The world as it is today

Taking a look around the world is an entertaining experience.  We truly are living in interesting times.  However, those times have (as always) two sides, positive and negative.  No matter which side you tend to view life, the world continues on no matter what.  How you choose to view the world is your foundation of understanding and outlook for the future.

Perhaps it is useful to acknowledge the past.  The world ruled by Ghangis Khan fell apart, the Roman Empire fell apart, the Ottoman Empire fell apart, the British Empire fell apart and most recently the Russian Empire has broken up.  Historians will debate whether some were by choice such as the British and Russian empires, others were destroyed such as those in the North and South American continents.  The fact remains that life goes on.

Today we have a vast problem with the economy, so much so that the environmental issue has taken a step back from the public eye.  The political landscape is changing as well before our eyes.  The international boundaries in Africa have changed and will change even more in the coming years.  This has not happened since 1918.  The  Jasmine Revolution/Arab Spring in North Africa and the Middle East is taking place right now.

The Prime Minister of Russia is seeking to build an economic union with its neighbours.  China has been sending foreign aid in exchange for oil and gas to Africa and South America.  China has rarely ever sent aid to any country before.  While all of this is going on we still have to put food on the table, educate and keep healthy. 

Depending how you see the world, positive or negative, all of these events can be a weight, a delight or just more of the same as life rolls on.  For me I see it as more of the same.  Power shifts, economies fail, empires die, oil will run out, Israel and Palestine will continue to fight eachother and someone will feel the need to kill another. This is life.

The crux of the matter here is how much do you want to be involved?  No government rules without the will of the entire people and when the people have enough it gets ugly, Syria, Yemen, Bahrain for example.  It is this function of involvement that has most people perplexed. If you pay attention you can see where things are going.

The current economic situation is one that evolved from over spending.  The new economics that was boasted about during the dot.com gold rush was just that, a gold rush.  Extravagance got the best of us and now we have to pay.  If we panic and fear we will only dig a deeper hole.

A persons mentality and outlook are not enough to stand alone on, work ethic is the balancing factor.  The economy is mostly a mirror of the peoples psyche.  People were tired of spending, consuming, buying a new car every five years and having to put up with appliances that are built to last for only so long.  The garbage pile we have built due to consumerism will haunt us longer than the benefits of consumerism.  The economy is in trouble because in part we built shoddy appliances, passed laws that, for some resource sucking reason, have outlawed food production in cities and the hanging of laundry to dry.

As for peace and security, the world has been experiencing a decline in violent wars.  However there are some countries that will argue to the point where they will shoot you if you agree to that reality.  In some countries multiculturalism has been deemed a failure.  If that is true then the world is in for a tough ride because it is multicultural, all countries are multicultural and will be even more so as populations grow.  In truth it is not that multiculturalism has failed it is that there are people who do not or can not deal with conflict properly.  This is all part of the reduction in violent wars.  When a violent act happens it will garner more attention because the vast majority of us have an increased sense of peace.  This peace highlights the acts of violence and more noise is made of it thus making it seem that more violence is taking place.  However we are making great progress in this area of human existence, we are living up to the tasks of saving the future generations from the scourge of war.

Having a proud Russian people, a China that gives aid and economies built upon providing what is needed is where the world is heading.  It will be interesting times to go through.  There will be difficulties, setbacks and failures.  Over all we will be making steps forward, improving, being peaceful and sorting out the changes that will take place.  We will work together on most things, disagree on others and hopefully someday do all of this without the need to fear or hold anger towards the other.  

conflicted

Here I sup with people, people of great warmth and love

Here I sit alone with metal mosquitos that travel past me carrying their injurious venom.

Here I think of those I am protecting while they dance and laugh together.

Here I wish I was there – there I think of here.

                                I am torn

Today my love has gone and only now do I fear death.

Today she dances with another.  I have lost my reason to protect.

Here I sit with those that protect me yet the greatest injury has not come from those outside but from within, the one that I protect, that I love.

Today I no longer wish to protect

Today I wish to walk and forget about everything.

Here I sit thinking of there wishing I was elsewhere

wHere is elsewHere

                                I am torn.

