SO WHAT SHOULD WE DO?
This essay is entitled "DREAM" because I am dreaming about how the world might develop more favorably in the 2000 numbered years. Will people then act more cooperatively--do their share of the world's work and share equitably the world's resources? Who today are trying to shape the collective human character in these directions? These goals do not appear to be the primary aims of schools, universities or of religions. But come with me (!) and let's search the landscape for clues on how to contribute to such objectives, and how to find other people who might help us.
You and I are human beings, we are two among several billion living on this earth today. We are tiny actors on a giant stage and perhaps it doesn't matter what we do. Our lives are like little wiggly traces made by gamma rays in an ionization chamber in a laboratory! But why not try to nudge world conditions in more beneficial directions during the brief days we are living? Let's take a little inventory of our powers.
We speak, read, write, and communicate with many people in at least one language. We work or have worked to make homes and gardens cleaner and more fruitful, and we often engage in jobs that produce things of value. We are parts of families with parent(s) who raised us and sometimes we have children we care for. People generally like us and we strive to make friends. We have social affiliations--belong to political parties, business and college societies, churches and other religious groups. We often play golf, tennis, and other sports. We are citizens of a great nation and active in its vigorous economy. We spend money, consume much and give from our resources. This description is probably typical of many American players on the world scene.
But not all players on the world stage are the same. Most men, women, and especially children are very poor and lack the resources typical of Americans. Most have darker skins and lack world-wide communication capabilities and technical education. But all people are part of the global society. The big question is how will the Western peoples deal with the poorer Eastern and Southern continents with populations that far exceed the Western countries? Is the dream of one-world-at-peace utopian?
Here we are trying to look at the whole world picture from a personal perspective. We observe also that many American players are not philanthropic or trying to contribute to the universal betterment of man- and womankind. They (we) often act as focal points for acquisition of things to amuse us. Wealth and freedom are prime goals and social isolation sometimes is considered desirable. Class and ethnic disdain and hatred are all too prevailing in world societies. Most modern wars are caused by race and religious intolerance and recrimination.
But let us assume that we are among those who wish to act to make the world a better home for humanity. What should we do? First of all we should try to make ourselves more attractive to others. Friends are our best communication channels and a friendly, happy disposition wins friends. We need to care about our personal appearance and guard our tongue to avoid slurs and other offenses. We should work hard to produce benefits and goods for the economy. Wasting and over-indulgence hurt the world ecology and deprive other people of the stuff we waste. We should be sociable and join organizations dedicated to solving global problems. We must strive to rid our minds of class and ethnic prejudices. To assure new generations of caring children we must discharge family responsibilities faithfully.
This "do-good" list for world citizens can easily be extended to include other personal and civic virtues. The real questions are how can we live in the real world in this manner, and where are the programs and organizations to make our contributions effective? In the next paragraphs I try to find organizations and programs that ostensibly are aimed at making the world better. I will try to put their efforts in a favorable light.
WHO IS HELPING MAKE THE WORLD BETTER?
The New Urbanism
This is a rather modest movement designed to revive city life by architecturally building dwellings in cities to encourage social interaction and fostering contacts among ethnic groups and different income classes. The objectives are laudable but the successes have not been numerous. The kind of community living targeted has been achieved many times in rural villages around the world. But most urban Americans are not seeking such a life style. More is needed than accommodating geometric arrangements of housing to bring American neighbors back into communication and cooperation. This is a good program to bridge social barriers in America, but popular motivations are lacking to join such communities. Problems such as the cost of such housing and worries about privacy and crime hinder their development.
The world has seen very rapid growth of cities in the last centuries. Cities seem to offer people more prosperity, choices of jobs, and recreation. But there is instability about city life. Remote from food supplies and water their economies require good governments to control food distribution and crime. Social communities tend to be ethnic enclaves and suburbs stratified by classes and occupations. The best model for life in the expanding world may not be the giant metropolis.
We can also mention Habitat for Humanity, a related effort to build affordable housing for poor people using volunteer workers and low rates of bank interest. So far this program has not grown sufficiently to meet the gigantic world needs for low income housing. But after about 50 years the idea and altruism of the program have made a significant ideological impact by suggesting a radical approach to community cooperative efforts.
