Praeclaras veritatem tantum et pacem diligite. Zacharias 8:19, Biblia Sacra Vulgata
"Truth and peace are two core parts of healthy relationships. They are both sources and signs of relational health. Said another way, healthy relationships thrive on consistently speaking the truth peacefully and living in peace truthfully...Loving truth and peace is a daily and practical pathway for loving people."Loving Truth and Peace 1
One way to summarize the current 15 entries--and the 46 entries on LTP over the past two years--is to encourage us to embrace these four LTP commitments:
Pursue LTP whole-heartedly.
Practice LTP always.
Live LTP.
Be LTP.
(TED--National Public Radio program, 12 December 2012) . 'I am deluding myself as a reporter
if I think that what I do can stop a war... I can only be a witness. My role is to be a voice to the voiceless.'
Janine Di Giovani (TEDxTalk, below, slightly paraphrased)
What I Saw in War (12 minutes, subtitles available in 32 languages)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2hQL9Zrokk
Also:
1. Click the link below to access:
--podcast and the transcript of Janine Di Giovani (11.5 minutes) on the TED Radio Hour, National Public Radio (USA), 12 December 2014
http://www.npr.org/2014/12/12/369675846/what-does-it-take-to-cover-a-war
2. Click here to access the full hour NPR program on "Courage":
http://www.npr.org/player/v2/mediaPlayer.html?action=1&t=3&islist=true&id=57&d=12-12-2014
3. Transcript excerpt:
"RAZ [moderator]: Janine's probably covered every major war
for the past 25 years - so obviously, an incredibly courageous person, right?
But the thing is, she'd say that all of that pales in comparison to the kind of
courage she's seen in others.
DI GIOVANNI [war correspondent]: And it usually comes down to
ordinary people, when confronted with great evil, taking and making choices
that would, for me, give the real explanation of courage. I mean, to me, I
always thought the most courageous people I knew were people that faced
insurmountable challenges in their lives. And that could be someone with cancer
who battles it out and gets through the day, or children who walk to school in
Africa because they really want to be educated, or someone who survives a
genocide by hiding or hiding other people." 4. One more item: 10 December 2014 marks the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr. receiving the Noble peace Prize on behalf of the Civil Rights Movement. Click the link below to watch the video of his acceptance speech (12 minutes). His voice still rings true today. http://www.nobelprize.org/mediaplayer/index.php?id=1853 Here is the transcript: http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1964/king-acceptance_en.html
Either Way... The opposite of love is apathy.
Rollo May
Either Way, Guster (performed live 2013)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIFuPziXnps
Doing or not doing LTP--either way is fine, right?
Lyrics
You were almost kind, you were almost true
Don't let me see that other side of you
You have learned in time that you must be cruel
I'll have to wait to get the best of you
Poison in everything you say
Don't you, don't you
Wonder what difference does it make?
Either way
You were almost kind, you were almost true
Why give away that other side of you?
Happens every time so it must be true
Step on a kid he'll grow up hating you
Poison in every thing you say
Don't you, don't you
Wonder what difference does it make?
Either way
Were you ever kind? Were you always cruel?
Who's ever seen that other side of you?
Happens every time so it must be true
Where did you learn it's either him or you?
You were almost kind, you were almost true
Don't give away that other side of you
You have learned in time that you must be cruel
I'll have to wait to get the best of you
Poison in everything you say
Don't you, don't you
Wonder what difference does it make?
Either way
Recreancy means cowardly betrayal. It is
the opposite of courageous love—courageously loving people in truth and peace. There is a brief, earlier entry about
recreancy on this weblog: http://coremembercare.blogspot.fr/search/label/recreancy
One of the most gripping examples of
recreancy in film that I have seen is in TheKite
Runner (2007), based on the 2003 book of the same name by Khaled Hoessini. “…it tells the story of Amir, a
young boy from theWazir Akbar Khandistrict ofKabul, whose closest friend is Hassan, his father's youngHazaraservant.
The story is set against a backdrop of tumultuous events, from the fall ofAfghanistan's monarchythrough
theSoviet military
intervention, the exodus ofrefugeestoPakistanand the United States, and the rise of theTalibanregime.”
