Democracy…is meant to be a conversation. –Brian Eno
As I have been reflecting these past days, weeks, months, it occurred to me recently that ‘We’ need to engage in ‘Two Conversations.’ One conversation needs to involve religious leaders. A diverse group of religious leaders is crucial and at minimum the ‘People of the Book’ religious leaders [Judaism, Christianity, Islam]. These religious leaders include both ‘official’ and ‘lay’ leaders.
The second conversation needs to involve current and former political leaders and ‘business’ leaders [I wrote ‘business’ this way as for-profit and not-for-profit leaders must be involved]. The topic: What is the direction that globalization must take?
Why this topic? Consider that technology and the increased pace and broadening extent of global trade continue to shift, change and transform our world at such a rate that it is nearly impossible for us to keep up. The rate of shifts, changes and transformations is greater than our ability to learn all that we need to learn in order to ‘manage’ this explosion. We can’t control it; we might be able to manage it.
[AN ASIDE: If you, Gentle Reader, have been following my postings you know that there is a significant difference between a shift, change, & transformation. There is also a fourth dynamic, evolution that can come into play.]
‘Technology’ [a broad term that contains many diverse sub-sets] and the sheer pace and extent of global trade are impacting our world at a rate greater than we can embrace. This has brought benefits to many, but distress, disruption and poverty to many others. It is these ‘others’ whose voices we must hear and heed. One gift of technology is that we can, if we so desire, now hear these ‘other’ voices.
For thousands of years this ‘gathering of diverse voices’ has been a tap root of all faith traditions – it was (‘was’ = it is at risk of being, at minimum, marginalized) for all faith traditions (and many philosophic-humanist traditions) one of their greatest virtues.
Even folks like Karl Marx (yes, Gentle Reader, ‘that’ K.M.) – one of religions’ greatest critics – noted that ‘Religious suffering is at the same time an expression of real suffering and a protest against real suffering. Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the feeling of a heartless world, the soul of soulless conditions.’
We have been entrusted with our world and thus we must bring voice to the silent cry of those who today suffer from want, hunger, disease, powerlessness and the lack of freedom (think: Freedom ‘from’ and Freedom ‘to do & be’).
Consider that the democracies of the West are not equipped to embrace and engage these challenges. That is not because they do not care; as Cultures rooted in faith, philosophic-humanistic traditions that promote caring they do care. They are not equipped because they have adopted and integrated mechanisms (yes, the ‘mechanical model’ is alive and well) that have marginalized moral considerations.
The ‘mechanisms’ are ‘hard’ and the ‘moral considerations’ are ‘soft.’ The language we use (think: metaphors) supports-enhances and diminishes-dismisses. The mechanical metaphor and the banking metaphor supports-enhances ‘hard’ and diminishes-dismisses ‘soft.’
Dogma has replaced thoughtful conversation. –James McGreevey
Searcher-Seeker 