Women's contributions to a better world society
During the last two or three centuries women have organized to alleviate social problems. Certainly the abolition movement to free slaves had strong leaders who were women. Women were in the forefront of the movement to abolish child labor. They were key players in the fight to combat the evils of excessive consumption of alcohol and enact the 18th amendment. Today we see women active in the same crusade through MADD, Mothers Against Drunk Drivers. Earlier women won the right to vote in the Women's Suffrage movement. Women founded the Red Cross and have served as nurses in most hospitals and in most wars.
It is important to differentiate the primary contributions of feminine and masculine organizations. No doubt that sex is a powerful force in human society. Men and women are drawn together by strong biological attractions. Their roles are basically separated in that women only are childbearing. Gender differences can cause conflicts. History records large variations in the relations between men and women. Many societies have made women virtual slaves to men with resect to legal status. There have been romantic periods when women were idolized by men. Many folk ballads in America have depicted women as devious and deceptive. It is not only racial and religious bigotry that can destroy harmony in the next millennium!
The interface between women and men is crucial to the development of a well functioning world culture. In most countries (except Afghanistan!) women are granted legal status equal to men. But in practice there is sexual discrimination against women in many societies and nations. The feminist movement has helped to give women (sometimes) nearly as high pay for equivalent work as men. However this competition in the work place has diminished some opportunities for men. And women have not spent as much time as formerly in caring for and educating their children. Most of the goals of women's organizations in the past have been to help others. But the feminist movement can be divisive when it becomes a political program to benefit women at the expense of men and children. What is needed is not a polarized world pitting men against women, but programs to reconcile the disparate interests of men, women, and children.
Promise Keepers
Recently there have been masculine movements designed to inculcate higher moral behavior in men. The "million man" march of black men to Washington, DC in 1996 for "atonement and reconciliation" led by Louis Farrakhan received much attention from the press. Promise Keepers are men both black and white with the Christian goal to "influence my world, being obedient to the Great Commandment and the Great Commission". Today there are Promise Keepers groups active around America that practice the personal high moral principles professed by this program. These men are trying to improve themselves and their relations to their wives and children. Unlike members of many religious programs, they are not trying to correct and punish other people for their sins or crimes, but to reform themselves.
This movement has been vigorously assailed by many religious leaders who say these men do not have accurate knowledge of sacred scriptures and they are too emotional about their commitments to moral reforms. There is also a rift caused by Farrakhan's Muslim teachings and his anti-Jewish statements. The wrecking crews seem to be more vociferous than the leaders of the Promise Keepers movement. Here is a program endeavoring to elevate the moral conduct and family life of the nation. But it seems to provoke some religious leaders who in most cases have the same objectives--to uplift levels of human moral behavior and to help desperate and broken people.
The Roman Catholic Church
This largest of the Christian churches has contributed many things for the benefit of mankind. We think first of the many universities, hospitals, orphanages, and ministries to poor people that this organization has organized in the last 2,000 years. I want to mention two contributions by Jesuits, a Catholic order, that I think might be models for the new millennium. First in my mind was the marvelous program in the territory that is now Paraguay in the 16th and 17th centuries. There Catholic monks worked with the Indians, learned their languages, and greatly improved their agriculture and technologies. The natives accepted their help and friendship. Partly because of politics between Spain and Portugal and partly due to shortsighted policies of the church in Rome, this program was abandoned. Similar programs were initiated in China too, I believe, and discontinued for similar reasons. In these cases the European monks treated the natives with respect and kindness.
A more recent contribution to world improvement are the writings of the Jesuit, Pierre Teilhard de Chardin. His optimistic book "Future of Man" observes that world culture is not static but is in motion. Civilization is nascent-just in the birth stages-and marvelous consummations await a collective human society. He understands the immense dimensions of time and space and embraces research as a means for man to comprehend and develop his universe. The Roman Catholic Church renounced this genius but many of the church leaders are beginning now to appreciate Teilhard de Chardin's contributions.
