Where to draw the line

Morals in society are portrayed in the form of laws. When ever the most controversial subjects are being discussed this question soon comes up, Where do you draw the line?

That question is often asked yet it always gets put into a societal/law realm. In realtiy this question can only be answered by the individual. For any over arching system such as government, where the line will be drawn is a question that will always change. – Here is why.

No matter what the issue of moral behaviour is being discussed, the time/era in which that debate takes place is the main contributor to the answer. In reality there was a time when government, law and order was not even a part of daily survival. Today there are a great many systems to advise us of how to behave. Laws, constitutions, religions, treaties, etc all have their impacts on how we should/do act.

Society has drawn lines on somethings for many years such as violence, theft and fraud. These three are held with contempt in just about every society we can think of. To go even further into the level of behaviour for society, we have the Declaration of Human Rights. So we have systems for the individual and for governments.

Going back the question of where to draw the line is a question that needs to be taken seriously yet at the same time every individual must take a ninety percent portion of responsibility for that answer. The government can not answer this question with out a strong and possible violent debate taking place in society. There fore the individual must answer that question themselves knowing what the current system will allow.

Debates on a great number of subjects are being held right now. There are factions that allow for exception. The laws and morals are held in respsect and truth and gauged by what we deem rational people. For the person that is not rational these morals and laws are augmented. Also we can think of the may ways a person must act in society and then go to work (professional soldier). In such circumstances the moral code and laws change.

For me the answer to, where do you draw the line, depending on what is going on around me, the line moves, at each moment that decision is to be made by me.

A persons’ choice is their own

The use of religion as a societal foundation is a landmine of issues. On a parallel of ideology democracy is a form of religion as well. As a peace worker I have to understand that a persons’ choice is their own. No one has control over that choice any more than someone can force another person to enjoy eating sand.

In that understanding, when a group of people tell another group of people that they must follow a certain religion for their own good, right from the start that demand is flawed. Now this demand to follow a certain religion goes for politics and economics as well. Going back a few years there was the issue of the newspaper that published the drawing of an Islamic figure. That event set off like a bomb in a toilet pit.

In reality the person that made the drawing was not Islamic. That person is not bound by Islamic laws any more than a person from Paraguay is bound by Moldovan law. As for respect, well when idiocy is factored in, respect is to stand back and say, “Many images of god and prophets have been made over the years, what is one more ”. Going further, what is more disrespectful than forcing others to follow a set of rules that they do not belong to or believe in? This is where life gets really tricky because in order for peace to be achieved there has to be mutual understanding.

A peaceful society where mutual understanding exists has elements of respect and trust. Now for all the complexity the world has the mutual understanding is very simple. For me the understanding is that I am not to be feared for any reason and I ask that of everyone else I encounter. That is the root of my religion and the foundation of any society in which I work to rebuild.

Expanding that foundation of no cause for fear thought, I do realize that operating in such a manner brings a perception of weakness. This perception is a very strong element of our global society today. Gang violence, warlords, bullying, arseholes and governments use fear to control people. Ruling by fear is very much a “live by the sword die by the sword” method.

Now before anyone gets too simplistic here, not all use of fear is bad. For example, most places have laws for not wearing seatbelts when operating a vehicle. The rationale is that if you are caught you pay a fine. No one wanted to pay the fine so they started to wear the seatbelts. The same with drunk driving or texting when driving. Obviously the fear of causing an accident was not great enough on its own so government (you and me that is) decided to punish those that are caught engaging in such activity, thus the fear of being caught and punished. So there is the upside to the use of fear.

It is a tangled world we live in. Religion is just one method of governance/control we invented to maintain order. There are some that get out of control and take life to the extreme. These people will preach peace and the word of god, then shoot you for thinking differently. To be flat out honest we are all part of it. Everyone of us contributes to the slavery of societal ideology and yet we all think we are free.

Example, take any group of people and ask them what they would do if they won the lottery. I bet you will get the same answer from 98% of the people- house, car, vacations. That is mental prison right there, yet most would believe they freely made those choices. If it were truly free why is it that almost everyone has the same dream of material ownership? Then of course the charities will come into mind just to ease the guilt of looking bad.

Perhaps I am discounting the impact of collective thought projection? Who knows, all I can say is that peace is a very difficult state of being to maintain. However it is a great deal more fun to be trusted as a peaceful person than feared. Once again, it is a choice how/who you wish to be.

