The Blog of Akio Matsumura

A Conversation with Senator Claiborne Pell: Our Perception of Islam's Peoples and Cultures is America's 21st Century Challenge

2011-04-17T01:52:00.009-04:00

By Chris Cote

“I always try to let the other man have my way.” -Senator Claiborne Pell (RI).

Senator Pell, Maki, Akio, and Mrs. Pell at the Pell's home, Newport, RI

Senator Pell accomplished a great deal in a long life of service to his country. After attending Princeton, Pell departed for World War II and then joined the Foreign Service. He was elected to the Senate in 1960. He was largely responsible for the Pell Grant (first called the Basic Educational Opportunity Grant), which has helped thousands of low-income Americans attend college, and wrote the laws that created the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities. He spoke out strongly against the Vietnam War. In 1987 he became Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which he led until the Senate switched parties in 1995. He had developed Parkinson’s disease and retired from the Senate in 1997, after nearly four decades in office. (To read a charming account of the senator's life, see his obituary in the New York Times.)

Pell's deep devotion to service was not confined to the US: his vision, as a statesmen and as an individual, transcended borders. Senator Pell sat on the Steering Committee of the Global Forum conferences in Moscow and in Rio while chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Akio has consistently mentioned him as one of the few US politicians he has known who thought beyond stale, politically dogmatic issues and focused on transcending traditional barriers in the name of greater national and international security.

Senator Pell and Akio met extensively at the end of the last decade, discussing and outlining the issues for the next century. In 1999, Pell invited Akio and his wife Maki to stay at his home in Newport, Rhode Island. Pell sat Akio down and asked him what the biggest issue America’s political leaders must be concerned with in the 21^st century. Akio unequivocally replied that the task for US leaders was to reorient Americans’ perception of Islam’s many people and many cultures—that there would be no use in becoming tangled in issues of religious dogma, but that commonalities of culture could and must be found. September 2001 made it painstakingly clear: America’s great challenge in the 21^st century is to tell the story of Islam’s followers in a positive light. The “Arab spring” is a welcome first step in which we played no part, and should remain playing no part.

Senator Pell’s question and Akio’s response capture this blog’s motto: “Finding the Missing Link for Our Common Future.” What is the essence of the shared human experience? Countries, cultures, and institutions erect barriers to consolidate power and separate those inside from those outside. These walls, although they instigate violence, are falsely constructed and thus paper thin, able to be broken by those willing to think in a larger, more positive sense.

Giandomenico Picco, a former leading UN negotiator and friend of this blog, recently wrote of the need for weak leaders to create “the other” in an Oxford Research Group op-ed on negotiations in Afghanistan.

The concept of the “enemy” has been a primordial tool of government management. For a large part of human history, the “enemy” has helped to define the identity “of the other side.” This was exploited by “poor” leaders; extremist narratives need an “existential enemy”. A poor leader uses negative narratives rather than positive values. He looks for an “enemy” - so he can stay on top. He repeats the old adages: “we are better than others,” or “God is with us,” which implies the need for a existential dichotomy between “us and them;” this requires the demonization of the “other.” Our history is full of such cases - as it still is - though perhaps slightly less than before.

Are there leaders who can lead without recourse to an “enemy” - real or imagined? Great leaders certainly do not copy the pages of the past. They write new chapters of human history, both morally and institutionally. They built national projects around positive values and they have the courage to look into the unknown. Statesmen are defined by institutional and cultural innovation while the furthering of negative images of the “other” is the trademark of lesser rulers.

Senator Claiborne Pell was surely a bold leader and took on the unknown with courage while remaining a fierce defender and servant of his country. How many current leaders would ask what the great challenge of the next 100 years is for the US? And how many of those would ask it of a non-American like Akio? Lack of vision in our current American leadership is driving us further from finding the missing link. Where will our generation of leaders take us?

---

Too Good to Be True? The Magnifying Powers of Technology

2011-04-14T21:08:00.014-04:00

By Chris Cote

From remotely flown Predator drones to deepwater oil drills and from financial derivatives to Twitter, America’s engineers and scientists continue to bring imagination to life. Each invention allows us to get more: security, oil, wealth, information. We are also able to achieve our goals from a distance, with more automation and less personal connectivity. Often, especially in the case of these four—predator drones, deepwater technology, financial derivatives, and social media—the tools are more powerful than we realize. The upsides of these technologies are well known and that is why we use them. But they are only beneficial to a point. Often, the consequences of an accident far outweigh the initial benefits. The problem does not lie in the technology itself, but in our irresponsibility and incapability of using it properly.

From the Los Angeles Times

Increasingly Distant

Seeing the Afghan men jammed into the flat bed of the pickup, he added, “That truck would make a beautiful target.” At 5:37 a.m., the pilot reported that one of the screeners in Florida had spotted one or more children in the group. “Bull—. Where!?” the camera operator said. “I don’t think they have kids out at this hour.” He demanded that the screeners freeze the video image of the purported child and email it to him. “Why didn’t he say ‘possible’ child?” the pilot said. “Why are they so quick to call kids but not to call a rifle.” The camera operator was dubious too. “I really doubt that children call. Man, I really … hate that,” he said. “Well, maybe a teenager. But I haven’t seen anything that looked that short.” A few minutes later, the pilot appeared to downplay the screeners’ observation, alerting the special operations unit to “a possible rifle and two possible children near the SUV.”

This excerpt is taken from a must-read Los Angeles Times piece, “Anatomy of an Afghan War Tragedy,” that clearly relates a February 21, 2010, US military attack on Afghan civilians who were mistaken for soldiers. Surveillance was done by two crafts: (1) from 7,000 miles away in a Nevada air force base via a Predator drone's camera feed, shot from over 3 miles above in the sky and (2) from an AC-130 in the area. By the time the attack took place, after 4 1/2 hours of deliberation, the soldiers were miles farther away from the Afghani group when the drone and AC-130 first raised concern, but no one took notice. Ultimately, it was the decision of the groundtroop (led by an experienced Army captain) to engage.

Two Kiowa attack helicopters, accompanied by the AC-130 aircraft and the Predator drone—in position to protect a group of special-ops soldiers—fired on a convoy of three cars of Afghanis traveling to another city to, among other reasons, get a pharmaceutical license. The death toll was disputed:

By the U.S. count, 15 or 16 men were killed and 12 people were wounded, including a woman and three children. Elders from the Afghans' home villages said in interviews that 23 had been killed, including two boys, Daoud, 3, and Murtaza, 4.

I believe that military members must make difficult decisions and quick judgments and often must do so with an unclear picture and unreliable facts. This was hardly the case here. With no immediate danger and an acknowledged uncertainty over the presence of children and whether there were weapons, this should not have happened. Yet it did. Overeager trigger fingers contributed. It’s much easier to fire than it is to evaluate. And the seemingly reliability of surveillance only compounds this.

"Technology can occasionally give you a false sense of security that you can see everything, that you can hear everything, that you know everything," said Air Force Major Gen. James O. Poss, who oversaw the Air Force investigation. "I really do think we have learned from this."

After the attack, General McChrystal--at the time leading the US war effort in Afghanistan--made adjustments to the military’s overall operating procedures, (small) amounts of money were delivered to victims’ families, and six officers were disciplined (but none face court-martial). Correcting operating procedures and recognizing past mistakes do help, and perhaps the risk of senseless killing occurring again will decrease slightly, but these fixes apply gauze to a wound in need of a tourniquet. If people are put in place with the mission to kill, but their information is unreliable, which way will they lean?

Increasingly Deep

Two months after this killing in Afghanistan, an oil rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico, killing 11 people and allowing 200 million gallons of oil to flow into the ocean from a sea-floor gusher for the summer. Blame was pushed around for months among the oil company, the company who built the platform, and the company managing the rig.

Depths of 5,000 feet (the depth of this well) are considered ultra-deep in the oil industry. Drilling this deep is expensive and was long too cost inefficient to attract the industry, but rising oil prices and declining reserves have pushed companies to explore new shelves.

Brazil’s Petrobras, considered the world’s premier deepwater driller, has a number of well’s as deep as 22,000 feet (just over 4 miles) in their new pre-salt fields off their southeast coast. Drilling that deep is unprecedented. While some companies have the technology, few have substantial experience, and fewer can claim a clean safety record. Risks have always been present in the oil and gas industry, and we must continue to run the economy as we've constructed it, but the further we push to gain more resources the more disasters will occur. And the slower we will transition to an economy based on more available and obtainable resources.

