writers tell us that the greatest mistake we can make is to give up hope. If we continue to do our best to create a peaceful world, at a time least expected God will intervene and will finish the job for us very successfully. We need to analyze problems we encounter carefully and then raise questions fearlessly. For example, the United States revealed to be very sensitive when the Soviet Union put missiles in Cuba, located a few miles away from the USA. At the same time, this same world power revealed no sensitivity at all for Russia when it put missiles in Poland, a few miles away from the Russian border. Also, the USA revealed no sensitivity at all toward Venezuela when it put missiles in Colombia, a few miles away from the Venezuelan border. Peace can never be achieved through threats, under no circumstance whatsoever. Today, more than ever, the world has become increasingly interdependent. We all became to each other like the various parts of our body. The legs carry us from one place to another. The hands secure for us nourishing things to eat. The heart keeps our blood circulating, and so on and so forth. One of the best documents ever provided to our earthly community is the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights. In spite of the fact that this document was signed by every single nation on earth, there seems to be not one country anywhere that observes of all the enlisted rights. This explains why the entire world is saturated with so many problems. Daisaku Ikeda wanted to do something constructive in this regard, as revealed in his writings. This was the challenge that Terrence Edward Paupp felt he should take, namely, to bring to our attention the inspiration and wisdom of this Japanese man of vision. Turning a Crisis into a Good Opportunity One of Ikeda’s secret is revealed in his ability to turn a crisis into a good opportunity. Out of the nuclear devastation of Nagasaki and Hiroshima in World War II, Ikeda moved forward to make sure this tragic event would never be repeated again anywhere in the world. In order for us to develop world peace through harmony we must, in the first place, establish global justice. All humans share the same identical nature and the same identical needs. Hence, they all have a right to be protected from any harm whatsoever. In the educational process of our schools, we should clearly understand the mind-set of people everywhere both collectively and individually. That’s where our real challenge is in our effort to foster peace through global harmony on a permanent basis. The strength of people cannot be measured in terms of weapons and military equipment. It can only be measured through a total understanding of their character and personality. This would be our first gigantic step to move from the culture of violence to the culture of peace. History taught us that a nation that tries to control others does so because of imperialistic tendencies that seem to have gone beyond control. Today the United States has emerged to become the sole world power, as revealed in its hundreds of military bases spread across the world. As a capitalistic nation, the United States is controlled by big corporations which finance the election of all major political figures. This explains why the US government often takes actions in favor of big industries, even when they are detrimental to the people. Under President John F. Kennedy, the United States was really seeking ways to bring about a genuine world peace where everyone would be winner and no one a loser. This was viewed by scholars everywhere as a “win-win” situation. His brother, New York Senator Robert F. Kennedy worked hard to help create a new global order that was characterized by genuine peace. Very sadly, both of them were killed by evil forces. Since that time, every US President relied heavily on weapons and wars supposedly to bring about peace! If we were to study of the history of religions that developed over the past 6,000 years of recorded civilization, we would discover that Buddhism hardly ever resorted to violence to solve human conflicts. This may be due to the fact that this religion advocates detachment from the material things of this world. Hence, greed, which often leads to struggles and conflicts, is conspicuously absent. Ikeda, in his quest for world peace has often resorted to the effective peaceful teachings of such a religion, which was initiated by Lord Buddha. Importance of Courage and Perseverance Courage to do what needs to be done in the best interest of all people without exception, along with a determination to persevere in this effort, remains the best option to replace hatred with love, selfishness with generosity, and violence with harmony. The difference between good and bad politicians lies here. The good ones concentrate on what people have in common and utilize this medium to solve differences and develop mutual respect. This approach instills trust. The bad ones tend to concentrate on what people do not have in common and view this as a threat and an excuse to promote struggles and wars. The culture of pluralism is a reality which we cannot deny. We need all to learn about our respective cultures and proceed to respect them. Before we know it we will be on the way of establishing global harmony. Non-interference in the internal affairs of others remains a sine qua non condition to go beyond the global crises we have been facing over so many years. Needless to say, regardless of the form of government a nation may choose, it remains a fact that respect for human rights remains indispensable. In spite of its handicaps, the United Nations remains the single entity in the world capable to bringing about harmony and peace. We need always to support it and to help improving it. This could be relatively easy if we were to replace pride with humility, egoism with altruism, dominance with service. Speaking of world peace 42 A.D., Roman philosopher Seneca said: “We will have world peace after we educate our children to look at the whole world and say: Omnis orbs terrarium, patria mea est – The whole world is my country.” For the past 2,000 years we have never tried to implement seriously in our schools everywhere this philosophy. And we know the rest of the story. We have never succeeded to bring about a genuine world peace that is characterized by harmony. The rich of the world should do something that was done in Venezuela under Hugo Chavez, namely, to voluntarily give most of their wealth to the poor. Such wealth could be used to provide land with built housing facilities and with good ground where people could plant their own food. Daisaku Ikeda firmly believes that there are three gigantic steps that need to be taken to hasten the achievement of a world-wide peace. These are nuclear disarmament, improved and reformed United Nations, and the strengthening of an international criminal court. Once these three elements are achieved world peace prospects should appear on the horizon. In view of this we need to keep in mind that violence breeds violence and more violence breeds more violence. The military by, its very nature, exists to wage wars and to control people by fear. Creating a New Mind-Set Relative to disarmament we may raise the following question to ourselves: If a group of 5,000 people are in