The Roman Catholic church and its sister the Greek Orthodox Church were organized in the first centuries after Christ. Through church counsels and controversies with heretics they developed creeds and world views about the natural world. With the advent of science and discoveries, they were slow to accept new ideas, for example, about the origin of man and the orbit of the earth around the sun. The Bible teachings about the early return of Christ and the expected end of the world discouraged programs to develop a complete Kingdom of God on this earth. Still many saintly men and women were taught and succored by the Catholic churches. Both the Greek and Roman Catholic churches entered into secular politics and assumed powerful "divine" status in world affairs. But the teachings of Christ were preserved although not always followed. The Roman Pope is influential today in promulgating moral codes for living. Because world communism and Roman Catholicism became implacable enemies, endorsements of collective societies have been deleted from church policies (except perhaps for organizations under its jurisdiction!). Small movements of reconciliation with the Protestant churches and the Greek church are visible today. Perhaps some day there will be women priests and married priests?
Main-line Protestant programs
As I am affiliated with one of these churches, the readers may discount any praises I might give of their programs to make a better world! So I might as well be critical!
Congregationalists, Episcopalians, Methodists, Lutherans, etc. all have position papers or platforms taking positions on most political issues and suggesting remedies for ills of society. The more liberal denominations are much engaged in social programs. These activities sometimes divert the membership from Bible study and fraternal friendship (Christian love). Issues like abortion and homo-sexual behavior often cause arguments and discord. Budgets and building programs are often too important. These churches compete for members in the community though their theological difference are generally minor. Mission programs are often supported by money and not through direct contact with other poorer people or other ethnic classes. Churches are often more racially stratified than the public schools. Moral conduct is seldom mentioned in churches where 50 per cent of people are divorced and many spend money ostentatiously. To many church members, foreign countries mean places for luxury vacations. Few American members master foreign languages. The idea of a united collective world is seldom mentioned within the prevailing nationalistic, capitalistic mentality of most main-line churches.
But there is a great variety of main-line Protestant churches. In most, good scholarly English is spoken and Bible teachings are at the center of most sermons. They are centers for social fellowship helping to break down the smug isolation of suburbia. Main line Protestant churches are not usually crusaders for a better unified world. Their membership is mostly declining. But they are positive features in barren lands of commercial entertainment and dumbed-down schools. The world is better because of them.
The Protestant Fundamentalists
Some denominations of Protestant Christianity embrace a strict interpretation of the Bible for living. Much like the early New England Puritans, they believe in the inerrant (fundamental) truth of Scripture and preach strict Sunday regulations, Creationism, denounce homo-sexuality, etc.. Their primary goal is salvation of souls. They often are very active in foreign and local mission programs to help poor people. These--Fundamental, Evangelical, Pentecostal churches as they are often called--tend to be growing more rapidly than the Main-line churches. Most of the denominations are small with The Assembly of God, and the Foursquare Gospel Church being among the largest. These congregations often demonstrate charismatic gifts such as speaking in tongues. These churches reach the poor people of all races. They have spread through Central and South America and Africa. These churches provide care, friendship, and healing to many poor people. They may be the fore-runners of a better new world.
Some of the American fundamental churches, including the Southern Baptists, have engaged in American politics as conservatives. They are active mainly in southern states in promoting prayer in school laws, and anti-abortion and anti-gay legislation. Their goals seem to punish other people and compel them to conform to their religious interpretations. They do not feel the need to improve their own morals but attempt to make laws making criminals of other people in unfortunate circumstances. They have been able to prevent the US from paying its commitments to the United Nations because the UN countenances abortion in some cases for world population control. These churches often advocate states- rights and reduction in federal taxes that might be used to alleviate poverty in the US. But most of the fundamentalist churches are not very active in politics. They see God's instructions to mean helping each other. "Vengeance is mine, saith the Lord". Punishment is left to Him who knows the heart and motives of people.