The entire scope of the spill’s environmental effects remains unknown. White House energy advisor Carol Brown called it the “worst environmental disaster the US has faced,” and over 400 species are at risk. Tarballs remain on the seafloor and underwater plumes of oil have not dissolved. 32 miles of coastline were affected and regional maritime industries closed. Last week, BP, the company declared responsible for the spill by the US government, requested to begin drilling again in the Gulf of Mexico. The Financial Times reported that, with more US government oversight, BP could restart its work as early as July.

Increasingly Rich

Economists and the US government generally agree that low interest rates and deregulation led to the 2007-2008 financial criss. Low interest rates drove people to purchase new homes with adjustable-rate mortgages they could never pay. Lenders ignored credit histories and feasted on incoming business. Mortgage aggregators—most notably Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac—then bundled these mortgages together int groups and sold these packages (mortgage-backed securities) to investors to trade.

These investors—Lehman Brothers, Goldman Sachs, Bear Sterns, Merrill Lynch—then repackaged the securities as derivatives, redividing them into smaller groups, each with their own interest rate and credit rating. Credit rating agencies—Moody’s, Fitch, Standard and Poor’s—rated the packages on their quality--low quality securities--or junk--were likely to fail because of mortgage bankruptcy. The rating agencies did not do their job however, and rated them highly, no matter their real worth. Many homebuyers, who had poor credit ratings and never should have been given the mortgages in the first place, were unable to pay their mortgages when the Federal Bank raised interest rates and defaulted. This started a disastrous chain of failure that eventually burst the housing bubble and sank Lehman Brothers, made AIG unable to pay on its insurance policies, and started the slide down into the abyss we are now clawing our way out of.

The length and diffuseness of this chain—from American homebuyer to Wall Street and back—is the underlying problem. Testifying before the Financial Crisis Inquiry Committee on whether financial derivative instruments caused the crisis (and ardently arguing they didn’t), Berkeley professor and former Wall Street derivatives executive Steve Kohlhagen said:

The largest cause of the overvaluation, and thus the magnitude of the eventual collapse, in values of CDO’s [collateralized debt obligation—another type of security to be traded] has received little, if any press. Namely a fatal lack of communication within the origination/distribution/investment community.

“A lack of communication.” American homebuyers defaulted on mortgages they couldn’t afford from the beginning, credit rating agencies did not regulate properly, and pressure and deceit from investment firms trying to earn more amplified the effect. The eventual official blame was stuck on the failure of the regulator, the credit rating agencies whose job it was to oversee the process, and an environment of deregulation. Blaming the credit rating agencies is akin to blaming the babysitter for the wicked behavior of miscreant children, especially when those children are felons. The distance and disconnect that financial derivatives offer allow investment banks to focus solely on profit (and generate enormous wealth) without acknowledging its effects on other links in the chain.

Increasingly Connected

We at this blog have already touted Twitter and Facebook for its positive role they played in the Arab uprisings and revolutions. But these same tools can also be used to connect people with less valiant purposes. We cheered for Egypt’s rebels and hope that Libya’s are successful. But what if a less justifiable rebellion took hold and organized via Twitter? Would we be championing these tools then?

Technology is often viewed as a panacea, an “x-factor.” Adding a limited amount of human capital, land, money, and trade only gets you so far. But new technology allows big, quick gains in productivity and accessibility to new markets; it pushes big societal changes and economic advances. However, we must constantly ask ourselves what we are really achieving with each new invention or device: how is it changing our lives and is it really for the better? We are still bound by our own human limitations. Technology is a magnifying glass that amplifies all of human nature; it will not save us from ourselves.

A Nobel Prize for Survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki: An Indigenous Perspective

2011-04-07T01:03:00.009-04:00

Dear friends,

I am pleased to introduce a response to my recent article on awarding Hiroshima and Nagasaki’s global survivors the Nobel Peace Prize from eminent Native American Mr. Steven Newcomb (Shawnee / Lenape), co-founder and co-director of the Indigenous Law Institute.

I was very much moved by his perspective on the nuclear issue and his universal vision. As he notes, the message of Indigenous peoples on the concept of peace is a result of spiritual and ecological insight developed through thousands of years of ceremony, and I fully appreciate Mr. Newcomb’s view that Western science is catching up to the Indigenous insight that the oneness of all life is correct.

The included excerpt of writing by John Collier, former US Secretary of Indians Affairs, is indeed a powerful and fundamental message.

I hope you enjoy this article.

Yours truly,
Akio

A Nobel Prize for Survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki: An Indigenous Perspective

by Steven Newcomb (Shawnee/Lenape)

Indigenous Law Institute

Mr. Akio Matsumura has proposed that a Noble Peace Prize be awarded to the remaining survivors of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki as a reminder and a lesson to the world against the horrors of nuclear war. It is a timely and excellent suggestion.

Steven Newcomb, Indigenous Law Institute

Those survivors remind us that war and dehumanization are inextricably intertwined; to commit acts of war, by killing, maiming, or incinerating one’s fellow human beings, in the name of flag, country, race, creed, color, or religion, it is necessary to first become detached and desensitized by seeing one’s fellow human beings as “less-than-human.”

The dwindling number of remaining survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki come from many countries of the world; not just Japanese people were impacted. The survivors are living testimony to the magnitude of destruction that humans are capable of through processes of dehumanization: scientific and technological ingenuity utilized in the most heinous and deadly manner on a mass scale. Those who perished horribly on that fateful day in 1945 and the living survivors are a reminder of the importance of peace for all living things.

The meaning of the word “peace,” however, is a matter of context and purpose. The historian Tacitus said of the Romans: “They make a desert and call it peace.” The dropping of the atom bombs on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki left such a desert, a radioactive one.

By contrast, an Indigenous concept of peace was expressed by the Oglala Lakota holy man Black Elk. He said that “above all you should understand that there can never be peace between nations until there is first known that true peace which is within the souls of men.” Such a peace, said Black Elk, results when people realize “their relationship, their oneness, with the universe and all its powers, and when they realize that at the center of the universe dwells Wakan-Tanka [the Great Mystery], and that this center is really everywhere, it is within each of us.”

This Oglala Lakota concept of peace is a result of spiritual and ecological insight developed through thousands of years of ceremony: We are, one and all, inter-related and inter-woven together, not just with other humans, but with every single expression of the miracle and beauty of Life. The remaining survivors of the atomic blasts at Hiroshima and Nagasaki ought to remind us of this very profound truth.

Ordinarily, the Nobel Prize is awarded to a particular individual for some remarkable contribution to humanity in an area of science or some other field. The contribution made to humanity by the survivors of the atomic bombs is the reminder that the basis for a true and lasting peace is not merely be the cessation of war, or a temporary lapse between wars, but an altogether different paradigm.

From an Indigenous perspective it is shortsighted to narrowly focus on ourselves as humans; many forms of life other than humans were also annihilated by those atomic bombs. We do not exist separate and apart from other aspect of Life, and one of the most positive developments is that Western science is catching up to the Indigenous insight that the oneness of all Life is correct. This is not just a poetic construct but an abiding spiritual and biological truism that we ignore at our own peril.

Wisdom is the ability to learn from our past missteps and adjust our life-course accordingly, but we are in need of healthy patterns to model ourselves after. John Collier, who was the U.S. Secretary of Indian Affairs from 1936 to 1945, saw American Indian spirituality as a profound model of peace in a world facing the threat of nuclear destruction. In 1947 he published the following about Indigenous peoples just after the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Of American Indians John Collier wrote:

They had what the world has lost. They have it now. What the world has lost, the world must have again, lest it die. Not many years are left to have or have not, to recapture the lost ingredient. This is not merely a passing reference to World War III or the atom bomb—although the reference includes these ways of death, too. These deaths will mean the end if they come—racial death, self-inflicted because we have lost the way, and the power to live is dead. What, in our human world is this power to live? It is the ancient, lost reverence and passion for human personality, joined with the ancient, lost reverence for the earth and its web of life. This indivisible reverence and passion is what the American Indians almost universally had; and representative groups of them have it still. If our modern world should be able to recapture this power, the earth’s natural resources and web of life would not be irrevocably wasted within the twentieth century, which is the prospect now. True democracy, founded in neighborhoods and reaching over the world would become the realized heaven on earth. And living peace—not just an interlude between wars—would be born and would last through ages.

Although a group award of the Nobel Prize to the survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki would be unprecedented, we can only hope that it would be a step toward a realization of true and lasting peace in the world. It is for this reason that we ought to support Mr. Matsumura’s brilliant proposal.