(Wikipedia:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Kite_Runner)
In the film, you see recreancy deceptively seeping into
the friendship of Amir and Hassan. For example, Amir
does not defend Hassan in his time of need, then Amir discredits/shames him,
then Amir abandons him—all unbeknownst to Hassan. Things have a chance to change
though later in life, but that is for you to read or see for yourself. :-)
Here is a scene from the movie, reflecting
the opposite of recreancy: Hassan’s courageous love for Amir in spite of how the
latter treats him. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wzybmzkcw70
A few months ago I went to the local car wreck place, not too far from one of the French borders with Switzerland. I wanted to find some emblems that were on Rovers--a British car whose emblem is a Viking long ship. Tres cool! We had a Rover for over 15 years and so they are very special to me. And since I loved to study Norse mythology as a kid, the emblem of a Viking long ship was particularly meaningful (and enticing).
So I went to the car wreck place and asked the attendant if I could look around and collect some Rover emblems. He said ok and so off I went, searching among the 300 or so cars. I found several Rovers here and there and easily pried off about 10 emblems with a simple flick of a screwdriver. One by one I popped them into my shirt pocket (I guess unconsciously placing them close to my heart). I was elated!
After about 15 minutes of successful scavenging, I headed back to the attendant, let him know I found some (intentionally not telling him how many), and asked how much I should pay. Ten Euros is fine he said. I got even more excited because this seemed like such a really good deal. And so I gave him 10 Euros and drove off happy to have gotten so many gems at such a cheap price.
After about a minute driving in the car though, I became aware of a growing sense of discomfort, suggesting that something was not exactly right. The thought occurred to me that maybe it really was not so "ok-ish" to have withheld from the attendant the fuller story about how many emblems I actually had.
Then started a discussion inside my head that this matter or "whatever" really did not matter: no one wanted the emblems, the attendant could have asked more questions, 10 Euros is kind of a lot of money for old plastic things,...etc. The inner discussion went on and on, well, for about 20 seconds...and then suddenly, I just turned the car around and went back to the local car wreck place, found the attendant, and explained to him that I actually got a lot of the Rover emblems from various cars. I asked if it was still 10 Euros and he said that's ok. And we both smiled.
I drove off not quite so happy as the first time a few minutes earlier, yet with my conscience cleared and perhaps a bit more aware of how easy it is to deceive myself. The only inner voices I had to fend off now were those that started to congratulate me on what an exemplary moral person I was....
So in retrospect, it reminds me...
That if I am faithful in the little things I will likely be more faithful in the big things.
That it is really good to acknowledge mistakes...and sins (missing the moral mark).
And that loving truth and peace is a 24/7 challenge and a 24/7 commitment.
I've been thinking--the next time I have a moral decision to make, the next time I am wondering if I am loving truth and peace, to ask myself: What Would Judas Do? Perhaps asking ourselves this question is even more effective than asking ourselves the other one made somewhat famous by the WWJD wristbands: What Would Jesus Do?
As for Judas:
He would betray vulnerable people through silence, neutrality, passivity.
He would betray by distorting the truth for his own advantage: slanting important information, its interpretation, and its implementation.
He would betray by preserving peace for his own interests (pseudo-peace) at the expense of the truth--and vulnerable others.
He would betray by telling half-truths.
He'd kiss you privately and kill you openly
He'd kiss you openly and kill you privately.
He would feign truth and peace.
He might even rather die than ask forgiveness for having made a "mistake."
Judas--and the Judas dimension in us--is both a foul-weather fiend and a fair-weather "friend."
So is he really worth his weight...in tarnishing silver?
LTP is foundational for the fulfillment of the SDGs
The Age of Sustainable Development
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7PTbo4ZSW0
We are right in the middle, as the world community
via the UN, of formulating and
negotiating the Post 2015 Agenda for sustainable development. What will be the
agreed-upon goals, targets, and indicators that will take us to 2030? The Open Working Groups
Outcome Documentfrom July 2014 is the main reference point for the
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that are emerging, building upon the
previous efforts, especially the lessons learned from the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
Central to the upcoming SDGs is the massive effort to eradicate poverty in all its forms, prioritizing both people and the planet, and doing so by integrating the SDG’s social,
economic, and environmental dimensions.