Other Christian Churches
There are several other Christian groups that are influencing human relations on this planet. They are not exactly Main-line or Fundamentalist using restricted definitions of these terms usually used to appraise the activities and theology of churches. The Mormon church or the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-Day Saints has prospered since its founding in the United States by Joseph Smith and Brigham Young in the 1800s. It is established world-wide and has an aggressive recruitment program. It boasts of many cultural achievements in music and genealogical research. This church has written new scriptures and suffered severe persecutions. It is making a positive contribution to the moral life of the "new" world.
Another divergent religious community spawned by Christianity call themselves Jehovah's Witnesses. They are organized without clergy and follow closely Christ's instructions in the New Testament to travel in pairs to evangelize. Jehovah's Witnesses distribute pamphlets which have good treatments of world problems. These people suffered mass executions in Nazi concentration camps similar to the horrors experienced by Jews at that time. This denomination has spread world-wide and undoubtedly is having a positive effect on world ethics and culture.
In recent years various new-age religions have appeared in America especially. These often have tangential relations with Christian denominations but generally they espouse some cause like environmentalism as a central theme. Very wild cults have arisen with little advocacy for moral living. Perhaps some of these groups are contributing to a better world but it is hard to evaluate such activities.
These many Christian churches and sects seldom cooperate or work together. Most of them consider they have the only correct interpretation of Scriptures and that they are God's true embassadors in this world. There have been many wars and assaults among the Christian churches. And the Christian churches are usually hostile toward the Muslims, the Jews and Eastern religions. Yet if we honestly evaluate the institutions bringing character and justice on this earth, the religious communities do most of the work.
The Muslim Faith
There are a billion Moslems on this earth. Many countries are governed by Muslim laws derived from the Koran, their sacred scriptures. These people worship one God, the Jewish God of Abraham, and they are diligent in prayer. The Christian Crusades of the Middle Ages were organized to destroy Islam and the Muslim believers. This religion is very poorly understood by most Christians. With the emergence of the state of Israel in the Middle East among the Muslim countries, warfare between Israel and the Muslim countries has occurred several times in this century.
But much as in Christianity there are hard-line fundamentalists that want to regulate and punish. Some Muslim countries denounce all Western influences, destroy television sets, forbid women from working outside the home, and demand abstinence defined by the Koran as a way of life for all citizens. There are internal wars between militant Muslim fundamentalists and moderate, future-oriented Muslims wanting to build societies friendly to other religions.
I can not make an adequate evaluation of the impact of Islam on the moral character of world civilization. Concepts of justice, mercy, and care for the poor are clearly proclaimed and practiced. I think the influence of Islam has been profound and beneficial to mankind.
Jewish Contributions
The source of both the Christian and Muslim faiths can be found in the Old Testament Scriptures and Torah which are at the core of the Jewish religion. The ideas of social justice, care of poor people, repentance for sins, prayer to God, and most of the other concepts in Christian and Moslem religions originated in the Old Testament written by Jewish prophets and authors. The history of the Jewish faith and the Jewish people is central to Western religions. The pathos of the Jewish persecution in World War TWO and the establishment of the new state of Israel in this century have dramatized the Jewish part in world history. An important idea in Jewish scriptures is the concept of God working in history toward a positive consummation of human society on this earth. The Jewish people have not abandoned wisdom and science. (Some of the best computer software today is written in Israel!) We can expect Jews to be leaders for world peace and in solving problems of the world society.
The Far-eastern Religions: Buddhism, Confucianism, Hinduism, etc.
Probably most of the people on earth do not follow religious paths derived from the Jewish faith such as the Christian and Muslim religions. The cultures of China, Japan, Viet Nam, and India have spiritual roots in other religions. The moral and ethical principles endemic in people from these regions have shaped very old and very successful civilizations. These people are accustomed to living in crowded communities as are expected over all the earth in the next centuries. We in the West observe how willing these people are, as immigrants in the USA and Europe, to work hard and to live frugally. Their children are usually well-behaved and these families welcome education, literature, and science. Asians often excel in American schools and colleges. Clearly the personal characteristics these people demonstrate are what will be needed to live together in close quarters and produce the foods and goods need for giant (technologically aware) populations. Hard work and saving of resources are the keys to survival in the 2000 years. If the West is wise it will emulate Asia. The virtues of these Asians have resulted mainly from their religious beliefs.