an auditorium watching a stage show, what makes each one of them feel more secure, if they all carry loaded guns or if none of them carry no guns at all? Those nations that continue to arm other nations are guaranteeing the perpetual promotion of struggles and wars with all the tragic consequences. Disarmament should be taken seriously and put into operation, the sooner the better. This would create for all nations a win-win situation. When the United Nations was established in 1945, it started on the right track. It was meant to prevent the possibility of a future World War III which would be more devastating, since this would be very likely a nuclear one. In the process, a number of world leaders began to become corrupted ending up doing more what benefitted them personally than what would have benefited their own people. The United Nations Security Council consisting of five permanent members in addition to others that rotate every two years became a problem. Over the last 60 years we always had one of more of these five permanent members exercising their right to veto anything that is not conducive to their liking. These five permanent members, above all the USA, always tended to keep the entire United Nations as hostage. Hence, they weakened this body of nations conspicuously, which explains why so many problems in the world, that could have been solved long time ago, are still among us. The veto power should be eliminated and all nations should be treated decently on the same level. The International Court of Justice needs to be strengthened in a way that all those in the world that violate seriously human rights should be held fully accountable. Some nations, especially the USA, follow the directives of the International Court of Justice only if they agree. No one in this world should be exempt from the commission of crimes. The UN Charter on Human Rights remains the best charter ever written to safeguard the dignity of human beings. Ironically, there seems to be not one country in the world that observes fully the content of this providential charter. It is a fact that human beings are the most important elements in the entire planet. Things are bound to improve and move forward in proportion to the kind of health people enjoy, the kind of education people acquire, and the kind of living facilities they have. These are viewed as vital and indispensable elements and every government has a sacrosanct obligation to see to it that people are provided with these necessities of life. A government cannot abandon these responsibilities by passing them to what is termed to be the private sector. Environmental Protection Since all people need clean air to breathe and pure water to drink, a government has the obligation not to allow any industry abuse these two vital elements be tampered with. When a nation has very rich people and very poor ones, there must be something wrong going on in managerial government. When US politicians advocate saying: “Let’s get the government off the back of the people,” we have to explore in what way and under what circumstances. In personal private affairs, the answer would be yes. However, when it comes to health, education and residential facilities the answer would be no. In these three vital areas, the private sector, especially in a capitalistic society, would serve to literally exploit the people by fleecing them out of all the money they could. It explains why the priority of big corporation is always to find ways in how to control the government of any kind with iron fist. In the USA, for example, the weapons industry and the military industrial complex have emerged as a very lucrative business. In this regard, we may understand and fully realize why the USA, in the midst of its financial crises, it tries to cut systematically money from the vital needs of the people, like health care, education and residential equipment. At the same time, the US government continues to waste billions of dollars on a daily basis on foreign military bases as well as on more struggles and wars around the world. This trend has forced tens of millions of people around the world to view the USA as dangerous, as a real enemy. In our earthly community we do have both good and bad governments. Such governments are judged not by what the heads of state say, but rather by what they eventually do. When the vast majority of the national budget is invested on the vital needs of the people, such as health, education and homes, then we know there is a good government. But when top priority of the national budget is put on weapons and military equipment, then we know the people of such a nation must be faced with exorbitant problems. They are bound to suffer from every aspect one can imagine, like today with the US people in general. Here are Paupp’s major four books that may be secured from Amazon or Barnes & Noble. The four articles that follow are secured from tpaupp@aol.com Achieving Inclusionary Governance: Advancing Peace and Development in First and Third World Nations, Transnational Publishers, New York, 2000 Exodus from Empire: The Fall of America’s Empire and the Rise of the Global Community, Pluto Press, London, 2007 The Future of Global Relations: Crumbling Walls, Rising Regions, Palgrave-Macmillan, New York, 2009 Beyond Global Crisis: Remedies and Roadmaps by Daisaku Ikeda and his Contemporaries, Palgrave-Macmillan, New York, 2011 The Revolutionary Core of Liberation Theology: The Union of Faith and Ideology in the Works of Hugo Assmann and Juan Luis Suguendo. Between Arrows and the Olive Branch: The Tortured Path of War Powers Resolution in the Reagan Years. As Legacy, As Vision: Charting the Implications of Urban-Race-Poverty Nexus in the Thought of Robert F. Kennedy. The Nuclear Crucible: The Moral and International Law Implications of Weapons of Mass Destruction. Of course, since this latest book of Terrence Edward Paupp, Beyond Global Crises is based on some of the leading publications of Daisaku Ikeda, it would be appropriate for those interested in global issues to read some of his books. One leading concern of Ikeda in bringing about a permanent world peace lies in his struggle to restructure international politics. In this venture, many scholars have demonstrated their full support. For Ikeda the basic values of all people may be enlisted as humanity, reciprocity, and respect for life, non-violence, equality, solidarity, justice, tolerance, truthfulness, and partnership. All people need to view themselves the way they are, that is, members of one same global community. When one single individual hurts, the whole world, sooner or later is bound to share in this pain. Each time we perform beneficial actions, numerous others will definitely benefit as a result. So, by doing good we always end up to be a win-win situation. To bring about a permanent world peace we must change the purpose of the military, from an element of destruction to one of construction. Military bases need to pass into the hands of humanitarian groups. Warships should become floating hospitals for remote nations to alleviate their pain and suffering. World peace is a reality that we can achieve. There have already been many pioneers in this area. We need to continue their work to achieve our noble goal: world peace. Charles Mercieca, Ph.D.