Steven Newcomb (Shawnee/Lenape) is the co-founder and co-director of the Indigenous Law Institute, author of “Pagans in the Promised Land: Decoding the Doctrine of Christian Discovery,” and a columnist for Indian Country Today.

When Money Can't Buy You Love: Toward a New Inclusivity in the Middle East

2011-03-29T23:21:00.008-04:00

By Akio Matsumura

View PDF version

Looking back through my last article, “Uprising in Egypt”, it seems that it was written in a different era. So much has changed in the last month. News from the Arab world has grown and Japan unfortunately joins it in dominating the screens and the papers. We continue to pray for those who are now suffering and have lost loved ones from the tsunami and earthquake in Japan.

Rebel fighters outside Brega, Libya, with opposition flag

I have quickly realized that prediction in North Africa and the Middle East is a fool’s game. It’s uncertain what will happen in Bahrain, Yemen, Syria, Libya, and other countries in the region. Young Arabs are demanding a free future and we onlookers continue to be impressed by their bravery and resilience in the face of strong-fisted government resistance and oppression. These revolutionaries have turned history’s pages—away from the largely negative image the world held of the region—and are scrambling to ensure the next pages include one word: freedom. And although we don’t yet know what the outcome of these revolutions will be, I have no doubt that their effects will spread. They will affect the Western world’s younger people in the near future.

There is great hope emanating from the region, but I am deeply saddened that the uprising in Libya has transitioned into a civil war and possible humanitarian catastrophe.

The United Nations, led by the United States, has intervened. On March 17 the United Nations Security Council adopted Resolution 1973:

“Demanding an immediate ceasefire in Libya, including an end to the current attacks against civilians, which it said might constitute “crimes against humanity”, the Security Council this evening imposed a ban on all flights in the country’s airspace — a no-fly zone — and tightened sanctions on the Qadhafi regime and its supporters.”

In a speech on Monday night, President Obama gave a speech from the National Defense University explaining the United States’ decision to enter into war with Libya.

The president said that “confronted by (Qadhafi’s) brutal repression and a looming humanitarian Crisis,” he authorized military action to stop the killing and the United States led a United Nations-backed effort to stop Qadhafi’s regime advance into Benghazi. President Obama emphasized that NATO would begin to carry the majority of the weight from this point forward. "We knew that if we waited one more day, Benghazi – a city nearly the size of Charlotte – could suffer a massacre that would have reverberated across the region and stained the conscience of the world. It was not in our national interest to let that happen. I refused to let that happen."

Public opinion in the United States over its military involvement in Libya is deeply divided. Both political parties have criticized the president’s decision. Some say he has gone too far while others have urged for further action. Many have strongly criticized Obama for not obtaining congressional approval before entering the war.

I would like to step back a moment from these valid arguments and think over the basic nature of these uprisings and revolutions.

Since the beginning of human history, our theories of peace and war have always been based on borders. Tribal, ethnic, and state borders divide “us” from the “other”—we are safe as long as the enemy stays outside of our circle drawn in the sand, as long as we keep war on the outside and peace on the inside. Leaders inside are thus chosen or come to power based on their capacity to unify the people within and defeat the enemy without. It is a system of exclusivity. We exclude others to promote our own power.

Exclusion also promotes differences as less good, or, worse, evil. Therefore, ideologies and values are often not shared or understood across cultural borders. These differences—in religious beliefs, cultural practices, or in national identity—were created for the exact reason of unifying us and separating them. Of course they are not understood or cared for across borders. Over time human capacity has developed through the limited resources of property and education, and until relatively recently through only the resources available inside our own tribe/culture/country’s borders.

For example, we take the principles of democracy and freedom of expression for granted. But certainly we are judging these with our own perspectives, our perspectives from within our circle and our own history.

Social media snapped these boundaries very dramatically throughout the world. Through the windows of social media—through the use of Facebook, Twitter, and Google’s Youtube—Libyans, and other North Africans alike, could peer over and not just see how their neighbors in the Maghreb are living, but how their new neighbors in Tibet, Brazil, Kenya, China, Denmark, and the United States live. The Internet 2.0 pushed us into the final frontier of globalization—people can communicate inside and outside of their country with greater ease and speed than ever before.

I don’t want to paint an exaggerated portrait. Information and people traveled outside of Libya before, and the causes of the uprisings are complex and many, but social media has played an important and unarguable role in the process. Governments faced with these uprisings have been quick to pull the plug on Youtube, or the entire internet, knowing the power it brings.

Young people are discovering their own world where they can learn any information they want to know without thinking of their national boundary. (Look at the toolbar on the right, you can translate this page into any language thanks to Google). This new freedom has helped them to think inclusively, as citizens of the world instead of only their country.

At the same time, they feel frustration when they learn of their disadvantages compared to others in the world, in particular with regard to political freedoms (e.g., freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of assembly).

Libya has used its oil money to keep its people well-off compared to its regional neighbors. But Freedom House reports that Libya is the most-censored country in the Middle East and North Africa. Extremely high levels of state surveillance severely limit political freedoms.

This frustration and urge for political freedom have pushed the majority of Libyans and many of their neighbors in the region to seek a new type of leadership. This push for freedom is exciting and welcomed throughout most of the world.

These countries and their new leaders will inevitably face many difficult situations and setbacks in the coming period. But let them choose their leaders, leaders who will practice their own new visions. Let us step back from our hasty urge to select their leaders and let us allow the Arab Spring fully blossom, into whatever that may be.

We are witness to the 21^st century revolution, which has begun in the Middle East. Young people will continue to write their own history over the coming decades. They know it is not easy process to achieve their goals, yet they have begun. I hope they are able to continue to think globally and break down the boundaries between us and them. I hope that the rest of us continue to work to do the same. Remember, peace is a process, not a finish line.

Knowledge is the beginning of practice

Doing is the completion of knowledge

--Wang Yang-Ming, 1498

The Case for a Group Nobel Peace Prize, cont'd: A Response from Professor Martin Hellman

2011-03-01T13:04:00.005-05:00

Dear friends:

I am pleased to introduce a response to my recent article on awarding Hiroshima and Nagasaki’s global survivors the Nobel Peace Prize from Dr. Martin Hellman, Professor Emeritus of Electrical Engineering, Stanford University.

Professor's Hellman's concern for the nuclear issue traces directly to a spiritual awakening that he experienced in 1981, and his combination of the spiritual and the rational yields a powerful result.

Hellman’s excerpt of the speech by Father George Zabelka, a Catholic
chaplain with the US Air Force and a priest for the airmen who
dropped the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, is indeed a
powerful message and the core principle for our endeavor.

I hope you enjoy his article.

Yours truly,
Akio

I am pleased to second Mr. Akio Matsumara's proposal that the Nobel Peace Prize be awarded to the survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Here are some of the reasons:

1. The efforts of the A-bomb survivors (hibakusha) to alert the world to the danger we face from relying on the unproven doctrine of nuclear deterrence is of utmost importance. Most people find it difficult or impossible to comprehend the horror of a nuclear attack, and the hibakusha's personal experiences are able to overcome that barrier, helping us to conceive the inconceivable.

2. The prize would be a recognition of the role these people have played in improving the prospects for peace. It would not blame either the United States for dropping the bombs or Japan for its own atrocities. Blame is one of the root causes of war and has no place in a Nobel Peace Prize. Efforts, such as those of Mr. Yoshida to bring reconciliation should be highlighted. Mr. Yoshida is a survivor who survived Hiroshima and whose brother died there, yet moved to the Philippines to honor those who died at the hands of the Japanese military.

3. As Mr. Matsumara notes in his proposal, the victims were not just Japanese, but included many nationalities. While it should not matter, this helps illuminate the universal harm wrought by nuclear weapons. To a nuclear weapon, Americans, Japanese, and other nationalities all appear the same -- matter to be vaporized, irradiated or otherwise harmed.

4. Recognizing the victims of Hiroshima and Nagasaki would not only redeem those who died in those attacks. It would have the potential to redeem those who survived, both in those cities, and around the world. There is an urgent need to wake society to the highly unacceptable risk that it faces, and acting on Mr. Matsumara's proposal would be an important step in that direction.