The United Nations
In the last 50 years especially, we have witnessed repeated successes of the United Nations in mediating conflicts among and within nation-states. Not all wars have been averted but a highly respected world organization has negotiated terms for peace in most all situations. No other organization has the global perspective and the competent personnel to understand and monitor developments and problems of the planet--environmental dangers and health problems, for example. The UN deserves the support of all nations. World justice would be enhanced with an International Court or Tribunal system and military power for the UN. It is a thoughtful forum that has had good leadership. It takes corrective actions to counter the idiotic chauvinism of nations.
Military alliances and trade agreements
Much international interaction is accomplished through treaties and consortiums outside the United Nations' purview. NATO and NAFTA, for examples, are organizations in which the United States has large commitments. In addition international corporations and banks are flourishing. The world's commerce is largely controlled by stock markets and capital flow. To some extent economic competition has replaced military warfare as the means for aggrandizement. The modern battles are between giant corporations that often are international in scope and do not represent any one nation. This economic warfare is savage, using forced mergers and bribery of governments to win markets and profits. These capitalistic giants produce goods, services and employment. Their billions of dollars in capital assets are used to invest in more real estate and machinery to increase the productions and power of the corporations. Profits are also distributed to stock holders who are wealthy people of many countries. Most religions condone or even applaud capitalistic unfairness to the poor people. But because Capitalism is so superior to Socialism (!?), which tries to benefit the poor, and because of Communism's persecutions and atheism, there is little acknowledgement of the injustices of the capitalistic system.
There are still Saddam Husseins leading military attacks on neighboring states. Economic exploitation is more subtle in robbing the weaker nations and people. Both types of aggressions are destructive and unstable. Corruption and greed played a part in the financial disasters now plaguing the Pacific Rim "tiger" economies. But international aid is softening the blows there. International justice and assistance in the economic arena must be developed for the crowded new world. The little ethnic states unraveling out of the bigger countries must have protection from their neighbors and the "warrior" states. World government is clearly needed and the United Nations must take the leadership as the world's politics are now configured.
The World Federalist Association
There are groups in the United States trying to promote a vision of international cooperation, but very little popular support exists in the United States for international institutions. The World Federalist Association is an organization that supports the UN. They believe that "the U.S. Congress is doing everything in its power to cripple and even destroy if possible the United Nations". Congress opposes many UN peacekeeping and environmental protection programs. Unfortunately the primary American efforts to destroy the United Nations are carried out by Christian fundamentalists.
Nationalist Governments and Political Parties. Most nations and religions of the world are sympathetic to the concept of the Brotherhood and Sisterhood of Mankind. The less powerful militarily and economically are perhaps the most fervent believers in building a cooperating international community. The United States, in spite of shortsightedness about the needs of the UN, is not isolationist in its trade policies and has made strong efforts for world peace. The whole world is frightened by the possibilities of nuclear and chemical wars and aware of the environmental threats to the planet.
Most countries today have democratic governments of some sort, enabling political parties to exchange leadership roles peacefully. There are green parties, emphasizing environmental issues; there are socialist and labor parties, trying to aid the under-classes; and right-wing parties representing business interests and conservative religious factions. The growth of democratic governments worldwide is one of the favorable political developments operating to solve the problems of the 2000s. The political parties are often very prejudiced and bigoted and attack each other without civil dignity or decency. But such organizations bring critical problems to the surface and stimulate discussions.
Schools, colleges, and universities
There is little doubt that educational institutions in the United States influence the character of the American people. Most parents spend large sums of money to send their children to college, as a college degree confers a kind of class superiority. The state supported public schools get the lion's share of taxes. There is general agreement that our universities are technically among the best in the world and the primary-secondary schools are inadequate. But when we judge these educational systems in terms of the moral character they build in our young people we find little that is reassuring or constructive. The average teen- ager graduating from high school knows very little of the literature, geography, or foreign languages of the world. Most have never been taught how to do hard manual work. Religions have been eradicated from all schools, and morals or "right and wrong" are not taught. The primary life goal promoted by colleges is to make as much money as fast as possible. Our educational systems do not teach or equip young people to cope with the hardships and social congestion foreseen in the next centuries.
