I was just reading an article I picked up from google news about Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad speaking at the United nations for the 8th time.
A lot of what he said made sense, and a lot was the usual anti-American and anti-West rhetoric and posturing.
But what became clear to me as I read all these articles from news sites around the world was that all countries, and all cultures and religions around the world are suffering from a common weakness - fear.
On the basis of fear, threats are made.
International bullies, just like bullies in the school yard, act as they do out of fear of appearing weak, and on the basis that, if my threat is big enough, everyone will do as I say and I will be safe.
The bullied also fear that their freedom, their way of life is under threat.
The financial markets fear the economic problems of Greece and Spain are a threat to their financial security. So they remove their money to a safer place where it will do nothing, produce nothing, but earn interest, thus increasing the likelihood that what they fear will actually come to pass.
The ideal principle of human behaviour has to be the principle of giving, because if it is the opposite - the principle of taking - then everyone will stand with hands out waiting to receive and no one will prosper.
When everyone gives, then everyone without exception can receive. All economic models and social systems that work depend on this principle.
There is a story in India, that in one village someone saw a dangerous and poisonous snake nearby, and the whole village was running around in a panic because the snake was there.
One man went out and took a proper look and perhaps he could see more clearly, but he discovered that the snake was actually a piece of rope.
He returned to the village and told everyone he met, but no one believed him, because the fear distorted their judgement to such an extent, that they were afraid to give up their belief just in case it turned out to be really a snake, and everyone had in any case accepted the existence of the snake for so long, that it had become a way of life.
But the basis for all this fear was a false perception. We desperately need a paradigm shift in human awareness.
The whole world of international politics - the threats, gesturing, bullying and posturing - comes from the same basic problem. It's a snake whose existence relies on our false belief that other peoples are to be feared.
We should all just calm down and get on with helping each other to live in freedom and success, allowing this beautiful mosaic of different cultures and religions to coexist without fearing that one will overshadow the other.
It's these differences that make the world an interesting and wonderful place to be.
I think that if one country could dare to start behaving differently, and become the friend of all other countries without issuing threats the rest would inevitably follow, because it is just such a sensible, intelligent wise way to deal with each other.
I am reminded of a quote from young Jewish girl Anne Franks who died in a nazi concentration camp at the end of the 2nd world war:
"I keep my ideals, because in spite of everything, I still believe that people are really good at heart."
A beautiful belief in humanity, in spite of the great inhumanity shown to her.
Such a wise thought from a 15 year old girl.
No comments:
Post a Comment