5. As noted by the Catholic chaplain who blessed the crews that dropped their bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the latter city was the center of Catholicism in Japan. While it should make no difference whether a victim was a Buddhist or a Catholic, the large number of Christian victims in Nagasaki again helps illuminate the universal genocide that a nuclear war would bring. A powerful statement by that chaplain expresses the spiritual message we have been appealing for:

Father George Zabelka, a Catholic chaplain with the U.S. Air Force, served as a priest for the airmen who dropped the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945, and gave them his blessing. Days later he counseled an airman who had flown a low-level reconnaissance flight over the city of Nagasaki shortly after the detonation of “Fat Man.” The man described how thousands of scorched, twisted bodies writhed on the ground in the final throes of death, while those still on their feet wandered aimlessly in shock—flesh seared, melted, and falling off. The crewman’s description raised a stifled cry from the depths of Zabelka’s soul: “My God, what have we done?” Over the next twenty years, he gradually came to believe that he had been terribly wrong, that he had denied the very foundations of his faith by lending moral and religious support to the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Zabelka died in 1992, but his message, in this speech given on the 40th anniversary of the bombings, must never be forgotten. He said “ I again asked forgiveness from the Hibakushas present. I asked forgiveness, and they asked forgiveness for Pearl Harbor and some of the horrible deeds of the Japanese military, and there were some, and I knew of them. We embraced. We cried. Tears flowed. That is the first step of reconciliation—admission of guilt and forgiveness. Pray to God that others will find this way to peace”

Uprising in Egypt: Why Not Let the Young People Decide Their Own Future?

2011-02-22T23:21:00.010-05:00

By Akio Matsumura

For 18 riveting days the world watched the extraordinary drama taking place in Tahrir Square in Cairo, Egypt. Tens of thousands of men and women, young and old, were chanting “Mubarak must go,” as they peacefully demonstrated their anger with the government. Their protests, and those in Tunisia, have started a new period in Egypt and the Arab world. The protesters’ display of courage and persistence in the face of an oppressive regime has now coursed like a raging river through many of the countries in the region. It is difficult with the protests and government responses in Yemen, Jordan, and Libya.

President Obama said “There are very few moments in our lives where we have the privilege to witness history taking place. This is one of those moments. This is one of those times. The people of Egypt have spoken, their voices have been heard, and Egypt will never be the same.”

In our memory, in addition to the uprisings throughout Northern Africa and the Arab Middle East we have seen uprisings in Iran, the Philippines, Tiananmen Square in Beijing, the fall of the Berlin Wall, and movements in Bulgaria and Romania. Common themes pervade each of these historical events, but why this time and why Egypt?

Egypt is a central force in the political puzzle of the Middle East. President Mubarak’s departure is already rocking the region, though the events’ longer term geopolitical effects are yet to be seen. Egypt’s helpful relationship with Israel is a cornerstone of US foreign policy, and the Suez Canal allows global trade flows to continue.

As important as understanding Egypt’s political and economic effects is understanding what allowed such powerful political expression in the first place. Certainly many years of a dictatorship, very high unemployment, corruption, and high prices contributed greatly. But the loudest voices in Tahrir Square were shouting with joy because their voices were now free to shout what they wished. The desire for political freedoms seemed to trump the desire for economic improvements. We in the United States hardly understand the true meaning of freedom of expression. The core principals of the democracy are Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Religion and Freedom of Press. We know this in our head, but we take it for granted. Egypt’s young people have finally earned those three freedoms and celebrate with great hope. This reminds me of a comment that Dr. Elie Weisel, Nobel Peace laureate, made: he said that when he was freed from the Holocaust, his optimistic hope was the highest in his life and after that it declines gradually.

There is no question that Egypt’s young drove Mubarak out. 66 percent of Egypt’s population is under 30 years old. As I’m sure you read, one of the much talked about players in the events was Wael Ghonim, a Google marketing executive who used his business experience to mobilize youth movements in the country. The New York Times reported that more than 100,000 people signed up on Facebook to attend a protest.

There has been much debate over whether new media tools like Twitter and Facebook played a real process in the events and created a network. While they do not often create strong bonds that would allow such events to happen, they do serve perfectly as a method of communication for already existing networks, like the youth movements in Egypt. We have not seen these tools used so successfully before, which is both a testament to their applicability in this case, and the strength of the Egyptian people and fragility of the Mubarak leadership.

Mubarak has left after several decades in power, and the military has taken hold. The military has long been the most powerful institution in the country, so this is nothing new for the Egyptian people. The generals directing the government say that fair democratic elections will be held, but the timeline is vague. Many observers worry about the possibility of the Muslim Brotherhood coming to power in the case of democratic elections. We should remind ourselves of the importance of the democratic process. The process of democracy is as important as the result. Perhaps in another country an autocratic ruler is acting benevolently and treating his people well; this is a fortunate situation, but still comes at the price of freedom of expression and the right to free and fair elections.

It seems to me that in order for a dictator to stay in power, he needs an enemy. Throughout the final days of his regime, Mubarak insisted that the United States and other foreign forces were intervening with his government. Fortunately the US government remained abreast of what was taking place and adjusted its tone accordingly to “be on the right side of history.” And in turn, extremists often rely on autocratic states to set up shop—they are either able to pay off a corrupt leader or threaten their regime with violence. If given the chance to vote, people need to look carefully at candidates and entrust democracy to the rock-paper-scissor balance of powers. The interaction between voting citizens, elected officials, and the effect of the laws they pass determines the efficiency and efficacy of a government and a democratic system. This system only works with great stability and strong, trusted institutions. The United States has a much lauded democratic system, but it is still very imperfect. Democracy is a long, dynamic process.

In watching the uprising in Egypt, I have noticed that nobody is talking of political or religious dogma—these are not the issues at stake. People are not talking about America or Israel. People are talking about their own freedoms and their own future—they are talking about their common future in their country. They have managed to turn the page on a suffocating regime and their history is now in their own hands. We must leave it this way. Their accomplishments must lead to their own future. Egypt is important to American interests, but Egypt is more important to the Egyptian people’s interests. My moral obligation, as an outsider and a member of the older generation, is to encourage more action and a deeper commitment to democracy. We, America, outsiders, failed to create a positive situation for the Egyptian people in the past. I hope we will be able to take a page from their example of a true bottom-up democracy.

This new page in history shows us young Muslims as democratic movers and shakers, away from their negative image in the past decade. After all, they have accomplished this great democratic revolution without military invasion. The change in Egypt has already had deep effects through the Middle East and Northern Africa and is what the world is hoping for. Where will this river rage next?

“There is nothing more powerful than an idea whose time has come.”
-Victor Hugo

Nation Building at Home: Where is America's Great Wall?

2011-02-10T15:14:00.006-05:00

President Obama, in his second State of the Union address, said that we are the first nation to be founded for the sake of an idea – the idea that each of us deserves the chance to shape our own destiny. The president emphasized that we need to work on developing America as a nation. “Sustaining the American Dream has never been about standing pat. It has required each generation to sacrifice, and struggle, and meet the demands of a new age.”

Chinese Foreign Minister Hua, Mme. Liang, and Akio, 1981

Indeed, America was founded on an idea, and great ideas inspired and led to the nation we have today. The transcontinental railroad, the Brooklyn Bridge, and the NASA space programs were hallmarks of American leadership and progress.

When my parents visited the US for the first time from Japan in 1979, we toured the East Coast. They were amazed by the Queensboro Bridge, built before my father was born in 1909; the US Capitol building; and the six lane highways that connected them. We drove from Niagara Falls to Washington, D.C.—a length of 2,500 miles, or 1 ½ times the length of Japan. When my father learned that we had not driven into the middle of the US but had stayed only on one coast he asked, “Akio, why did Japan attack such a large country?” But many of the monuments, bridges, railroads, that amazed my parents were built over 100 years ago, even in the time of the Civil War. America’s leaders inspired by a desire for a Great America—and yes, by extraordinary profits—set their sights far into the future and undertook incredible projects that continue to awe visitors to this day.

But America’s physical infrastructure is deteriorating. Railroads are slow, bridges and electric grids are in disrepair, and NASA is being cut back. Donald Trump echoed Arianna Huffington when he said that when returning to Laguardia from Singapore or Dubai, he feels that he’s stepping into the Third World. China’s high-speed railroads will put America’s to shame, and its space program is expanding.

And it’s not just in infrastructure where yesterday’s developing countries are racing past us. America is falling behind in two other critical areas of nation-building: education and healthcare.