I wrote this some years back.  It was after a few years of anguish that my mind had enough of war.  I had no idea how to stop people from killing eachother.  The mantra of kill or be killed soon began to take root yet so did the mantra, if you can not beat them join them.  I had enough.  However I kept thinking of the soldiers that spent years on end in the theatre of war for just causes.  How could I stop when I see the faces of children in IDP camps?  Who will stand up for them?  How will they view the world if I stop?  After sometime I realized that my struggles are important but will be overcome if I keep working to the best I can for those children. I have not stopped yet and I will continue on.

Society and the individual

Society is or can be a reflection of each individual within that society.  The same can be said of all types of relationships that we belong to, such as a team, organization, family, marriage, friendships and so on.  As I think about those connections, the mind spins into many realms of being or belonging.  Who do I choose to be with and belong to? Then I asked why do I choose those relationships?

What is the most important relationship in your life?  I figured that question had to be answered first.  The answer came rather quickly and the most important relationship I have is with my own self.  No one will ever know me as fully as I know myself.  In some ways I feel that is a great loss but it is a reality (anyway that is a side bar thought)

In the time I have spent in peace work, psychology has proven to be a major element of understanding peace.  Societal peace, inner peace and peace with the environment have all been intertwined.  Mostly though when dealing with violent conflict the focus is split between inner peace and societal peace.

Being from Canada I have the luxury of being able to go home to a peaceful country and live where ever I please.  Not so for many of the people I have lived with.  That luxury is not a reality for many and to be honest it has caused a great deal of pain for me to reconcile with.  It has often been thrown in my face without sugar coating.

 “We live here, this is our homeland, where else do we go, we can not leave.” 

Each of those statements stir many memories and emotions as I think about the people that said them.  These people choose to stay in that place because of their attachment, they belong there.  No matter how hellish life gets they will not give up, why?

The only answer I feel is worth repeating is that these people believe in the future of a peaceful day.  It is that singular piece of mindset that has enabled me to work at bringing peace to anywhere I have worked.  There has to be hope in a future that is peaceful.  Even as I think about all the relationships that an average person here in Canada has, they too must make similar decisions as to whether or not a relationship continues. 

As I sit here writing this the economy is in dire condition.  Then I think about all of what I just wrote and I know that the economy will boom again someday.  Think the economy is bad now, imagine what is what like here in Canada during the thirteen hundreds?  Wonder if they even cared?

Palestine/Israel resolution

It would be a rare person that has not read about the situation in Palestine and Israel.  Having been involved in peace work for at least fifteen years, the violence between Palestine and Israel has been a topic of a number of my briefings.  For me this how I see the past few weeks.

Any country that supports a peace process must agree to a two state end goal, which has been a condition since 1947 and will not be bargained away.   Due to that, the request of the Palestinian government to be recognized as a state is in fact already agreed upon.

Within the last three weeks of Sept 2011, a few countries have come out and stated that the United Nations resolutions are not a useful method to bring about peace.  “Peace will not come through statements and resolutions at the United Nations," Barack Obama said during a speech to the UN General Assembly.  Such a statement is beyond reason seeing that the permanent five members of the Security Council are to ensure the peace of the world through the passing of resolutions.  But of course we are dealing with insanity.  The entire situation in the Middle East is beyond reason.

Now, if the world is actually concerned about a resolution to this problem here is what needs to happen:

The entire area needs to be blockaded from any and all weapons.  Every soldier, police officer, security guard and so on must be replaced by the UN peacekeeping forces.  These forces will carry out all enforcements of the laws that currently exist in the respective area in which they are charged to police.  This brings us to the peace talks.  Only Palestine and Israel are to be engaged in these talks.  Every other country can go suck eggs as this is not their territory, country, people or problem. Further more, the rhetoric must stop.  Each side has acted in manners that amount to crimes against humanity.  Each side is equally responsible for the deaths and misery that abounds in that region.   

Now the hardest part is to have the courage to do this and the wisdom to see it through until it is completed.  That means no six month deployment window and then rethink, if another six months is needed.  The peacekeeping forces are there until the threat of violence is gone and the two sides produce a treaty on their own.  This will all be paid for through the taxes that already pay for the current military and law enforcement of Israel and Palestine.

Will this ever happen, no way.  Fewer people would die, plus it is to logical, practical and it would actually work – if the world actually cared enough to do something about it. 

Truth, fact, reality and perception

As I do my work the question that always comes up is, What happened?  Thus begins the stories of how each person experienced the event.   Each person will have their own perception, which they see as the truth and present them as facts.  As each person gives their truth about the event little bridges will connect and the reality of the event will come out.