Ethics in Business Education If we were to give a rapid glance at the last 6,000 years of recorded history, we would soon discover that most problems in the world stem from the government. Needless to say, the source of such problems may vary from one country to another. The most common one could be easily traced to questionable behavior in business transactions. This is due to power-abuse in the deliberate exploitation of people. We need to keep in mind here that the end does not necessarily justify the means. In other words, we cannot succeed in life through fraud and manipulation. Integrity of Character We are all familiar with such traditional sayings as: (a) honesty is the best policy, (b) the art of living is the art of giving, and (c) you reap what you plant. In all of our business dealings, integrity of character becomes an indispensable element in human relations. In this regard, egoism needs to be replaced by altruism, hatred by love, arrogance by modesty, pride by humility and anger by patience. Above all, trust must become a vital element, which is indispensable for the achievement of our common goals and objectives. Such evidenced virtues were the source of power and strength of some of the major religious leaders in the world from Confucius down to Jesus of Nazareth all the way to Francis of Assisi, Mahatma Gandhi, Mother Teresa, Pope John Paul II and the list goes on and on. The presence of these deeply spiritual individuals made a difference. Because of them we have today a better world in spite of the manifold problems it still faces. Doing to others what we would like others to do to us, remains the way to go by all means and with no exceptions whatsoever. Ethics deals with morality, that is, with human behavior. It is something that can be taught in schools at all levels of education through the development of virtues that would enable one`s character and personality to be pleasant, positive and constructive. When we feel at ease with those around us we are more likely to perform better. In this regard, we become visibly more successful to the satisfaction of everyone involved and concerned. Let us keep in mind that we live in the kind of world that we create by our actions. In other words, we reap what we plant, nothing less and nothing more. A former president of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor once made the following remark: “What are our universities doing? Some of the most sophisticated crimes in the nation are committed by former students of ours who graduated with flying colors, summa cum laude!” This remark was based on the fact that while our institutions of learning provide our students with knowledge, they fail to provide them with the responsibility to use such acquired knowledge in a positive and constructive manner. This means the present academic approach needs a lot of improvement. Setting Good Example Instructors in the schools of business have to keep in mind that their first duty is to set a good example for their students. They cannot exhort students to be honest in their business transactions while they themselves practice dishonesty through manipulation and fraud. A careful study of quite a few big corporations vindicates precisely what is being stated over here. For example, the weapons industry has emerged to become a very lucrative business. This is revealed in the fact that such an industry is ready to sell its lethal product to anyone that gives the right price. It makes no difference if those who want to purchase such disastrous product happen to be friends or enemies. It really does not matter for the weapons industry if those to whom they sell weapons would decide to use them afterwards for defensive or offensive purposes. The primary purpose of such an industry is not to create a safer world, as it proclaims, but to make plenty of money and to make it fast, even if the world were to be literally annihilated as a result. This demonstrates clearly that those in the management of such an industry do not have any sense of responsibility due perhaps to lack of ethical knowledge in their business education. Let us keep in mind that people are more important than money. In fact, if we were to have a world with people but with no money, everything would still move forward. People may still grow their food and build adequate houses where they can live. They may still get a good education as to develop better knowledge in the way they could make their life more beneficial and constructive. However, if we were to have all the money in the world with no people, all such money may be viewed merely as toilet paper that is totally worthless for all practical purposes. When during the decade of the eighties Pope John Paul II was asked in Mexico as to whether he thought world peace was possible, he stated the following: “Yes, world peace is possible but only after two of the greatest evils of the 20th century are gone.” After a brief pause he added saying: “These two great evils are communism and capitalism because they both advance their cause through the exploitation of people.” Three years later communism collapsed and the world took a sigh of relief, thinking that now money would be spent for only constructive purposes. Instead of having capitalism taking the lead to solve all vital human problems as to bring about permanent world peace, it embarked upon the largest military build-up in history. The weapons industry was adamantly determined not to go out of business. So, numerous weapons were furnished in countries with inner conflicts that led to civil wars, like we had with the case of Uganda, to mention one instant. This demonstrates clearly that the very concept of ethics in the business education of those involved in the transaction of such lethal products was conspicuously absent. The harm we are inflicting in the world at large is beginning to get out of control. Our Moral Obligations We are all familiar with the saying: “Better late than never.” We can still take the initiative to take over where the schools left off. This means we need to bring into the open the concept of business ethics as to have it implemented by all means available at our disposal. Anything we do in life, which is geared toward violating the divine positive law and the natural law, should be strongly opposed through all the peaceful means we have at our disposal. Such violations are revealed in the destruction of human lives and the annihilation of the infrastructure of cities. Let us keep in mind the saying: “When there is a will there is a way.” When we deal with business education we are not merely dealing with that kind of education that students normally are expected to get in schools. We are dealing with all those sources that have the potential to covey principles of good ethics in business transactions of any kind. Hence, if we feel we are well versed in ethics then we should feel the obligation to provide guidelines when needed. We also should make it a point to bring into the open all moral abuses that are being taken for granted. Hence, ethics in business education is to be taken in a broad sense. Just because the school from which we graduated did not offer a good program in business ethics, it does not mean that we are free to do anything that crosses our mind as long as that would lead to the eventual achievement of our goals and objectives. It’s better to make, say, $100,000 a year with honesty than $10 million a year with dishonesty. The first case will provide us with a good conscience and feeling of happiness while the second case will instill in us a bad conscience and a feeling of remorse and eventual unhappiness. Happiness is something that comes from the inside of our being and it generally stems from the good and beneficial actions we perform. In essence, it is not linked with the material things of this world. This explains why we have so many people that have hardly the basic necessities of life and they are happy, while we have many people who are rich but feel rather desperate to the point, in a number of instances, of committing suicide. It explains why we had great people in history who were rich and gave everything they had to the poor to lead a very simplistic life. The history of the world may be described as the history of human actions. When such actions are beneficial everyone ends up a winner. But when such actions are disastrous everyone ends up a loser. People are entitled to help even if they were to refuse it. At least we should do our best to give them the inspiration they need as to perform constructive actions that are beneficial not only to themselves but also to people elsewhere as well. The concept of ethics is not restricted to one person or to one group but to all people without exception. Making Constructive Judgments To this end, we should develop a strategy to convince those who work for the manufacture of lethal products to quit their jobs and to work, instead, for companies that produce beneficial products. Our job is merely to enlighten them to see things into true perspective before they may possibly have any regrets. When we speak of lethal products