Friday 24 September 2010

The Commonwealth Games: more at stake than gold medals

Quote
“Serious sport has nothing to do with fair play. It is bound up with hatred, jealousy, boastfulness, disregard of all rules and sadistic pleasure in witnessing violence. In other words, it is war minus the shooting.”  George Orwell.

News
Next week's Commonwealth Games in India threatens to be a fiasco.  The sports facilities in Delhi are unsafe, two structures have collapsed over the last few days, and parts of the athletes' accommodation are barely fit for human habitation.  Several competitors have pulled out, worried about health and security issues.

Despite India's rich tradition in offering hospitality, they are struggling to welcome the world's athletes as they had hoped.  On closer inspection there are a multiplicity of relational issues behind the physical failures that are glaringly apparent in Delhi.

Local journalists state the problems stem from India wanting to compete with China, trying to outdo their hosting of the last Olympics.  Effective coordination of the numerous organising committees for the Games has been hampered by a failure of the various chairpersons to meet - another relationship problem.  Protests over the displacement of over 100,000 people from the land needed to build the venues and the appaling safety record of construction (47 building workers have been killed), and lobbying by environmental groups have added to delays in the project.  These suggest that the elites are pursuing national prestige at the expense of the most vulnerable, uprooting some of Delhi's poorest citizens and destroying their communities.

This begs the question, who are the Commonwealth Games for?  Which relationships are enrichened by having the Games in India?  Most Indians are not even interested in track and field events - their national sports are hockey and cricket.  If the government's main motivation is to prove to other nations that India is a modern, sophisticated country, ready to host major international sports events and take its place on the world stage, then sadly, the evidence this week suggests the opposite. 

Read on...
What makes a nation great?  We would argue that it comes from the quality of its relationships, not just at the household level, but across the wide spectrum of public and private life.  Our colleagues at Relationships Foundation argue that a new set of national policy goals is needed, based on national wellbeing, which in turn depends on the quality of our relationships.  Read their persuasive arguments in "A Relationships State of the Nation" www.relationshipsglobal.net/Web/OnlineStore/Product.aspx?ID=50.

Walk the talk
Although it may be subconsciously done, how often do you seek to build your reputation on the outward signs of success, rather than on the strength of your character and the quality of your relationships?  It may be countercultural to choose the latter, but it is authentic and the rewards are enduring.

The last word
From the Bible, Proverbs 14:34: "Righteousness [which can be defined as right relationships] exalts a nation..."

Friday 17 September 2010

The US Tea Party and the spectre of fascism

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“Democracy is talking itself to death. The people do not know what they want; they do not know what is the best for them. There is too much foolishness, too much lost motion. I have stopped the talk and the nonsense. I am a man of action. Democracy is beautiful in theory; in practice it is a fallacy. You in America will see that some day.”  Benito Mussolini in a letter to the New York Times, 1928.

News
A sea change in US politics in favour of the “Tea Party” movement is emerging in the US primaries ahead of the November elections for Congress. On Wednesday, newcomer Christine O’Donnell beat veteran congressman Mike Castle to the Republican nomination for Delaware, sending a powerful message to the party elite that people want change.

Named after the Boston Tea Party in 1773, this populist movement has emerged from nowhere as an angry reaction to the massive government bailout of big corporations and costly health care reforms – all at the taxpayers expense.    

Although the current focus of the movement is strictly economic (the central tenets are fiscal responsibility, limited government and free markets), some of its leading supporters have far right political views.  Opponents on the left criticize some Tea Party members as racist, but others recognize that it is helping democracy by warning how the federal government's amassing of power is taking the country in a totalitarian direction.

Whatever the Tea Party becomes, it has won the support of nearly 20% of the US population in just 18 months, without any leadership or central organization.  It shows how quickly large numbers of angry, disaffected citizens can be rallied, especially using the internet. 

While the movement seems mostly level-headed now, it is vulnerable to being swayed by a more militant rallying cry – which is raising the spectre of fascism again in European countries such as Austria, France, Belgium and UK.

Read on...
Michael Schluter has written some brief notes reflecting on the rising threat of fascism as one of the long term implications and consequences of the West’s debt crisis.  You can read them here: www.relationshipsglobal.net/Web/OnlineStore/Product.aspx?ID=49

Walk the talk
Anger is a normal reaction to injustice and wrongdoing.  It is a powerful motivator to action.  The challenge for individuals and groups in society is how to direct that anger in a constructive way in order to right wrongs and oppose injustice – but without retaliation or revenge.  The benefits of getting this right are immense, as is the further damage of getting it wrong.  How well are you directing your anger, both personally and towards what is happening in society?