Education is fundamental to national progress. And here America again lags. US Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said, Thomas Friedman reported in the New York Times, that “one-quarter of U.S. high school students drop out or fail to graduate on time. Almost one million students leave her schools for the streets each year.” And then there is the stunning report by a group of top retired generals and admirals that showed that “75 percent of young Americans, between the ages of 17 to 24, are unable to enlist in the military today because they have failed to graduate from high school, have a criminal record, or are physically unfit.” It’s disappointing to learn that America’s youth are now tied for ninth in the world in college attainment.

The debate over American healthcare is well known, but two quick points are worth mentioning. Infant mortality rates remain very high in many low-income, mostly black, urban ghettos. And there is still no universal coverage, a benefit otherwise expected in the developed world. If its citizens are unable to receive adequate and affordable healthcare the US will see its society continue to fragment along socioeconomic and racial lines.

America has fallen behind in these three critical areas, but does continue to push forward in other areas—information technology and business especially. America continues to be competitive and innovative. Microsoft, and now Google and Apple, have kept America on the cutting edge of development in the technology world. America is the largest multi-ethnic population in the world; its diversity has bred innovation and competition and fostered a stronger America. And American culture—the jazz, sports, brand names, and fashion created through its diverse population and challenging history—is perhaps its greatest export abroad. While these areas are important for national progress and an area of national pride, they alone do not build a stronger nation. Gains in national development will only be complicated by the national debt—projected to reach $19 trillion by 2020.

Why has America fallen behind?

Last month, Chinese president Hu Jintao made a state visit to Washington. China has gained in economic and military power, even though the US still vastly outperforms in terms of GDP and military power and spending. But let’s disregard numbers for a moment and try to grasp the crux of the difference between the two countries: long-term vision.

If America’s greatest asset is its diversity and the individual ideas, innovation and creativity that this engenders, China’s unique feature is its incredible ability to organize group action and extend it into the future. America focuses on the individual idea, China on communal action. And perhaps America’s greatest weakness is its relative youth, which results in its leaders lacking a strong concept of time and commitment to the past and future.

I first visited China in 1980 with the UN, and have had the pleasure of visiting many times since. China has many astonishing sites, but the Great Wall is my favorite. It is visually astounding, of course. But think of how its construction lasted over 2000 years, beginning in 500 BC and continuing through 1600 AD! It runs the distance from New York to San Francisco, and, most importantly, construction continued under so many separate rulers and dynasties. It was truly a collective, national effort fueled by long-term vision. The goal was for protection, not national greatness, but the project ended in both.

China views its progress in centuries. American leaders cannot extend their vision longer than ten years! While it balances its monstrous and growing debt with various and continuing adventures abroad, can America extend its success in the future? Can it pass on to its next generations the success and developments that three decades ago amazed my parents?

Napoleon once foretold, "China is a sleeping lion; let her sleep. If she awakes the world will be in danger.” China was asleep during the Industrial Revolution and now awakes as the Information Technology Revolution opens. And it is not just China—Singapore, the India, South Korea, Brazil, and South Africa are seeing enormous success.

America’s strong democracy is a vital force and example in the world, but yields slow gains and political compromise. This democracy, and the diversity and innovation it encourages, cannot be sacrificed, and does not need to be, for national progress. Long-term vision from America’s leadership is needed to light the country’s way forward in the 21^st century.

The Case for a Group Nobel Peace Prize: A Response from Professor Bill Wickersham

2011-01-18T09:04:00.005-05:00

Dear friends:

I am pleased to introduce a response to my article on awarding Hiroshima and Nagasaki’s global survivors the Nobel Peace Prize from Dr. Bill Wickersham, adjunct professor of Peace Studies at the University of Missouri.

Although I have not yet met him, I am well aware of his tireless devotion to nuclear disarmament. His is a fine story of human reconciliation.

Dr. Wickersham’s insights and vision have encouraged me to seek out visionary people like him in relevant fields and countries to share their perspective on the nuclear issues so that we may be able to reach the heart of our audience.

I look forward to reading your reactions and comments.

Yours truly,

Akio

Dear Mr. Matsumura:

Bill Wickersham
Adjunct Professor of Peace Studies
University of Missouri

I have recently read your very compelling article "The Powerful and Fading Message of Hiroshima and Nagasaki's Global Survivors: The Case for a Group Nobel Prize." As a long time professor of peace studies, and one who has promoted nuclear disarmament for almost 50 years, I think your blog and Nobel Peace Prize campaign are very critical elements for the promotion of a worldwide movement for the abolition of nuclear weapons from Planet Earth.

Over the years, my sub-specialty in educational psychology and peace studies has been the problem of social and psychological obstacles which hinder personal, group, national and international efforts to mobilize public demand for the elimination of the omnicidal threat. Unfortunately, those obstacles, including ignorance, denial and apathy, have blocked most such mobilization, with the possible exception of the worldwide " Nuclear Freeze " movement of the 1980s, which was aimed more at arms control than truly deep cuts and abolition of nuclear weapons.

Historically, hundreds of fine non-governmental organizations have provided excellent research, information and program/action recommendations aimed at citizen involvement on behalf of nuclear disarmament. In so doing, the NGOs have provided essential data for the "head" but, in large measure, have failed to truly reach the "heart" of their audiences in a way that strongly moves people to action.

One major exception to this failing was the project initiated by my former boss, noted editor and peace advocate, the late Norman Cousins, who in 1955, brought 25 young female Japanese A-bomb survivors to the United States for plastic surgery, other medical treatment, and meetings with prominent U.S. leaders and other U.S. citizens. The medical care was donated by New York's Mount Sinai Hospital, and involved 125 operations on the women, rebuilding lips, noses, hands, and eyelids, thus allowing them a promising future. Other expenses were covered by the Quakers and other donors. This project was important for two reasons. It was a fine example of human reconciliation, and it also helped many Americans to concretely FEEL and understand the real human price of nuclear war. The problem was no longer an abstraction for the Americans who met with, and interacted with the young Japanese women. Philosopher Jean Paul Sartre has noted that the biggest crime of our time is to make that which is concrete into something that is abstract. And, of course, this is a major roadblock of the whole issue of nuclear extinction without representation. It is the ultimate abstraction for many people. Norman's project overcame this obstacle, and for a brief period, his project stimulated several U.S. NGOs to step up their organizing efforts for nuclear disarmament. It is unfortunate that he did not have a blog such as yours to reach the hearts of people everywhere.

In the past few years, our Missouri University Nuclear Disarmament Education Team (MUNDET), other elements of our peace studies program and our Mid-Missouri chapter of Veterans for Peace, have used films and photographic exhibits of the nuclear devastation of Hiroshima and Nagasaki to reach the emotional core of our students, civic and faith groups, and other audiences. We have found this approach to be very effective in terms of attitude change on the part of most participants. We, like you, have steered clear of the U.S assailant/Japanese victim theme and "blame game" approach, and have instead stressed the incredible danger and insanity of the nuclear deterrence myth.

Children and adults around the world are frequently taught that we must learn the lessons of history so we will not repeat the repeat the mistakes of the past. This is precisely the approach you are so skillfully offering with your very attractive website, blog and carefully crafted campaign for the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to the Hiroshima and Nagasaki survivors, including several from countries other than Japan who were residents in those cities at the time of the atomic bombings. Their history and voices of reconciliation are truly the most important messages required by the human species if it is to survive the nuclear madness. Consequently, that history and their voices must not be allowed to fade away.

It is my sincere hope that the Nobel Peace Prize Committee will accept your proposal for a group prize arrangement for the A-bomb survivors. I believe such an arrangement could be a triggering mechanism for widespread mobilization of citizens everywhere on behalf of nuclear weapons abolition. If there is any way that I and our MUNDET team may be of assistance in your campaign, please let me know.

Sincerely,

Bill Wickersham,
Adjunct Professor of Peace Studies University of Missouri, USA

The Powerful and Fading Message of Hiroshima and Nagasaki’s Global Survivors: The Case for a Group Nobel Peace Prize

2011-01-03T16:12:00.027-05:00

By Akio Matsumura

Update: This article is available in Japanese

The survivors of the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki--a group that represents not just Japan but many nations--carry memories invaluable to bridging the gap between violence and peace. Their stories as the sole witnesses and survivors of nuclear weapons used as an act of war are the most powerful deterrent to future nuclear war. There is not much time to carry their message forward; the bombings were many decades ago. The group and its message are fading.

Historically, the Nobel Peace Prize has only been awarded to an institution or an individual, precluding groups from winning the Peace Prize. The Nobel Peace Committee should adjust its policies and bring renewed attention to the atrocities of nuclear weapons by awarding the Nobel Peace Prize to Hiroshima and Nagasaki's global survivors.