we are talking of a variety of items that would include water and air pollution that over the years have inflicted millions of people with cancer of some sort and led many of them to their grave at a faster pace than anticipated. At this stage of history there seems to be a dire need to reform the teaching/learning process as to make it more meaningful and beneficial. Rather than teaching a subject area as an end in itself, instructors should teach their respective subject areas as a means to a further end. This would be revealed in the students’ ability to use anything learned in school for positive and constructive purposes. One of the best contributions we can possibly make to our earthly community is to provide every human being with the ability to develop one’s potential to the maximum. At the same time, we need to help all human beings to use the maximum of their potential to contribute toward the creation of a better and safer world. We need to bring into the open the viciousness of the Machiavellian dictum: “The end justifies the means.” By the way, this dictum has become the law of the mafia who try to get what they want even if they were to have a number of innocent people killed. Since everything we do in life may be viewed as business, including teaching, the concept of good ethics needs to be taught in every subject area. Let us illustrate this by a couple of examples. Suppose we are assigned to teach history. It is not enough for the teacher to teach accurate historical facts. The teacher needs to go a step further and discuss with the students what could be done that we may avoid in the future the repetition of such a historical war or disaster. Hence, from the knowledge of history the students may feel the obligation to become directly involved in creating a better and safer world. The development of a conscience in the students as to feel the moral obligation to become involved in society constitutes an integral part of business ethics in the teaching of history. Suppose we are now assigned to teach geography. It is not enough for the teacher to show a good map of the world with its oceans, continents and countries within each of such continents. The teacher needs to go a step further to demonstrate to the students how the boundaries of nations change from time to time. For example, before World War II, west Poland was a part of Germany and people there spoke German. Then it became a part of Poland and, while the people there still spoke German, they became officially Polish who now travel with a Polish passport. Priority in Human Relations The teacher here may raise to the students the following question: “Does it make sense for the world to refer to these people as Polish when they are essentially Germans?” Then the teacher may proceed to show how it would make more sense to speak of people in terms of their character and personality and in terms of what they can contribute to society than simply in terms of being Germans, French, Chinese, Polish or Russian. After all, the concept of ethics is linked to human actions and not to people’s nationality. If we were to explore the nature of government of many countries in the world, we are likely to find out corruption a major factor. And if we were to study the major source of such corruption, it almost boils down to money, which is said to “buy” power. This is best understood when one studies the United States political system. In theory we have a nation of democracy but in practice we have a nation of plutocracy. For anyone to be elected, one must have plenty of money to reach millions of people through proper advertisements. Once the individuals are elected mostly with corporate money, then their primary job is to boost the product of the corporations that financed their campaign, even though such product may prove to be a detriment to the people that voted to elect such officials. Here the American people witness corruption at work that comes from a conspicuous absence of ethics in the way business is conducted. The past is gone and we have no longer control over it. The present is in a state of transition. Our hope is to get good hold of the future relative to the knowledge and implementation of ethics in business education across every academic sector of each school. In view of what has been stated, it is obvious that we cannot take lightly the role ethics plays in business education. As a matter of fact, it is a vital element in the various branches of academics as far as our ability to create a better and more stable community is concerned. If the members of every government were to conduct their job on ethically sound principles, the concept of struggles and wars, would become a thing of the past. Prosperity would flourish and people everywhere would be given the opportunity to make constructive contributions to society on a habitual basis. Charles Mercieca, Ph.D.
The Golden Rule: Basic Link of all Religions If we were to take a world-wide tour and visit the religious practices of natives across every continent, we would discover a great variety of beliefs and ways of spiritual behavior as a result. Some of them are centered on the belief of one God, the source of anything that exists, while others tend to concentrate more on a variety of sources that work together for the common good. However, in spite of all this they all have one strong thing in common that is known everywhere as the Golden Rule. Meaning and Purpose The Golden Rule concentrates on vital human relations that are mutually beneficial in spite of numerous diversities that may exist as a matter of fact. It deals with love and respect for our neighbor, that is, for every other human being in our community, the nation and eventually the whole world. In Christianity, for example, we find Jesus saying in the New Testament: “Do to others what you would like others to do to you.” This has become a distinctive characteristic of Christianity, which is found in virtually every country around the world. In Islam we discover Prophet Muhammad saying in the Hadith: “Wish for others what you wish for yourself.” A true believer is viewed to be one who is genuinely concerned with the welfare of all other people without exception. In Judaism we learn from Hillel in the Talmud: “What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbor.” This is considered as the essence of the whole Torah, all the rest is viewed merely as commentary. In Buddhism we hear Buddha stating in Udana-Varga: Treat not others in ways that you yourself would find hurtful.” In Hinduism we notice in Mahabharata the statement: “Do not do to others what would cause pain if done to you.” This is viewed as the sum of duty from which no one can escape. In Confucianism we read in the Analects what Confucius has stressed to all of his followers: “Do not do to others what you do not want done to yourself. “ To this end this religious leader advocated good conduct revealed in loving-kindness. In Taoism, we hear Lao Tzu telling us in T’ai Shang Kam Ying P’ien: “Regard your neighbor’s gain as your own gain, and your neighbor’s loss as your own loss.” This means we should identify our neighbor as an integral part of ourselves. In Sikhism, Guru Granth Sahib expressed his basic message to those embracing this religion saying: “I am a stranger to no one; and no one is a stranger to me. Indeed, I am a friend to all.” This approach has proved to be a real source of peace. Common Denominator In the Baha’i Faith, Baha’u’llah underlines the importance of good human relations stating: “Lay not on any soul a load that you would not wish to be laid upon you, and desire not for anyone the things you would not desire for yourself.” In Jainism, in Sutrakritanga the basic teaching of this religion was expressed by Mahavira as follows: “One should treat all creatures in the world as one would like to be treated.” In Zoroastrianism we find in Shayast-na-Shayast the following important statement: “Do not do unto others whatever is injurious to yourself.” In Unitarianism, we notice the following basic principle of Unitarians: “We affirm and promote respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.” In Native Spirituality, as it is known, Chief Dan George affirms the belief of his religious group stating: “We are as much alive as we keep the earth alive.” This is based on the belief that for all people to live strong and healthy as well as happy we must protect our environment from air and water pollution. The quality of air and water we have does make a big difference. Needless to say, the list of various religions we have in the world may go on and on. Besides, each of the religions mentioned above has a lot of denominational groups or sects within it. In Christianity, for example, there is a big variety of such denominational groups, such as Orthodox Christians, Roman Catholics, Episcopalians, Presbyterians, Methodists and so on. Regardless of the various denominations or sects we find in each religion, the Golden Rule is always there, even though some adherents may tend to disregard it. The question that needs to be raised here is this: If every religion advocates