The last word
From the Bible, Matthew 16, verse 3: "You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times."

Friday 10 September 2010

Post mortem on the Gulf oil disaster

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"I would love to just spend a lot of my time venting and yelling at people. But that's not the job I was hired to do. My job is to solve this problem," President Obama on the Gulf oil spill.

News
On Wednesday BP published its report on what went wrong on the ill-fated Deepwater Horizon drilling rig on 20th April.  No one action or inaction was behind the accident, states the report, instead "multiple companies, work teams and circumstances were involved over time".  However, the words blame, regret, apology, mistake and pollution are completely absent from the report.
Not surprisingly, the language of the report and initial responses from the two other companies involved tries to spread the responsibility as widely as possible, since any clear admission of liability would lead to far greater lawsuits for damages and compensation.
The tragedy of this disaster is not only the 11 lives lost, the fishing and tourism businesses which have suffered, and the long term damage to the environment.  The culture of blame and litigation has ended up preventing the people who know that they took a wrong decision from apologising unreservedly to those who have suffered as a result – which could at least have brought healing to the relationship and eased the burden of guilt. 
Instead, although the leaking well has finally been capped, and victims of the disaster will get compensation, the flow of resentment and bitterness that is still leaking into the hearts of many people remains unchecked.

Read on...
Donald Shriver’s book “An Ethic for Enemies – Forgiveness in Politics” seeks to explore beyond the language of justice in international relations to how forgiveness between nations might enter the realm of politics.  To get a taste of this challenging book, you can read the introduction here www.relationshipsglobal.net/Web/OnlineStore/Product.aspx?ID=48 

Walk the talk
Although forgiveness is usually between two individuals, relationships between individuals and groups can also be broken (e.g. between a Louisiana fisherman and BP as a company.)  The next time you are aware of any resentment in your heart against a group – perhaps a social class, members of a different race or nation, or the adherents of another religion, consider what lies at its root and how you might find a way towards forgiveness. 

The last word
From the Bible, Mark 11 verse 25: “And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.”

Friday 3 September 2010

Middle East peace talks: what’s in a handshake?


Quote
“Anger makes you smaller, while forgiveness forces you to grow beyond what you were.”
Cherie Carter-Scott

News
This week President Obama has brought together four government leaders for the nearly impossible task of making a fresh agreement on peace in the Middle East.  Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu shook hands with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, as Jordan and Egypt’s heads of state looked on.  Talks began in Washington on Thursday to try and find a way forward on the intractable issues of West Bank settlements, security, the borders of a Palestinian State, Jerusalem and the refugee issue.

While this fresh initiative is to be welcomed and encouraged, there are limits to what heads of state can do, for all their vigorous efforts and noble speeches.  Mr Abbas only represents the West Bank Palestinians; Hamas, who rule Gaza, are excluded from the talks.  Then there is no telling whether these leaders’ successors will keep their commitments (Egypt’s President Mubarak is 82 and frail).  Also there are militant groups in each country who may seek to sabotage the process – such as those responsible for killing 4 Israeli settlers on Tuesday.

What hope is there of these talks leading to a lasting peace?  Ultimately what is needed is the reconciliation of peoples who are deeply suspicious and fearful of each other.  The path towards rebuilding trust and the road to forgiveness are long and hard, but exemplary relational leadership can bring this about.  This is not primarily a task for heads of state but for “ordinary” Israelis and Palestinians learning to look at the other as a fellow human being again, and daring to take small steps of reconciliation in their direction, beginning, perhaps, with a handshake.

Read on...
While President Obama’s initiative makes the headlines, there are other organisations working unobtrusively behind the scenes to promote dialogue and build bridges of reconciliation.  One of these is our sister organisation, Concordis International, whose work you can read about here www.concordis-international.org/.  They recently produced a 28 page booklet on the Israeli Palestinian Conflict, which is available for free, or you can read it online www.concordis-international.org/files/pdfs/Concordis_Papers_VIII_UKChurches_ISRPALConflict_2ndEdition.pdf  

Walk the talk
Some of you may follow the Israeli-Palestinian conflict closely, others have perhaps lost sight of what it is all about.  While most of us are not in a position to get involved directly, you could support Concordis International and help bring about dialogue and reconciliation in Africa and the Middle East through them. Visit www.concordis-international.org/support-us.html  

The last word
From the Bible, Matthew 5, verse 9: “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.”