The Grave Issue of Nuclear Security

You wouldn’t have to be a betting man to say that nuclear security has been synonymous with international security for the past seven decades. Today, other pressing concerns have crowded the top of the agenda, but nuclear security holds its weight among them. The US Congress just passed the New START agreement to reduce nuclear stockpiles. The international community is concerned with developments of programs and testing in several countries, including Iran and North Korea. And the threat of proliferation among terrorists, especially in Pakistan, has the United States and other governments in panic. Much of the world’s violent conflict directly relates to the perception of nuclear instability in South Asia and the Middle East. While there are many safeguards in place to reduce the threat of nuclear proliferation or attack, such an important issue deserves to be viewed from several perspectives.

I am Japanese, and the two atomic bombs the United States dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki—on August 6 and 9, 1945—have played a special role in my life. I have spent much time investigating the horrific disaster, from watching documentary films of survivor stories and political movements against the atomic bomb to talking with survivors, politicians, and religious figures.

Piecing the Puzzle Together

Such a polarizing global event has many facets, and to gain a full perspective one must be able to see them all. Because I worked at the UN and other international organizations for three decades, I was able to hear another side—the perspectives of those who suffered Japanese military aggression in China, Korea, the Philippines, and Dutch-Indonesians.

Just as important a perspective came from the Americans who believe that dropping the atom bombs, while tragic, ended the war early and saved hundreds of thousands of lives.

To be sure, the American use of the atom bomb in 1945 against the Japanese was terrible. Tens of thousands died instantly upon explosion, and many more died from radiation in the ensuing years. The cities were razed. But the memory has taken an enormous toll on the survivors, both the victims and the assailants. How does one rebuild a country and life after such devastation?

What about those who were in Hiroshima or Nagasaki in early August 1945 and managed to survive the explosions? Surely those who had lived through such carnage were unforgiving and resentful. Understandably, many are. But I was convinced that there was a different story. I asked Mr. Tadayuki Takeda, a Hiroshima native and a friend from university, to help me find a new story: was there a victim who could transform that violent act into a promotion of peace?

A Fresh Perspective

In December 2006 I flew to Hiroshima to meet with Mr. Yuuki Yoshida, a victim of the Hiroshima atomic bomb. His story is incredible, but his outlook is more so. Mr. Yoshida’s duty as a survivor, in his words, is to share his story and instill the great fear that nuclear weapons deserve. His goal is to make sure the disaster of August 1945, the use of atomic or nuclear weapons, never occurs again. His message, along with those of the other remaining survivors, is invaluable for this purpose.

Mr. Yuuki Yoshida, A-Bomb Survivor in Luzon, Philippines

Mr. Yoshida, who is 79 years old and has been crippled by Polio since birth, miraculously escaped death when the atomic bomb exploded over the city of Hiroshima. His younger brother died two weeks later, and his eldest sister narrowly survived after undergoing more than a dozen operations. She gave birth to a son after fifteen years despite strong worries about radiation. (Her son, Mr. Kazufumi Yamashita, studied in Berlin under the guidance of the famous conductor Mr. Herbert von Karajan and has become one of the most popular conductors in Japan.)

Mr. Yoshida and his family are Japanese but have a surprising background. Mr. Yoshida’s mother was American. Born in Hawaii, she moved to Hiroshima before World War II and gave birth to her children there. In 2008 Mr. Yoshida moved to Luzon, Philippines, to honor those who died there at the hands of the Japanese military.

Hiroshima and Nagasaki's Global Survivors

It had always been my impression that the victims of the atomic bombs were Japanese. But, after hearing of Mr. Yoshida’s American mother, I have since learned that the United States didn’t just bomb the Japanese in August 1945, but also citizens of China, Korea, the United States, the Philippines, the Netherlands, and Brazil—perhaps even many other countries. There were survivors from all of these nations as well. I had completely missed this perspective. Survivors from all countries are carrying forth their story to deter future nuclear disasters. This global memory is a bridge from suffering to peace that we cannot lose.

When I learned of the survivors from across the world, I thought perhaps there were other nuclear cases I should consider. Were there other atomic weapons survivors to be included this message? How do victims of the 1986 Chernobyl accident, and other nuclear energy accidents, fit in with the Hiroshima and Nagasaki victims? What about the victims of nuclear bomb tests in Nevada, the Pacific Islands, and other countries?

In 2007 I visited Moscow to attend a conference chaired by my old friend, Dr. Evgeny Velikhov, former vice president of the Soviet Academy of Sciences and oversaw the cleanup of the Chernobyl disaster.

He made it very clear to me that Chernobyl was caused by human error. An accident from the use of nuclear energy is tragic, but very different from the malicious and purposeful destruction of two cities. He also told me that, although there were many victims of the bomb tests—especially many indigenous people in Nevada—they were not killed in an act of war, so their situation is not directly comparable to that of the survivors in Japan.

Carrying Their Message Forward with the Nobel Peace Prize

All survivors from so many nations have suffered so much and yet have demonstrated to society that we should provide a peaceful life for our children without hateful attitudes. The survivors are getting old and we could not have learned the valuable lessons they share if they had not continued to live or if they did not make such extraordinary efforts to live longer in order to pass their message on to us. I fear that they have little time left with us to continue sharing their message, and that we should work now to make sure it is known as widely as possible.

How can we recognize their lofty mission and express our gratitude for their efforts to bridge hatred and create a peace that has its foundation in the non-use of nuclear weapons?

Time Magazine named “YOU” as 2006’s Person of the Year. What a powerful message. We each have the power to shape world. If all of the atomic bomb survivors were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize as a group, the impact of their message would reach new heights and the Committee would establish a new precedent in who—a group, not just an individual or institution—could receive the prize. And what better way to honor Hiroshima and Nagasaki’s global survivors’ great push for peace while bringing a powerful but fading message to the forefront of public consciousness?

A copy of Nobel Peace Prize award and its citation would be presented to each survivor by governors or mayors in countries of Japan, America, China, Korea, Philippines, Netherlands, Brazil and any other countries with survivors. I have no doubt that such an occasion would promote a position that is against nuclear weapons in a non-political manner and do much for reducing violence and the serious nuclear threat we face.

The epitaph carved into the stone coffin at the Hiroshima City Peace Memorial reads:

“Let all souls here rest in peace, for we shall not repeat the evils.”

We the world have a moral obligation to pass the torch of positive force on to the next generations so that they may partake in our wisdom, not just our mistakes. The survivors and victims of the atomic bombs have sacrificed much to pass on this torch. By awarding the Nobel Peace Prize to all of the atomic bombs’ survivors--a group from many nations--the Nobel Peace Committee would honor a generation devoted to creating peace rather than resenting harm, as well as underscore its commitment to stopping these evils from reoccurring.

False Dichotomy: We Are the Third Way

2010-12-10T11:12:00.006-05:00

By Chris Cote

When I was in college, the president of the university was gracious enough to meet with me in his office. There was an agenda, but when we finished with that he asked me to stick around and talk. How was I doing? What was going on in my life? He was and is an extremely busy man, but was genuinely interested in my life (and I was no special case, he showed this compassion for each student he came across). I wasn’t expecting this and I seized up, just for a second. I was nervous to come up with something interesting (he’s very nice, but I’m sure he didn’t want to hear about the final exams my head was buried in).

The day before, I had watched two university faculty members debate whether an undergraduate’s time should be spent engrossed in theory or filled with activism and service. This was a conversation I had heard many times before, but had not come to any firm conclusion. Neither did the professors. I took the opportunity and presented my dilemma to the president. He just smiled.

“Chris, there's no need to choose between the two. You've created a false dichotomy. A student’s time need not be spent solely in the library or just organizing rallies or doing service abroad." The point was to balance the two, and by presenting the question as a debate, it allowed students to find the missing middle—that theory and action go hand in hand, a key focus of the university, especially its international relations program.

What the president had done for me was take a step back and find the third side; avoiding the limits of dichotomy, he added a new possibility. Along with the great patience and kindness he showed me, I think over and treasure this lesson often. It was perhaps a very easy step for him to take, but he taught me to constantly search within a larger context to solve a seemingly intractable dilemma or conflict—whether it be a spat with a friend or a much larger issue.