love and respect for our neighbor, how come we have had and we still have so many struggles and wars, so much hatred and pain? This may be traced to greed, envy, power-abuse, ignorance, pride, mistrust, disrespect, hypocrisy, sadistic tendencies, and anything that is negative and destructive. Since the early days of civilization, the world has always been saturated with beneficial and vicious people who served as a benefit or a curse to our earthly community. For many centuries now, the dominant philosophy in human relations has been based radically on the culture of war. Needless to say, the governments of our respective nations must assume full responsibility for all the massacre and pain they caused to tens of millions of good and innocent people. They always resorted to secure the most sophisticated and devastating weapons to this end. Whether they admit it or not, their hearts were full of venom and hatred toward their fellow brethren whom God loved dearly as His own children. Let us keep in mind the proverb: You can catch more flies with honey. Retaliation as Self-Defeating Purpose We are all familiar with traditional sayings such as: What goes around comes around….. In a war everyone is a loser, no one a winner. In fact, at this stage of history, the traditional concept of conventional war, like we experienced in World War II, is no longer applicable. Today, the deadly struggles we are experiencing are not between one nation fighting against another, where each side knows where the other side is. Those nations that continue to amass more devastating weapons, including nuclear bombs, are faced with a great handicap. Their enemies are no longer nations, where you can locate them geographically. They consist of small groups, which use small sling shots like David of the Old Testament that are bound to hit and destroy Goliath, in our case the United States and its military allies. Since such enemies cannot be identified by nationality, they are just referred as terrorists who use entirely different tactics than those which have been used in conventional wars over the past several centuries. They simply try to destroy the economy of their targeted enemy. How do they do it? They try to perform terrorist activities as to alarm the government of that nation whose economy they plan to destroy, which is usually a big power in the traditional sense. At this stage of history, the real target of these few individuals is the United States. They will do anything to alarm the United States as to force it drain billions and now trillions of dollars on building more military bases, more warships spread in all oceans, and more devastating airplanes. They are not afraid of all this since they have no real identification. Since the United States still believes that it can control the world once it has a strong military and highly devastating weapons, it seems there is no choice as to identify these so called terrorists with a nation and then go to wage a conventional traditional war there. In the process of doing so, millions of innocent and good people are killed or maimed for life and their property is utterly destroyed. This is viewed by the natives at large as cruelty and great animosity has grown against the United States and its war allies as a result. In the meantime, the American people, which may be viewed as the backbone of the nation, begin to suffer because their government has no money left to provide them with a free good health care system, affordable housing facilities and productive education for all. The United States can solve the problem of terrorism, properly and effectively, through sound educational means and not through a so called strong military. This nation can bring peace on earth only through highly dedicated groups that are characterized by love and service for their neighbor and not by hatred and threats. Secret of Political Success The United States, and its military allies, must adapt to the realities that surround us. The choice is crystal clear: Just continue to adhere to traditional conventional wars, which are now becoming totally outdated and fully ineffective, or simply follow the instinct of every human being in every religion by doing to others what you would want others to do to you. If you threaten others, soon you will be threatened in ways totally unexpected. If you destroy the property of others, soon the lives of your good citizens will be put in danger. In a commencement address he gave at the University of Kansas in 1966, former US military commander in Vietnam, General Westmoreland, said the graduating students: The Vietnamese come to shoot us with rifles we use in the USA for pigeons; at the same time, we have the most sophisticated and devastating weapons one can imagine and yet we cannot subdue them. Unless we have the support of the native population there is nothing much that we can do. And the Vietnamese as a whole view us as enemies. This was also confirmed by US military commander in Afghanistan, General McChrystal, who, like General Westmoreland, said that without the support of the people in Afghanistan there is nothing much that the United States and its war allies can do. He pointed out flatly that the people in Afghanistan in general viewed the US troops as enemies. There is nothing of a surprise in this since many good and innocent civilians were killed by Americans and had their houses and all of their belongings destroyed. The USA may become the salvation of the world if it were to take the initiative to change the nature of the military from one of destruction to one of construction, from a belligerent entity to a humanitarian institution. All the money used on the military would then be used only for constructive purposes with positive results. But the USA still speaks of anti-ballistic missiles and of sharing nuclear information with nations it views as allies. Of course, this keeps encouraging the little Davids that are bent to destroy the Goliaths of our time. What is ironic lays in the fact that war alliances, headed by the United States, cannot understand anything, which is not in line with the culture of war mind-set. They still keep on thinking of wars fought between nations, which have specific boundaries found in our various continents. Besides, such war allied nations do not admit actions they take which are fully provocative, like the case of American and South Korean forces performing joint military exercises close to Japan and China. Ultimate Choice in Perspective In view of what has been stated, we may begin to realize and understand why so called terrorist activities keep on going with no end in sight. Many of us still cannot comprehend that the objective of these so called of terrorists is not to “defeat” the United States militarily but merely to “weaken” its economic potential by continuing to force this world power to spend money, not on the vital needs of the American people, but on the manufacture and sales of weapons, the maintenance of 746 foreign military bases, and the eventual implementation of the star wars concept. As a result, the United States has incurred the largest economic debt in history, which is putting it on the road of economic collapse following the footsteps of the Soviet Union. Is there a way out? Is there a way that would outsmart the present terrorists and all prospective ones in the future? Is there a way that would bring about a permanent world peace where everyone will be a winner and no one a loser? The answer to such questions is a qualitative yes, which is easily done through the implementation of the Golden Rule. As a matter of fact, the Golden Rule remains the only hope we have at our disposal for the eventual establishment of a permanent world peace. This brings to our mind the warning former US President Eisenhower gave to the United States Congress in his farewell speech. He said emphatically: “Remember that all people of all nations want peace, only their government wants war.” In studies made on so called terrorists it was discovered that these are generally young men who lost their will to live along with the very concept of fear. This was due to the fact that they lost several of their family members and friends, along with the destruction of their properties through a conventional war fought on their own land by foreign military forces. If the United States and its military allies continue to use military force to solve human problems, not only such problems would not eventually be solved, but they are planting the seeds for an eventual Armageddon, where everyone will be a loser and no one a winner. Respect for the Golden Rule remains the only hope for human survival. Charles Mercieca
Role of Harmony in World Religions Harmony is derived from the Latin harmonia and the Greek harmos meaning “the just adaptation of parts with each other.” It refers to a situation where all elements fit perfectly with each other as to complement each other fully well. This also applies to people when they live together with mutual love and respect in serenity and peace. This element is expected to be the chief characteristic of every religion.