Need more options

Most people would say that they are good at dealing with difficulties in life. It has been my experience that most people are very poor at dealing with difficulties. I am not saying that people will not get through difficulties because they do. What I am saying is that people could get through difficulties with a great more skill and ease if they spent the time to learn how.

The last article I wrote concerning transformative peace points to the poor record of the court system to deal with societal difficulties. Due to this poor performance, the larger society is left with unresolved issues. Yet the law system is a foundational part of dealing with wrongs in society. It has come to the point where people often go to lawyers at the first sign of trouble.Because of that we have a large profession believing it is doing a great job of managing the wrongs of society. 

What is often missed in the reasoning for why we have a court system, is the fact that we have only had these court systems for short periods of time. In the times before the courts, human relationships existed and dealt with all the same issues we have today. Before the court systems we had many forms of "ceremonies" to deal with community issues.  I suggest everyone to read, "The Human Potential for Peace: An Anthropological challenge to assumptions about war and violence" written by Douglas P. Fry. Oxford University Press 2006. 

Now, I can hear the opposition speaking about the barbaric treatment of people, which the court systems are there to end. Well I will conceded that there were such acts before courts existed, yet the court system still has its share of barbaric acts. Just ask some of the people that went through Guantanamo Bay jail, or visit the jails in Uganda, Sierra Leone, you can even look at the number of mentally ill people executed in the RUSA.  All of these systems employ similar styles of dealing with people that are deemed a hazard to society.

As we build societies that have been destroyed, often there are programs such as Truth and Reconciliation Commissions. These programs are used only for a short period of time and then abandoned. It is a wonder why such a useful element of healing is not continued to assist with other issues in society.

Having one method of managing difficulties is best described with a popular saying;

When the only tool you have is a hammer every problem is seen as a nail.

Dealing with issues within our lives, we need as many ways as possible to address them. In a caring society we would offer such support. We allow for the healing process to take hold as people sort out what the deep issues are. At the moment we can look at Egypt and Syria as examples where the people were given small moments of reprieve only to be thrust back to a point similar to the one where it all started. The entire process has to be re-engaged. Instead of listening, learning, accepting and adapting, one side dug in with a firm stance of “this is the only system we have, if you do not like it – die”

A caring leader would see the futility in such a narrow view. For humanity sake we must give options. We must also see the need for order and at times people do get caught up in emotions. I can not think of any country that has not had protesters marching in large numbers. Such events are fraught with emotion and chaos is always near. However if many methods of managing the protesters are employed the greater the chances of the protest being a peaceful one overall.

When something really matters to you, you will be hurt because you care. Your heart will get hurt but the fact that you care should allow you to realize the need for peace, options, patience and understanding. People protest, march, yell and scream because it is all part of letting off the pressure of emotions. Protesting  lets the world know they care. All that is needed in return is the intelligence to listen, learn, understand and adapt.

Decline in Syria

The world has no idea how to deal with the situation in Syria.  The Security Council is dead locked on what to do as there are two differing approaches being debated. The Security Council is so useless that they can not even convince themselves that monitors should be sent in. With each passing day more and more weapons are building up in both the military and the civilian rebel groups.

All of this was preventable with a small force of one thousand peacekeepers to be sent in last November to enforce the rule of law as stated under the current Syrian system. A complete lock down and use of small arms and light weapons needs to be enforced as the Peacekeepers patrolled with the current Syrian army. Batons, shields, water cannons, pepper spray and riot gear would be allowed only.

At each protest both the current Syrian army and the UN peacekeepers would work to control crowds and enforce the rule of law. At the same time the ruling party must obey the wishes of the people and if the people choose to hold massive strikes, rallies or protests, they must be allowed to do so.

Also foreign media should be allowed in as well to report. No embedding reporters, that is just a strong move for covering up lies.

The world has no idea how to deal with this.  That is only because the world is full of shit.

Hypocrisy

Of late, I have been reading about the causes and indicators related to why people/countries engage in war and/or peace.  There are theories that point to economics, governance, population age, gender balance, resources and religion/ideology as root causes. We do know that a mix of all these play a part. There are other elements that rarely get discussed which are; stupidity, insanity, intolerance and to put it very simple – some people are assholes. Human trafficking is one such example of such behaviour. It takes an evil piece of work to enslave another to a lifetime of hell for monetary gain. However, human trafficking is a thriving business.