William Ury, who with Roger Fisher wrote the book on negotiation, discusses the role of the third side in the face of fragmented societies bound with fear from terrorism (one could also insert economic instability, environmental degradation, war, or political gridlock) in an October TED Talk. In the search for peace, he says, we are the third side: we, the community surrounding a conflict, can change the context of the dilemma. If our reaction to the threat of fear is to remain complacent, fear will fester and spread through our relationships. If we break free from indifference and take action, the wound can rapidly heal.

Around the 10 minute mark in the video, Ury begins to riff on the story of Abraham. “Abraham represents unity and interconnectedness,” he notes. Abraham’s path, from womb to tomb, passes through the most volatile region in the world, crossing Jordan, Palestine, Israel, Syria, and Turkey. Ury advertises the path, which is now open for the cultural tourism, and discusses Abraham’s story as one of hospitality. We must move from “hostility to hospitality,” and change the framework we think of terrorism in. We think of terrorism and our desire for personal security makes us freeze. We shrink back into our shell and qualities such as trust, hospitality, and tolerance are thrown to the wayside. Ury’s reminder that we, each one of us, is the third side—that the way out of our insecurity is through ourselves—is a call to action. He suggests beginning a conversation with a new person, maybe someone of a different culture, and hearing their story.

What if the conversation expanded to someone of a different religion? Or someone who believes in no religion? Someone from a different profession (a businessman, a scientist, a violinist)? Someone from the opposing political party? What if you all met together? Such a plethora of diverse perspectives would surely warm us out of our hypothermic indifference and encourage us to find a third way, taking power away from those in whose interest it is for us to remain out of the debate.

We are the third way. Express your opinion, Rock the boat.

A Dearth of Vision: The Need for a New American Road

2010-12-02T17:41:00.011-05:00

By Akio Matsumura

America's leadership—in Washington and in each state—is gridlocked. And instead of politicians and economists coming to the rescue, they are the ones causing the traffic jam. Myopic leadership coupled with recycled policies are clogging the road forward. Governor Jerry Brown’s victory in California encouraged me greatly. His bold ideas will help California to close its yawning fiscal and social gaps, but we need individual leadership and creative vision across the board. Some years ago I missed an opportunity to bring together some of the country’s most visionary minds to discuss our common future. Such a meeting, if held now, would help to energize America enormously.


Dr. Carl Sagan at the Moscow Conference

A Timeless Visionary
In 1984, I went to Los Angeles to meet with former Governor Jerry Brown, who had just finished his two-term governorship of California. Governor Brown came to my hotel and we sat in the lobby to discuss and share our perspectives for the world for the coming century. Because I worked at the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), I shared my concern for the increasing imbalance between the growing population—then projected to hit 7 billion by the year 2000 and 10 billion later in the century—and the availability and distribution of natural resources. How would we deal with food, water, and natural resource shortages? Governor Brown suggested we might send people to the Moon and avoid all of these problems. Clearly we were discussing big ideas. We went on and on for hours.

Suddenly, Governor Brown stopped and asked, “Akio, what time is it?” I was surprised that he was not carrying a watch, but told him it was 8:30 pm. He jumped up. “Akio, this is terrible! My father’s hosting a big dinner in my honor and I’m very late.” He scolded me for talking too much and rushed out to catch a cab.

I have met so many political leaders throughout the world, but he is certainly one of the most unique. I have never met a politician who practiced Zen in Japan, was full of unpredictable responses, carried no watch—and certainly never one who forgot a dinner held in honor because he was absorbed in conversation.

Thirty years later, despite running as part of a slogging Democratic Party and having a much weaker financial situation than his opponent, Governor Brown managed to make an extraordinary comeback and became governor of California for the third time. His creative and flexible mind, tightly honed political instinct, and sharp communication skills let him catch the attention of the younger generations while encouraging those frozen by their fear for the future. But now he must get to work.

California’s economy is the eighth largest in the world, but is buried in deficit—the crisis extends across the entire state, from the school system to the police and fire departments. California’s crisis is a detail of a much larger painting--America's fiscal burden looms large.

Yet I have hope. Governor Brown has the opportunity and ability to enact bold and difficult policies to rescue California and create a model for other states and the federal government. Vision comes only from the individual, not the institution. The governor’s extraordinary vision can transcend the political straightjacket that binds his state and the country. I hope he’s able to carry out his ideas, for the sake of California and the United States.

Visions from a Fading Star
At a lunch he once hosted for me, Governor Brown introduced me to actress Shirley MacLaine, who I came to know well when she attended my 1992 Parliamentary Earth Summit Conference in Rio de Janeiro. Shirley has produced many best selling books and is deeply in touch with the spiritual world. I can certainly understand the bond between Shirley and Governor Brown. (Shirley and her large hearted, right hand person, Ms. Brit Elders, have always been kind enough to share my blog on her website.)

Together Shirley and I attended the inaugural State of the World Forum held in San Francisco. Guest speakers included President Gorbachev and our mutual friend Dr. Carl Sagan, the American astronomer, with whom I had an agenda. As I mentioned in a December 2008 post, I’ve always admired Carl’s enormous skill as a communicator. He could match any politician in his ability to explain a difficult concept. At the conference we all knew that Carl, suffering with cancer, was in the final stage of his life.

During the coffee break, I mentioned to Shirley that Mother Teresa had said a person who is dying has the purest eyes. To me, this has always meant that a dying person can move beyond dogma into purer thoughts. Around this same time I had read an article describing a Cardinal in Chicago who, with only a few months to live, was spending all of his time visiting prisoners on death row to discuss their story and life. Each prisoner's life was of the utmost concern to him. My idea relied on Carl's unique talents. I wanted him to help convene and lead a one or two day meeting with the Cardinal and several other eminent leaders at the end stages of their life from the political, military and business sectors, free of media or any observers. The goal was to listen and develop our mission for the next generations, an outcome that could only come from such experienced and eminent people freed from dogma and able to speak frankly in their final days. Such a mission would surely be unmatched in its purity, uniqueness, and scope.

Shirley agreed this was an idea well worth discussing with Carl. Because of its delicate nature, I thought Shirley should bring the idea to Carl. But she insisted it was my job, as he might question her motivation. She had passed the hot potato back to me! I was thinking over and over how I could explain to Carl such a touchy issue, show my selfless motivation, and convince him of his essential role as convener and spokesman. With an undecided mind I stood awaiting the elevator in the lobby of the conference building. The doors opened and, surprisingly, Carl walked right out! He saw me and asked if there was something I wanted to talk to him about. I was caught by surprise and still hadn’t made up my mind as to the best approach. “No, Carl,” I said and headed into the elevator. That was the last time I saw him.   Shortly thereafter, I attended his memorial service at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York. Vice President Al Gore gave a eulogy, highlighting Carl’s extraordinary ability as communicator.

I regard this as an incredible opportunity to have missed. Although we would be hard pressed to find someone with Carl's talents to lead it, such a meeting wouldn’t clear America’s traffic jam; it would open a whole new road forward.

The Death and Rebirth of U.S. Ground Forces

2010-11-16T14:48:00.011-05:00

Dear friends:

I have been so fortunate to have the advice, opinions and wisdom of extraordinary men available to me throughout my life. The three with whom I sought counsel the most were former US Ambassador to the UN, Reverend Dr. Glenn Olds; Ambassador Angier Biddle Duke (D); and Mr. Bradford Morse, former administrator of the UNDP and US Congressman (R). Ambassador Olds served as the White House international adviser for four U.S. presidents: Nixon, Ford, Reagan and Bush, Sr. Fifteen years ago, Ambassador Olds introduced me to Dr. Scott Jones and advised me that Dr. Jones would be able to provide me with top-notch analysis of U.S. policy. As sadly all three of my initial mentors have gone to another spiritual world, I am lucky to have Dr. Jones's advice and fair, non-partisan insight on U.S. policy.

In a thirty-year career in the U.S. Navy, Scott Jones was a carrier jet fighter pilot in the Korean War, and later served in Naval Intelligence in South Asia, Europe, and Washington, D.C For six-years he was special assistant to my dear friend Senator Claiborne Pell.

It is my great pleasure to introduce his article.

Yours truly,

Akio

The Death and Rebirth of U.S. Ground Forces

Scott Jones
P.E.A.C.E. Inc

A burden too heavy has been placed on the shoulders of U.S. ground forces in the nation’s longest wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. No level of respect and verbal support for the young men and women in service of their country can mitigate the mental and physical consequences of repeated combat tours. The volunteer military service is less than one percent of the nation’s population. Another one-plus percent, close family member, carry a loving and anguished support burden, but the rest of us are completely out of the active loop – and that is what Pentagon, military industries, Congress and the White House want.