If we were to give a rapid glance at all religions, individually and collectively, we would soon discover that every religion may be viewed as one coin with two sides, the divine and the human. As far as the divine aspect of a religion is concerned, there is not much to say, since the divine element is identically the same everywhere. Problems start to develop when we face the human aspect of religion. Human beings, by their very nature, are imperfect. For them to reach perfection they must really work hard for it. In the process, some may succeed and some may not. This explains why in every religion we find those who are good and beneficial, an asset to humanity. At the same time, we come across those who are evil and detrimental to all people. Those who are good do follow the guidelines that God provided for them in their respective religion. Such guidelines may be seen in the Ten Commandments that are found in the Bible, which are also found in every single other religion in one way or another. We observe in history that when such guidelines were followed there was harmony, characterized by serenity and peace. On the other hand, when such guidelines were ignored there always tended to be turmoil, animosity, conflicts, struggles and wars. In this write-up we will explore some of the major religions of the world and see why in the past they experienced conflicts with each other that they ended up waging wars where millions of people were left dead or maimed. Those that may be held fully responsible and accountable of such needless conflicts, reveal considerable weakness in character and personality. They choose systematically to practice revenge instead of forgiveness, to harbor hatred instead of love for others, to develop greed while suppressing generosity, to embrace pride instead of humility, and the list goes on. Instead of leading a life of virtue many choose to lead a life of vice. Human versus Divine Aspect Needless to say, all of these mentioned items reveal the human aspect of religion. However, those who demonstrate love for others, even for those whom they detest, who are ready to forgive instead of playing tit for tat, and who give away generously and never expecting anything in return, all demonstrate the divine aspect of religion at work. A religion’s greatness is revealed by the constructive actions taken regularly by its followers, its proclaimed members. We are all familiar with the traditional religious saying: “Judge a tree by the fruit it gives.” This means if the tree looks like a lemon tree but produces oranges then we have to call it orange tree. If we were to enlist some of the major religions of the world, we will discover they have had plenty of things in common. With the exception of Buddhism perhaps, every single major religion has, at one time or another, resorted to violence to achieve what it wanted. Judaism, Christianity and Islam have all practiced violence at one time or another. In a number of instances, they were instigated to promote violence by their very own religious leaders to this very day, either directly or indirectly. Of course, the divine aspect of such religions is good and holy and there is nothing much more to say. But the human aspect of such religions has proven to be a total mess for all practical purposes. We are not dealing here with a matter of an opinion but with tangible facts. As the traditional saying goes, “Contra factum non valet argumentum – It’s useless to argue against facts.” Just a rapid glance at what happened to the world over the past several decades since World War II ended in 1945 should make everyone convinced. US Christian clergy, for example, support self-proclaimed pro-life politicians who claim to be for the safeguard of the life of the unborn. Such US clergy on the whole support them strongly even if such politicians were to take away money from the hungry and the poor and put it on the manufacture of weapons and the waging of wars. Such clergy seem to view the destruction of the infrastructure of cities and the killing and maiming of tens of thousands of people as a “necessity” for the survival of the United States! While the Islamic clergy tends to look at God as a benevolent Father who loves all of His children immensely, such clergy does virtually nothing to stop those Muslims who wage ferocious wars, known as jihads, in the name of God, as they say, to maim and massacre many of God’s very own beloved children. To make things worse, such carnage is viewed as a moral obligation they have to defend “God’s honor!” Responsibilities in Perspective In the Middle East, for example, the Jewish clergy, as a whole, seem quite hesitant in condemning their government for devastating the infrastructure of nearby cities along with the massacre of tens of thousands of innocent people. We need to keep in mind here the traditional saying, silence brings consent. In spite of the fact that the Jewish religion is very good and holy when it comes to its divine aspect, it is totally something else when it comes to its human aspect. Religions were not meant to be political in their orientation, neither directly nor indirectly. They were meant to provide guidelines so that all people would be given the opportunity to lead a good life characterized by such virtues as love, humility, prudence, justice, generosity, concern and responsibility for others, as well as patience and perseverance. The practice of such virtues will eventually lead to harmony among all people. Every major religion in the world has as its responsibility and obligation to do anything conceivable to bring about serenity and peace in every community within the same country and with other countries as well. This is what harmony is all about. To this end, we need to find ways to enable people to fit into each other in respect to their vital needs in life. After all, the only sensible life in this world is one of inter-dependence. Again, this is not a matter of an opinion. If people living on one side of the ocean constantly pollute their water, sooner or later the water on the other side of the same ocean will become polluted too and the people there will have to suffer the consequences by all means. Similarly, if people of one country pollute their air, the air of the nearby countries would soon become polluted as well. This means in whatever we do we should keep in mind how this would affect others. If what we are about to do will affect others positively and constructively, then we should proceed with our plans. Yet, if what we are about to do will affect others, in some way negatively and destructively, then we should avoid doing it by all means. This way, we will surely become instruments of harmony by developing the habit to show a genuine sense of responsibility in our actions. In our earthy community, we do have four major categories of laws which are hierarchical in nature. They are enlisted as (a) the Divine Positive Law, (b) the Natural Law, (c) the Ecclesiastical Law, and (d) the Civic Law. They are hierarchical in nature because if they happen to clash, then the one that is higher should be observed while the one that is lower should be discarded. This is a sacrosanct moral duty that all conscientiously good people have. Each time this was followed we always experienced serenity and peace expressed in harmony. Four Hierarchical Laws (a) The Divine Positive Law – This is viewed as the highest in the four hierarchical laws because it was made directly by God Himself from the very first beginning of human existence. It is commonly known as the Ten Commandments where we find, for example, such laws as you should not kill; you should not lie; you should respect your parents; you should put God above anything else; you should not destroy the property of others; you should not