For sometime the world was hooked on Truth and Reconciliation commissions so that societies can deal with the reality of violent conflict.  These process are not about setting blame on anyone but more to clear the air so that future generations will know the closest possible reality of how and why society ripped itself apart. These questions will ultimately land on answers that point to a division in perception, truth and fact.

Now if you care to delve into the person I am you will understand that I see the complexity of simplicity.  In that I believe all wars start with poor communication, very simple.  Then the ball of hatred begins and builds into a rat nest of distorted perception, hell bent on revenge.  That festering hatred will grow and once the killing starts society is quickly spun into chaos, just look at the idiocy we have to endure daily with Isreal and Palestine.  A classic situation of "well thousands of years ago your brother pissed on my families goat".  That (fictional) simple act continued to the point where helicopters fire missiles into communities, suicide bombers walk onto busses.  The history of 1967, 1947, all the way back to Moses is brought into why killing another is justified.

These firmly held truths of past events fuel a great many conflicts.  Even in our own personal lives, in marriages, friendships and places of work.  The best method I have found to deal with such frustrations when you are pissed off at the actions of others is to step away and think.  Often I say this phrase:

No matter what happened, I must believe that everyone is choosing the best possible option they see to ensure a peaceful society.

That was the best option they could see and choose.  Each time that thought process is taken, the shock of how complex life can get astounds me.  What set of circumstances evolved for that action to the best possible choice, what emotions were played upon and then I feel the dark spiral of hatred that spins.  At the bottom of that spiral there is always the question, How did that get so out of control so fast?

Thus begins the truth and reconciliation process to seek out truth, fact, reality and perception.

housing developments

Ever see the large signs selling houses in a new development?  For as long as I can recall I have always asked the same questions.  Where are the closest schools, corner stores, parks, libraries, banks, restaurants and other components of a community.

Each time I hear developers talk about how great the community will be they are building I wonder where they get that thought.  Without all the components there is no community yet developers sell the idea of such.  It is very much a smoke and mirrors ploy.  Someday developers will wake up and build parks, corner stores, transportation plans, schools and all other components of a strong community.

So far these developments are poorly designed for a strong community setting.  The developers often pay no attention to what makes a vibrant community.  When they do they off load the responsibility to build those components onto government, which only forces an increase in taxes.  If the forthought was made to build for community centres, parks and health care, the new developments may cost more but the result would benefit society even more so.

Developers must realize that they are not just building houses, condo and suburbs, they are part of building society and they must take greater responsibility to do so.

youth and government

There are few areas more important than youth if a stable society is to flourish.  Within the past year we have seen the Jasmine Revolution spring up (the birth for the Arab Spring).  With the Jasmine Revolution the youth were not convinced that their future was going to improve.  Confidence was lost and the only option was to revolt.

The analogy can be brought to how any community or society collapses in relation to the Jasmine Revolution.  The youth have to be provided with a vision that life will improve.  That vision must be met with tangible examples so that the reality is felt as well.

At risk youth are part of the community and a focus on them at the earliest possible chance can save a community from greater suffering later.  A child that reaches grade ten and can not read is a failure of society as a whole.  Furthermore the future of that child will have greater challenges the longer illiteracy continues.  Crime is not a certain outcome for such a person but it is more probable.

In another analogy we can look at child soldiers and the reintegration programs for them.  With these youth the challenges are on a different scale.  However we must keep in mind that a gang in the DR Congo is based on the same ideology as a gang anywhere else in the world.  For that matter a family unit is rooted in the same ideology as gang membership.  The common link is belonging to a unit.

The feeling of belonging is a powerful piece for us.  As we build community we must tap into the sense of belonging and hope for an improved situation.  These two components work in tandem if you are wishing to build a peaceful society.

By working on the elements of belonging and hope, a peaceful society can discuss difficult choices, make difficult decissions and evolve.  At the moment there is a concern that youth in some countries are not interested in government due to a lack of control or meaning - this is a dangerous element to neglect.

Of course the youth have always been seen as a troubling issue for politicians but that tide is now flowing into those aged in their 30's.  A generation is being lost here and left to deteriorate further.  We must see the challenges now and work at the toughest points.  These points are the at risk youth.  Alone, they may not reverse, together they will have a chance to save others.