American Civil Liberties Union
This is a group dedicated to preserving civil rights in America. They function mainly by legal actions and press reports to defend people's rights to act freely and unconventionally. They are involved in child abuse cases, defense of homosexuals, and in opposition to many programs promoted by fundamentalist Christians. Much like the National Rifle Association they are radical fighters for causes that do not build programs to make society more loving or cooperative. The exaggeration of personal freedom does not make people more responsible for needs of others or obedient to moral laws. Because of the threat of legal action, children are not punished for misbehavior or taught to obey authority. The net result of the ACLU program is to make society more litigious, irresponsible, and libertine. But the ACLU acts to restrain the politics of right-wing religious fundamentalists.
WHICH ORGANIZATIONS MIGHT HELP US TO BUILD A BETTER WORLD?
In the above paragraphs you have my opinion about groups that might possibly contribute to a better human civilization on this planet. These are organizations I have had some contact with, but there are, no doubt, many more groups that are helping in positive ways to shape the new world. Please excuse my omissions of your favorite candidate organization.
I believe that religions are the molders of civilizations. I think the Christian religion has played a major role in shaping the character of the United States. I believe that all our presidents have had a Christian conscience, and the founders of our nation were much influenced by Bible teachings. I will end this essay suggesting how Christian living can help us develop the personal actions and attitudes described earlier that are needed to bring about a united, peaceful human civilization on earth. I believe too that the other religions and organizations summarized above will aid in making the compressed populations of the world work together and share food, water and technology among all peoples.
Christian teachers and preachers have difficulties in forming the citizens needed for the new world or the "new kingdom" to use Bible language. Even though much of the Bible is devoted to instructions for living and how to have a pure heart free from hypocrisy, this information is seldom taught in churches. Pride, pomp, and exhibition are the usual menu of activities. People of other races, income, and languages are generally ignored. The worlds of congregations are small and narrow. Love, friendship, sociability, help to others, generosity are the hallmarks of Christianity, but often they are lacking in Christian churches. Re-read the characteristics I recommended earlier as those needed to generate the "new world". Aren't these the hallmarks of Christianity? "(Ye) have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, and mercy and faith; these ye aught to have done and not to leave the other undone" were words of Christ to the religious leaders of his day. Matt. 23:23.
The principal point of this paper is to declare that Christianity can rebuild the character of humans so they can live together as a single cooperative community on the earth. We need to follow the teachings of Jesus. These are written in the 4 Gospels as remembered from Christ's oral sermons and private instructions to his many followers. Nothing was written down while he was speaking--no tape recorders or shorthand notes. But people in those days knew how to memorize what they heard. He kept repeating the need for a clean heart free from hypocrisy. Love for the other guy summed up his advice on living. Do not do good works for show, but do them as overflow from a pure heart. Keep the Jewish laws as rules for moral conduct but shun the elaborate fetish of Sabbath regulations and temple oaths and sacrifices. He was very critical of the religious establishment of his day. He could have said these words for the present day religious people: "Judge not, and ye shall not be judged, condemn not , and ye shall not be condemned, forgive and ye shall be forgiven." Luke 6:37
Some churches today do not emphasize the teachings of Jesus. On the rare occasions that God spoke in the Gospels, at Christ's baptism and the Transfiguration, God said "Listen to him". But his teachings on how to live this life and build a new kingdom on earth have been largely disregarded by Christians. (The apostle Paul seldom mentions Christ's teachings or his healing (nor do the church creeds). But Paul was writing before the Gospels were widely distributed and read. He can be excused perhaps. And as a Pharisee he knew the Jewish law which is included in Christ's teachings.) But Christ transformed the Law into the human conscience as a mandate for love to others. Humility is not a popular concept today. But hear him: "But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant. And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted." Matt. 23; 11 & 12.
True followers of Jesus' teachings can transform human society into a harmonious community.
Carl Sletten, August 10, 1998