steal, in addition to others. Any law that goes directly against such laws, whether it is ecclesiastical or civic, should be discarded. In other words, human beings are not empowered to defy God’s commandments. The observance of such laws does reveal the positive and constructive aspect of the divinity in a particular religion. (b) The Natural Law – This is also God’s law which He implanted in the universe at the moment of creation. The observance of the Natural Law is not an option but an obligation that all of us have to uphold and respect. We may illustrate this by a few examples. (i) the law of gravity, where everything heavier than air goes down, (ii) the law of plantation, where the roots of the trees go down while the tree itself grows up above the ground, (iii) the law of birth, which results from the physical unity of a male and a female. Hence, marriage by its very nature comes from the Natural Law, which involves the union of a male and a female. Defiance of the Natural Law always leads to confusion sooner or later. Such laws enable us to retain the aspect of the divinity in a religion. (c) The Ecclesiastical Law – This consists of a law enacted by the religious leaders of a religion so that the adherents of that particular religion would be able to follow a similar pattern in their worship and open practice of their faith. It is like creating a spiritual uniform for the followers to dress as to look the same and to recognize each other fast and smooth when they come across each other. The religious authorities of any religion are free to enact any laws they deem appropriate to enhance unity between their members and to bring them closer together as to live a better and more harmonious life. However, in doing so, such religious authorities cannot enact laws that may go against the two higher laws, namely, the divine positive law and the natural law. (d) The Civic Law: - This is man-made law which changes from time to time. Its purpose is to keep order in the nation. No government of any kind may enact laws that go against the Divine Positive Law, the Natural Law and even against the Ecclesiastical Law unless it violets the two higher laws. People should defy any civic law that goes against higher laws. For example, the Divine Positive Law says: You should not kill. Hence, the Civic Law should be defied when it allows abortion or when it directs its young people to destroy other nations and kill tens of thousands of innocent people. The Natural Law says that marriage is between male and female. Any Civic Law that allows same-sex marriages should be viewed as unlawful, immoral and invalid. Harmony at Work In view of what has been stated, we may understand why all the world religions have a vital role in the promotion of harmony everywhere, an element that is so vital and indispensable to permanent peace. Both the leaders of such religions and the followers must keep in mind that the practice of virtue is very important to keep such religions holy. Perhaps we may learn plenty of lessons from Buddhism, which has been in operation now for some 2,500 years. During the decades of the eighties, the Virgin Mary is said to have appeared to six little children in Medjugorje, a small mountain village in the south of Bosnia-Herzegovina. Among other things she told them: “I am the mother of all people, of those who know me and of those who do not know me, of those who accept me and of those who reject me and I love them all very dearly.” She also revealed to them God’s infinitive love for every single human being without exception. She later added saying: “I wish my Christian children will learn from my Buddhist children the detachment from the material things of this world.” We learned from such communications that we live in God’s religion when we elevate our mind to him in prayer and meditation, when we love and respect each other as He loves us and respects us, and when we follow His Holy Will through the observation of the Commandments He gave Moses a few thousands of years ago. So for God the name of the religion we claim to belong to is irrelevant for all practical purposes. What counts lies in the actions we perform on a daily basis. If they are good, if they respect the dictates of the Divine Positive Law and the Natural Law as well as the Ecclesiastical Law when it is in line with the two laws just mentioned, then we may pride ourselves of the specific religion we claim to be affiliated with. World religions should be viewed as a means of transport that is bound to take us to heaven. Let us assume we are a group, say, of 50 friends who live scattered in Europe. We all agree that we should visit the ruins of ancient Rome and a definite date is set up. It is not important for such 50 scattered friends to decide upon one means of transportation that all should chose to be in time in Rome on the stated date. Some may chose to take an airplane, others may prefer to take a train, others may rather travel by bus, and others may choose to drive their own car, while others may find it more interesting to reach to Rome by motor-cycle. Various Spiritual Means Quite surprisingly, on their way to Rome some may decide to change their means of transportation like, for example, to continue the rest of the journey by train instead of by bus. The focus should be only on arriving in Rome on the specified date, nothing more and nothing less. Some world religion may look down on its followers when they decide to continue on their journey to heaven by joining another religion. Even worse, some world religion may even try to punish those that dare to make such a change. Regardless of their defects in the human sphere, world religions are equipped with the capability to bring harmony among all people across every continent. Although theoretically, that is, in the spiritual they are technically all on the same level, in practice, that is, on the human level they have tremendous differences. In fact, we may conclude by saying that the more focus is made on spirituality through the practice of virtues, the more beneficial such a world religion may prove to be to the entire world. The more focus is made on the material things of this life that may be revealed through the practice of vices as they stem from disregard especially to both the Divine Positive Law and the Natural Law, the more detrimental such a world religion may prove to be to our earthly society. The three major religions mentioned in the early part of this presentation – Judaism, Christianity, and Islam – have a recorded history of violence, of disregard of the Divine Positive Law and the Natural Law, even though many of their religious leaders advocated very often respect for such God-made laws. Let us move forward with enthusiasm and optimism and not look background regretting that we cannot turn back the clock of history. Regardless of what we might have done, the same God of love and mercy of all the world religions is still there waiting for us ready to embrace us at any moment. The job of such world religions still remains the same, namely, to serve as instruments in the hands of God to bring harmony among all people across every continent. The leaders of world religions need only to do their best and God will do the rest.
Free education for all citizens : best investment for world peace One of the leading problems in the world may be viewed as ignorance, which is described by The New Webster's Dictionary of the English Language as a state of being where knowledge is wanting, that is, missing. We tend to make several mistakes to the detriment of many because, quite often, we are not aware of the realities that surround us. This explains why people with adequately needed knowledge tend to commit considerably less mistakes, if any at all.
Charles Mercieca, Ph.D.