What’s next? Heading
towards the SDGs in 2015
The next major step in the SDG process is the UN
Secretary General's Synthesis Report due in November 2014. Here are some of the
recent and upcoming events related to the SDGs, for reference (source: http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/beyond2015-overview.shtml)
“In the lead up to the summit in September 2015
where world leaders are expected to gather to adopt the post-2015 development
agenda, the Secretary-General and UN System will keep supporting UN Member
States as intergovernmental deliberations continue. Results from consultations,
key reports and other processes in 2014 will feed into the Secretary-General’s
Synthesis Report, which is expected by the end of 2014. The Secretary-General’s
Synthesis Report will be presented to Member States to set the stage for
negotiations leading up to the September 2015 summit.
·High-level Stocktaking Event on the Post-2015
Development Agenda (September 2014)
·Special Session to Follow Up Programme of Action of
the International Conference on Population and Development (September 2014)
·Report of the Independent Expert Advisory Group on
the Data Revolution for Sustainable Development (2014)
·The Secretary-General’s Synthesis Report (2014)
·World Economic Forum (January 2015)
·Commission on the Status of Women [Beijing+20]
(March 2015)
·Spring Meetings of the World Bank Group and the
International Monetary Fund (April 2015)
·Millennium Development Goals Report 2015 (July
2015)
·Third International Conference on Financing for
Development (July 2015)
·Millennium Development Goals Gap Task Force Report
2015 (September 2015)”
Learning More about SDGs
One way among
many to go further and deeper with the SDGs, is to participate in all or part
of the free online course on sustainable development by Jeffery Sach’s et al. at the Earth
Institute, Columbia University. We have included the introductory video lecture
(11 minutes) at the beginning of this entry but you can watch the shorter
course overview/promo too (five minutes) called, “The Age of Sustainable
Development.” As you will see, the in-depth focus on sustainable development is not seen simply as the faddish-flavor
of the month but rather as the main course for this century!
How does LTP (loving
truth and peace) relate to the SDGs (sustainable development goals?
We as humanity
must love (highly esteem and sacrificially commit to): truth (honestly reviewing and acknowledging the world
situation with its problems, injustices, in equities, etc. along with monitoring our progress
in and responsibilities for improving the world) and peace (holistic wellbeing and harmony for all people and
all nations—security, prosperity, development). Loving truth and peace for me is thus
the foundational value and commitment as
I seek to do my part in the SDGs.
Some Questions
Are the SDGs actually
achievable or just aspirational?
What types of
major shifts are needed to see them realized?
What are
humanity’s strengths and weaknesses in trying to accomplish the SDGs?
Strap lines,
dedications, images, songs, art, even epitaphs (as in the musical piece above). There are so many ways to succinctly
convey want we hold dear—things which summarize our life philosophy and highest
values to be shared with others and perhaps if we could, the world. Loving truth and peace (LTP), the subject of the last 35+ entries, is an example.
More Examples
A related
value-message for us, is from our skype
address/profile. The word "love" is the imperative form of the verb.
Love: truth, peace, and people.
Here is one from
my youth. It is what we would put at the top of our school work at
St. Leo’s Catholic Primary School in San Jose, California. (photo is me—Kelly--from
about age 7). It was properly punctuated and always underlined. It stood for “Jesus
Mary, and Joseph.” Our school work was dedicated to all three of them.
J.M.J.
Here is one from Ignatius Loyola (16th
century) and used by the Society of Jesus that he founded (Jesuits). We like it so much that we included it as the
dedication in our edited book Global
Member Care (Volume 2): Crossing Sectors for Serving Humanity. “For the greater glory of God” or abbreviated
to “AMDG.”
Ad majorem Dei gloriam
A similar one was used by Bach and Handel (17th -18th
centuries) as they would sign their musical pieces—sometimes abbreviated simply
as as “SDG.”
Soli Deo gloria
Here is another
one that we like, from Dr. Anthony Marsella, a colleague who among other affiliations
is part of Psychologists for Social Responsibility. Tony includes this piece as part of his email
signature line. “Show, by your actions, that you choose
peace over war, freedom over oppression, voice over silence, service over
self-interest, respect over advantage, courage over fear, cooperation over
competition, action over passivity, diversity over uniformity, and justice over
all.”
And finally here is an epitaph from two astronomers who were husband and wife, Brian and Susan Campbell (1862-1909, 1863-1910, respectively) found in Allegheny, PA USA. There is also a short musical piece whose lyrics are the words on their gravestone (we included it in our wedding ceremony). Have a listen--it is the opening video above.
We have loved the stars too
deeply
to be afraid of the night.