In my holistic understanding of the world I know that I contribute to the continuation of such practices.  I am alive therefore everything that transpires in this world I am a part of. Moreover, I understand that I am in a relationship with everyone else that is also alive, whether I know that person or not.  We are all here at this moment and that is reality.

In that context I often think of the hell a 14 year old girl has lived in the past five years locked in a cell only to be used as a prostitute? What causes us to act so horribly to a nine year old? This is the very base of individual impact that war/hell has on the world.  Going one step up we have the gang/organized crime element.

In this network we see elements of ethics beginning. The transactions of money and “goods” takes place because of the trust each side has.  People have to work together for the operation to run, this takes a strong need for common benefit.  All the while the operation is destroying the greater peace, which in turn destroys the common benefit of the entire world. Do you see the hypocrisy?  When you live in such a world you must rule with fear because logic, justice, compassion and humanity are dead.

Going one more step higher we get to world organizations and governments.  In this step we can add religions/ideological groups.  Violence that is brought about in the name of god, country, or whatever can be a murky area.  Sometimes these groups must defend against attacks.  However, there are some wars that have raged on for centuries and no one knows exactly why, other than it began due to a fear of the other. Fear only works on the weak and even then the weak can grow tired, then realize they out-number the rulers. This scenario has been going on between Christians and Islam for two thousand years and still going.  It is taking place in Mexico with the drug wars. It is taking place now in Syria and other areas.

Every country has signed onto the Declaration of Human Rights that belong the United Nations. Still we have member nations killing another because they believe/think differently.   While they kill each other on battle fields they turn around and defend their actions in terms of self- preservation. I am sure the person that locked up the nine year girl would use the same argument.

Russian Transformation

25 December 1991

 Twenty years ago Russia took a very courageous step.  That step ended the Soviet Union and began Russia.  Also it was courageous because the leaders knew they would have to deal the image of losing the cold war, even though the cold war had only a small part to do with it, the cold war was just collateral damage.As we near the date of 25 Dec 2011, we will hear a great deal of garbage about how the RUSA won the cold war.  Those that believe Russia lost the cold war are lazy in thought, poor students of history and easily swayed by propaganda.The history of Russian reform had very little to do with the cold war.  The reform of Russian politics and economics lay squarely at the feet of corruption and a very large gap between the people of Russia and the politicians that lead Russia.  The largest enemy to the Soviet Union was itself, no other entity.

The Soviet leaders of 1980-1990 knew the internal enemy was real and they could see the corruption of Soviet politics killing Russia.  Something had to be done so they came up with perestroika and glasnost.  These two programs were intended to end the corruption and lessen the gap between the people and the political leaders.  This step was courageous in every way as it promised to end a luxurious life style for political leaders and build a stronger middle class. 

The transformation is still taking place in Russia.  The Russian people are wonderful people that have been loyal to their country and the politics of communism.  They had lived the realities of corruption and in the late 1970’s, 80’s and 90’s their desire for an equal opportunity to achieve dreams took priority over status quo.  Thus the leaders of the day embarked on change unlike the world had seen in centuries. 

It is no small fact that very few countries could ever go through such a dramatic shift in economics, politics and society as peacefully as Russia has.  They have endured the stigma of losing the cold war and bending to the ideology of the RUSA.  These two stigmas are false stigmas.  The world would be better to see the history for what it is, not what one side proclaims it to be.

I truly admire the Russian people for their courage and peaceful ideology.  Their rival enemy RUSA would crumble under such a courageous step and that fact is what makes the stigma of losing all the more bogus.  However I am sure that many people will object to my view.  That is a point where I will always side with the peaceful issue of Russian transformation.  Perception and opinion be dammed, reality is that Russia had a greater enemy within than from outside

I wish the Russian people all the success as they continue on from their historically courageous step.

Na Zdorovie

Respect Electoral Process

Where I live we are going through a debate about governance.  How much is too much, is the current system working as well as it should, what are the options for change and do we have the right people in place to manage any change?

These questions are exactly the same questions being asked of politicians in Russia, DRC, Libya, Egypt, Yemen, Syria and every other country to be honest.  There is another factor to consider though, which is the trust we have for debate to be handled with great skill.  Do we have people that will say damaging remarks, even if it the remarks are true?  Then, after the damage is done still feels justified in their actions?  A person that acts in such a manner has no real understanding of peace. 