Discovering a Nation’s True Friends and Enemies One familiar proverb reads as follows: “Not all that glitters is gold.” Another well accepted saying is: “Actions speak louder than words.” This one is virtually found in every nation with slight changes or modifications. The Romans, for example, used to say: “Aliud est theoria, aliud est practica – one thing is theory, another thing is practice.” On the other hand, the Italians often state: “Parole si, fatti no – words yes, facts no.” All of these have the same identical meaning. Nature of People in General When the Master Teacher found it necessary to describe the human being as to enable to understand ourselves better, He said clearly: Homo hominis lupus – man is a wolf of man, meaning the human being is his own worst enemy. In view of this, we need to set up new criteria for judging those around us individually and collectively. Everything boils down to the character and personality of the individual. The height and weight, one’s own age and good looks, as well as the academic achievements and good paying jobs cannot really serve as criteria to classify people into true friends or confirmed enemies. Friends are best measured by the degree of virtues they may care to demonstrate on a systematic basis. Among others, we may enlist humility, prudence, patience, perseverance, charity, and dedication to the service of others. Humility consists of one’s ability to recognize and admit one’s mistakes with a willingness to listen to others and to learn from them to the best of one’s ability. Prudence is revealed in one’s ability to weigh carefully alternatives before jumping into conclusions. As the proverb says, “Look before you leap.” Patience is a very important virtue for as the French say: Avec la patience on s’arrive a touts – With patience one arrives everywhere. Throughout history we discover that many problems were eventually solved properly and effectively through the practice of patience. Perseverance is noticed in one’s ability never to give up in the pursuit for the solution of encountered problems. Charity reveals concern for others as to help them in a number of ways. Very often those who perform acts of charity do so at the cost of self-sacrifice. One of the songs found in the Gregorian chant states: Ubi est amor, Deus ibi est – where there is love there is God. In ascetical writings, charity is identified with love. In one’s dedication to others we have individuals who view the welfare of others as their life’s mission. No wonder why in one proverb we find that “a true friend is with you in danger.” In other words, we can always trust genuine friends since they prove to be really faithful. In fact, they often become the source of our hope and consolation. Friends and Enemies in Perspective True friends reveal interest not in the good of some to the exclusion of others but in the universal welfare of all people. They are by nature humanitarians who proved to be highly reliable. In politics, this is where the line is drawn between statesmen and politicians. Statesmen tend to take interest in the universal welfare of all people with the exclusion of no one. On the other hand, politicians tend to reveal interest in the welfare of some to the exclusion of others. In other words, in the sphere of politics we may view statesmen as genuine friends of all people from every walk of life and profession. Enemies are viewed to be those who directly or indirectly perform actions that in some way or another are conducive to our discomfort and harm. Unlike true friends, enemies tend to generate negative and destructive energy. Regardless of their exterior looks, deep inside they tend to harbor jealousy, anger, vindictiveness, and hatred in various ways. They feel upset when they notice we have been showered with blessings and they rejoice when they discover we are going through a period of desolation, frustration, and pain. Besides, they would do anything in their power to deprive us of happiness, which may be viewed as a great gift of God. In addition, enemies do not believe in forgiveness and worse still, they tend to judge others by the way they are. They tend to believe that the whole world is going to get after them to damage or destroy their material objects they are attached to in various ways. Moreover, they always try to find a way to blame others for the results of their negative and destructive actions. Just as friends are measured by their character and personality in terms of the virtues they exhibit, enemies are measured likewise by their character and personality in terms of the vices they demonstrate. Vices are the opposite of virtues. Among such vices we find infernal pride, arrogance, impatience, lack of trust or unreliability, hatred, and selfishness, which ignores the needs of others. Pride in itself may be viewed as virtue especially when we feel proud of ourselves or others for an eventual success that was achieved. However, infernal pride is something else. It consists of lack of humility, that is, of lack of one’s ability to admit mistakes while expressing regret and asking for forgiveness. Arrogance is revealed in those who try to get what they want by all means, regardless of whether or not it is right. This vice forces one to ignore all kinds of advices or counseling that are not conducive to their frame of mind. A brief analysis of all major wars in history may be traced to the arrogance revealed in those responsible for the waging of such wars. Another vice that we notice in enemies almost systematically is that of impatience. This enables us to understand the wisdom of the French proverb we mentioned earlier: Avec la patience on s’arrive a touts – with patience one arrives everywhere. Ascetical writers tell us that if God were not patient with us, the human race would have been exterminated quite a few thousands of years ago. Developing Good Intuition Needless to say, enemies can feign to be friends in quite a number of times. Even so, there comes a time were their mask is uncovered. Sooner or later, they will show that they are not trustworthy that they are unreliable for all practical purposes. In the spiritual sphere, their hidden hatred may be viewed as their weakest trace in their character and personality. What we need to do here is simply to hear them how they tend to talk of others, especially those whom they do not like out of inferiority complex or jealousy in particular. Enemies tend to be selfish, that is, they concentrate mainly on getting what they want by all means, even at the expense of others. Pope John Paul II viewed communism and capitalism as the greatest two evils of the 20th century because, he said, both advanced their causes through exploitation of people. In other words, both communists and capitalists could be rightly viewed as the enemies of the people in general, as our enemies as a matter of fact. Regardless of their façade, they were instrumental in different ways to make millions of people suffer brutally and mercilessly. Those that come to help us in time of need must be considered as our genuinely true friends. On the other hand, those that not only refuse to help us in time of need but also take steps to hurt us should be viewed as our confirmed enemies. When we come across people whom we do not know as yet but we would like to size them up fast in terms of being potentially true friends or enemies, let us hear what they have to say about others systematically. If they demonstrate goodness, love and mercy as well as readiness to be of help the best they can, we know these would likely make very good friends of us. However, if they reveal to be highly critical where we could depict a degree of hatred and detestation, we know our close association with them would be bound to be detrimental. All the good people of history that were viewed as highly beneficial and friendly to everyone had always something good to say about everyone, even about those that persecuted them. In the social sphere of life, we would act wisely if we were to avoid the company of potential enemies and to seek for the company of true friends. President International Association of Educators for World Peace NGO, Dedicated to United Nations Goals of Peace Education, Environmental Protection, Human Rights & Disarmament Professor Emeritus, Alabama A&M University Charles Mercieca, Elected Delegate to the Peoples Congress
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