*****
What would your core value-message be? Another way to
think about it is what would be the subtitle or cover image for your autobiography?
Or a song to play at a special event in your honor?
From dawn to
dusk the correction and copying of the Gulag went forward; I
could scarcely keep the pages moving fast enough. Then the typewriter started
breaking down everyday, ... This was the most frightening moment of all: we had
the only original manuscript and all the typed copies of Gulag there
with us. If the KGB suddenly descended, the many-throated groan, the dying
whisper of millions, the unspoken testament of those who had perished, would
all be in their hands, and I would never be able to reconstruct it all, my
brain would never be capable of it again.
I could have
enjoyed myself so much, breathing the fresh air, resting, stretching my cramped
limbs, but my duty to the dead permitted no such self-indulgence. They are
dead. You are alive: do your duty. The world must know all about it.
They could
take my children hostage – posing as “gangsters,” of course. (They did not know that we [my wife and I] had
thought of this and made a superhuman decision: our children were no dearer to
us than the memory of the millions done to death, and nothing could make us
stop that book.)
Excerpt from The Oak and the Calf, 1975,
A. Solzhenitsyn, English translation, 1979, 1980 by Harper and Row Publishers.
"Over the last
century, we have witnessed the subtle diminution of the word “hero.” This title
was once reserved only for those who did great things at great personal risk…In
prior generations, words like bravery, fortitude, gallantry, and valor stirred
our souls…But we spend little time thinking about the deep meanings these words
once carried, and focus less on trying to encourage ourselves to consider how
we might engage in bravery in the social sphere, where most of us will have an
opportunity to be heroic at one time or another. As our society dumbs down
heroism, we fail to foster heroic imagination.
There
are several concrete steps we can take to foster the heroic imagination. We can
start by remaining mindful, carefully and critically evaluating each situation
we encounter so that we don’t gloss over an emergency requiring our action. We
should try to develop our “discontinuity detector”—an awareness of things that
don’t fit, are out of place, or don’t make sense in a setting. This means
asking questions to get the information we need to take responsible action.
Second, it is important
not to fear interpersonal conflict, and to develop the personal hardiness
necessary to stand firm for principles we cherish. In fact, we shouldn’t think
of difficult interactions as conflicts but rather as attempts to challenge
other people to support their own principles and ideology.
Third, we must
remain aware of an extended time-horizon, not just the present moment. We
should be engaged in the current situation, yet also be able to detach part of
our analytical focus to imagine alternative future scenarios that might play
out, depending on different actions or failures to act that we take in the
present. In addition, we should keep part of our minds on the past, as that may
help us recall values and teachings instilled in us long ago, which may inform
our actions in the current situation.
Fourth, we have to
resist the urge to rationalize inaction and to develop justifications that
recast evil deeds as acceptable means to supposedly righteous ends.
Finally, we must
try to transcend anticipating negative consequence associated with some forms
of heroism, such as being socially ostracized. If our course is just, we must
trust that others will eventually recognize the value of our heroic actions."
Excerpt from “The
Banality of Heroism” by Zeno Franco and Philip Zimbardo, 1 September 2006
I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to its starless midnight of racism and war that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality....I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word.
Truth and peace are two core parts of healthy relationships. They are
both sources and signs of relational health. Said another way, healthy relationships
thrive on consistently speaking the truth peacefully and living in peace truthfully.
This new set of entries brings together the previous entries on living in truth
(15) and living in peace (15): loving truth and
peace (LTP). LTP leads to living in truth and peace (honesty and harmony). It is
not easy of course. One key way to promote LTP is to regularly
have trusted others be mirrors for us and vice versa. Being
mirrors means giving feedback on behaviors, attitudes, and motives. It includes shining
a light into each others' lives regarding possible rationalizations, self-justifications,
or other distortions of reality. It helps us to not settle for the convenient substitutes of partial truths and pseudo peace.LTP is a daily discipline and practical pathway for loving people.
LTP is emphasized throughout the Judeo-Christian scriptures. My favourite
example is from the 6th century BC prophet Zechariah, cited below. His
instructive words, indeed admonition, reflect the core of LTP. They are also the guiding principle for this new
set of entries.
Do not fear! These are the things which you
should do: speak the truth to one another; judge with truth and judgment for
peace in your gates. Also let none of you devise evil in your heart against another,
and do not love perjury; for I hate all these things, declares the Lord. . . .
So love truth and peace.