Peace is about respect for the other.  Knowing how your actions will impact and managing the information you want to get across.  In the case of Syria, the government is actively killing its people.  What is the message there?   The opposition party in DRC made note that violence was going to happen no matter what the result were.  In Russia, there are demonstrations about fraudulent voting procedures.  What is the message there?

In each case we have failures of various degrees in governance.  A strong leader will understand the coming issues of violence and relate the message of peace through words and actions.  A strong peaceful leader will allow opposition to their policies in an open format.  A strong peaceful leader will see and understand the need for rivals to exist.  A strong peaceful leader will have a plan in place to hand over leadership and that plan should be made known.

A strong peaceful leader will have respect for the process of governance.  They will have the ability to communicate with wide spread impact, with trust and with courage to face the threats of defeat peacefully.  These elements are missing in many of our leaders today.  There is a lack of trust that those in power can manage peacefully.  There is trust that the current leaders will act violently and they rule by fear not agreement and support.

There comes a time when leaders have to be given weak support with the knowledge that there is no next time.  Russia and Putin may have that situation in place now?  The people want to see life improve and this has not happened since Putin came into the Kremlin.  He may get his wish and be President again due to possible election fraud but he must understand that this should be his last term.  This should be his last chance to make improvements.  He should not run again.  Doing so is a slap in the face to the people of Russia and the process of governance.

DRC & Russian elections

Elections are great to observe.  Right now both Russia and the Democratic Republic of Congo are in the process of elections.  Both have their issues with demonstrations and opposition parties.  One main difference though is the level of violence.

Russia will have a peaceful election compared to the DRC election.  Public opinion in both countries wavers yet at the base of this is the need for peaceful demonstration.  Even though both countries are mentioned the circumstances in each are vastly different.

Russia is going through a process of economic change.  During the 90’s the economic environment swung wildly too far too fast.  This swing created a gangster economy that undermined the dreams of the leaders that began the economic change.  Today Putin must manage the history of Russia with the reality of today’s Russia.  This management is the largest issue that faces Russia today.

In the DRC the largest issue is violence.  Political leaders are actively inciting violence, people are dying in demonstrations.  The electoral process in both countries are being called into question.  For what it is worth I cannot think of any election that has not been called into question, even in Canada there are some that believe the electoral process is unfair and needs to be changed.

Both of these countries will be fun to watch as the election process continues.

99% rant

There comes a time when you just have enough bullshit.  Now the average person would just throw more bullshit back, mainly due to the fact that they have no clue as to how such actions only worsen a situation – thus the spiral of chaos into war.

The 99% has supported the 1%.  It is the 99% that buys all the garbage and demands all the services.  If the occupy movement gives in now the 1% have won.  I admit that at the outset I did not feel the Occupy movement was going to amount to much.  My reason is mostly because the physical occupation of parks and squares is not an easy task, when the temperature swing is -25 to -40 C for weeks on end.  That alone will be the 1% advantage.  However I understand the cause and do support the need for a rethink.  In context, the 99% fight was the cause of the French revolution and assisted in a Republic of the United States to be born. 

Taking the historical context and fast forward to today, the 99% are again fighting to stop the elite from plundering/hoarding the riches.  As I study this reoccurrence I have a realization that it is not the system at fault, it is the people that operate the system.  A benevolent dictator would never be overthrown.

Just to throw some shit around, here is some wild accusations/arguments to ponder:

The Occupy movement is being dismantled in many cities due to a number of reasons.  In most media those that call for an end to the Occupy movement state that the point was made now go home.  To follow the same line of argument but to an extreme (almost insane) we have made the point that murder is not acceptable yet we continue to fight that.  To an even greater degree of insanity the Occupy movement is in agreement with the ideology concerning capitalism as Osama Bin Laden.  Now those are connections and statements that could get a person fired and alienated. 

As an expert in peace, knowing many possible consequences is vital.  What really starts to piss me off is that for all the wisdom people throw around about communication, the application of such wisdom is rare. 

“You made your point now go home.”

That statement alone indicates the point was not even close to being heard.  In fact that statement will only entrench a faction of the occupation and what will be the consequences?  Such a statement may be the spark to ignite a single person such as Osama Bin Laden.  That is what an expert in peace operations must contend with.  Does the US share any responsibility for assisting Bin Laden?

Ultimately this divide between people is created by us.  At the outset the ideology behind such actions were hoped to provide a peaceful end.  That is the hope of any system we put in place.  The system fails when we get lazy, greedy and distant.  As we alienate each other we build false realities which will crumble and then we start to blame, hate, judge and demand adherence of everyone else but ourselves.  That is the bullshit I am tired of.

Isreal and Palestine, what a mess

“When the United Nations General Assembly voted on November 29, 1947, to partition British Mandatory Palestine into two states — a Jewish and an Arab state — joint American and Soviet support for this policy represented an extraordinary case of Great Power concordance.”, writes Shlomo Avineri, Professor of Political Science at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, in a publication for the 2010 Halifax Forum.

That decision to separate a state without the support of that state to be separated is authoritarian rule at its finest.  There is no limit to how stupid we can act at times and this first mistake made by the United Nations is proof, here is the vote break down:

In favour: 33

Australia, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Byelorussian S.S.R., Canada, Costa Rica, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, France, Guatemala, Haiti, Iceland, Liberia, Luxemburg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Norway, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Sweden, Ukrainian S.S.R., Union of South Africa, U.S.A., U.S.S.R., Uruguay, Venezuela.

Against: 13

Afghanistan, Cuba, Egypt, Greece, India, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey, Yemen.

Abstained: 10

Argentina, Chile, China, Colombia, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Honduras, Mexico, United Kingdom, Yugoslavia.

Source http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Peace%20Process/Guide%20to%20the%20Peace%20Process/UN%20General%20Assembly%20Resolution%20181

You will notice that the majority of those against are in the region and they knew it was a bad idea.  Too late to go back now.  With each passing day I am slowly seeing that a two state solution is no longer viable.  There has to be a new image of the future, perhaps a one state solution.

Ignorance/uncaring allows Corruption

The last few postings have been about UNESCO funding and weapons trading.  It may not seem like these two have much in common but as I have stated before I look for such broad connections.  The common factor here that ties UNESCO funding and weapons trade together is the exact situation Palestine lives with.  The situation deals with, corruption, war, oppression and dichotomy of law.

First of all we have to live with the fact that there is a two tiered law system (if not more).  The only reason that this situation exist is due to ignorance and uncaring.  For example, The legality of NATO entering Yugoslavia during 1995 has always been a legal debatable issue from the outset.  So too has Russia in Georgia, Britain in the Falkland Islands and USA in Iraq (2001) have each been circumvented around international law and the Securioty Council.  This is the dichotomy of a two tiered system that exists.  This two tiered system allows for corruption to reign, weapons to be sold and ultimately lives lost and/or seriously altered.

If you deal with any issue of injustice you are dealing with corruption that continues to take place through ignorance or sadly a severe lack of concern for a peaceful world.  For whatever reason, at some point the laws are not adhered to.  I firmly believe we have enough law to enforce any activity that takes place.  What we lack is the will to enforce these laws and the complete disregard of law.

Recently, 3 Nov 2010 Viktor Bout was convicted of selling weapons to a terrorist organization.  That in itself is not going to do much to end the violence of war.  What is more important is for the countries that produce weapons to stop or at least do a better job to monitor the life of each weapon and ammunition produced then sold.  The sale, training  and use of these weapons are mere steps to the impact that these weapons will have and it will last for many years to come.  

Looking at the countries that are listed in the bottom ten of the UNDP Human Development Index(HDI), most have experienced long violent wars.  The Democratic Republic of Congo has endured a violent society since the 1950’s and sits at the bottom of the 2011 Human Development Index.  So does Sierra Leone, Liberia, Equatorial Guinea, Mozambique, Central African Republic, Chad, Niger and Burundi.  There is a direct link to illegal weapons trade and trade in resources such as minerals, oil, drugs and slave trading to name a few.

Compare the bottom ten of the UNDP HDI with the Transparency International (TI) list of most corrupt countries and you will notice some duplication.  In the TI list, the bottom ten include Chad, Burundi and Equatorial Guinea.  Also included on the TI list are Iraq, Afghanistan, Somalia, Sudan and Myanmar.  Each of these countries has/is experiencing violent war. 

Now I am not that naïve to think these wars take place because weapons are available.  I do think these wars are prolonged due to the trade in weapons and resources.  These wars are also prolonged due to a significant lack of accountability on the part of the entire world.