As obscene as it is to imply that any war can be called “popular,” it is certainly true that when any war becomes “unpopular” to even a vocal and active minority of the population in a democracy, the war has been lost. This was Lesson One learned from the Vietnam War, and effective steps were taken to reduce the possibility that this would be allowed to happen again.

Military conscription was ended in June 1973. Noteworthy also was that in 1973, the Case-Church Amendment was passed by the U.S. Congress that prohibited the use of American military in Vietnam after 15 August 1975, unless the president received congressional approval in advance. The significance of this was that it effectively ended a war that was never declared by Congress as provided for in the Constitution. Since World War II, none of the wars fought by the U.S. military have been constitutionally declared. That legal point aside, over 117,000 military personnel have been killed, and additionally over 284,000 wounded in undeclared wars since WWII.

The death and destruction of the Vietnam War was vividly seen on evening television news programs. Pentagon rules now require war correspondents to be embedded within combat units and their reports are carefully censored. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are sanitized to the point of invisibility, but the nature of combat death and injuries are now well known. Combat medical technologies have greatly advanced, and wounds, which in the past would have ultimately resulted in death, now have a different outcome. Life is sustained, but frequently with quality of life diminished. This is particularly seen in head wounds. Most significant has been the nature of combat that has resulted in a high incidence of cases of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

These conditions await each multiple return to the combat theater, and there is no predictable end to the deadly cycle for the few that serve. The established correlation between PTSD and risk of suicide is an additional sad issue.

The cost of the War on Terror never appeared in the recent election. Will either political party consider the Pentagon’s budget for cost cutting?

It is not unpatriotic to question the democratic value and risks of a hardened professional Army, a true warrior class tested by a decade of combat. It will be the fruit of our political decisions to fight an undeclared war based upon lies about the existence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, and a non-state event, War on Terror, currently being massively fought in Afghanistan, but with equal opportunities in a number of other countries.

A first clue for the future will be a proposal in the new House of Representatives to increase the size of the Army. This is the classical path for the end of every empire.

Scott Jones

P.E.A.C.E. Inc.
sherlight@peaceroom.com

A Most Optimistic Man: Challenging Complacency

2010-11-12T17:10:00.014-05:00

By Akio Matsumura

The United States and Japan are both plagued by suicide. Many people are taking their own lives out of a sense of isolation and loneliness. Although the circumstances for the two cases are distinct, the challenge to both countries--overcoming complacency--is the same.

A few weeks ago someone called my cell phone and started speaking to me in Japanese. I answered in Japanese but knew it was foreigner’s voice. The person on the other end said he had studied Japanese for five years at a high school in Australia. We continued talking, mixing Japanese and English, and laughed. This short conversation let me forget a moment that I was talking to a person with no arms or legs. It was Mr. Nick Vujicic. On the phone, we planned to meet at his friend’s apartment in Central Park West. He arrived, rolled his wheelchair into the lobby, and we chose a quiet, private place to chat. His staff lifted him out of the wheel chair and into a chair at the table. They placed his iPhone before him and left, leaving us alone to meet. I wondered how Nick would let his staff know when our meeting ended.

After we spoke for an hour and a half, he slid his nose across the screen of the iPhone to unlock it. He called his staff and asked them to bring a camera so that we could take a photograph together. I told Nick I was amazed to see him handle the phone so fluidly. I cannot use one, even with two hands. He smiled kindly and with self-confidence. I am sure he was only able to do this through tireless practice, as he has conquered so many other difficulties.

During our talk we covered several items, but mainly focused on the types of conflicts I predict will continue through the rest of the century. Nick showed keen interest in the story of the Oxford conference, where spiritual and parliamentary leaders stayed in the student dormitories, sharing one bathroom per room, where Jewish, Muslims, Christians, other religious denominations and parliamentarians were living together. All participants worked to transcend their own traditional barriers. Nick clearly understood the rationale to transcend barriers because his life has been spent successfully overcoming innumerable challenges. I am convinced by his belief that a positive approach leads the way to a meaningful life. There is no wonder as to how he has encouraged so many young people, particularly those who’ve lost their confidence in their life.

Nick then asked me of my concerns about my country, Japan, where I have not lived for 36 years, and where he visited several times. I am most worried by Japan’s extremely high suicide rates. The smile left Nick's face when we took up this matter. He persistently asked what caused such extreme rates in Japan.

More than 30,000 people committed suicide in Japan in the last year—for the twelfth straight year. This does not count who those who died at the hospital after or failed in their attempt. Some people suggest an even larger figure of 100,000 suicides a year. When I occasionally visit Japan, I ask many people why this problem plagues Japan, and what is being done to stop it. No one answers me seriously. I have the impression that they think there is nothing they can do to solve or help the issue. Like Nick, I have been puzzled for a few years on why Japan's people have not been able to take this problem more seriously.

America has a similar problem. In this blog I often stress that war takes a different toll on a society than other social and economic issues. Its effect is unique, disastrous, and extends across generations. One major effect is high suicide rates among veterans.

In late October, Mr. Bob Herbert, the New York Times columnist, wrote “The Way We Treat Our Troops.” His report of suicide and death among veterans is a must-read. It shows the debilitating effects our wars abroad are taking on our troops back at home.

It shocked to me to learn the story of the death of Sgt. First Class Lance Vogeler, a 29 year old who was killed a few weeks ago while serving in the Army in his twelfth combat tour—four in Iraq and eight in Afghanistan. Multiple tours—three, four, five—are the norm. And it is no surprise that veterans of the two wars are much more likely to commit suicide, or die by other means, than people the same age with no military service. “They were twice as likely,” Mr. Glantz reported, “to die in a vehicle accident, and five-and-a-half times as likely to die in a motorcycle accident.”

Taken from "Inspire Me Now" http://bit.ly/f8Ezf4

I would like to make it clear that the Japanese and Americans commit suicide under different political and social circumstances. Yet the social responsibility to respond this critical issue is the same. The struggle and sense of loss for each family is the same, after all, and the reason the person chooses to die is the same—we are unsympathetic to their incredible loneliness and desperation. As a society we do not know how to include our members who have been through such extraordinary experiences.

Our situation reminds me of the case of the frog in a pot of water. If we raise the temperature very slowly, the frog fails to notice the increase in heat. The frog does not recognize the water’s alarming temperature and eventually dies.

Everyday on television we see death through coverage of wars, genocide, tribal conflicts, terrorism, drug violence, and violent movies. We become complacent in the face of tragedy and blind to the meaning of the life of the human and animal. Many politicians and religious leaders have forgotten their mission to take care of their weakest members and show the passion for each life. Nick Vujicic impressed me with his relentless optimism and vitality in the face of so many struggles. That exuberance is the shock needed to escape the complacency that weakens our societies.

Our pot has already come to a roaring boil—will we, like the frog, fail to notice before it is too late?

Rock Paper Scissors: The Deadly Vocabulary of Fighting

2010-10-02T12:52:00.011-04:00

By Akio Matsumura

In childhood we played the game Rock-Paper-Scissors. Rock wins over Scissors, Paper wins over Rock, and Scissors wins over Paper. There is no single absolute power among three partners. The outcome always depends on the opponent’s tactic.

This game also plays out in democratic governance. Government executives have power over their people because they execute the law. The legislative body has the power over the government executives because they produce the law and appropriate the budget. And people have power over the legislature because they elect them.

Now let’s put it an individual perspective, specifically my personal case.

One disadvantage I have is that I speak poor English, and zero Spanish, French, (or Chinese or Hindi, whose speakers total 37 percent of the world’s population). I do have the advantage, however, of meeting so many eminent people in the hundred countries I have visited. Not speaking all of these languages has come in handy: I have a keen eye for understanding intentions and unspoken expressions. It has helped me grasp the total picture rather than become weighed down on an analytical level. I read a situation as if it were poetry, not prose. However, when I debate the difficult issues with my country men in Japanese, each word, each paragraph and the precise meaning of expressions interrupt me from understanding the true intention of my opponents. I find myself missing the total picture of our debate. We must have both perspectives to balance our overall viewpoint; for without the trees, we wouldn’t have the woods! One view complements and balances the other.

I believe strongly in democracy. (Demos: People and Kratos: Power). Government derives its power from the people through laws that guarantee our freedom of speech, freedom of religion and freedom of the press. And democracy does not escape the rule of Rock-Paper-Scissors, thankfully, but the ties can become dangerously tenuous during an election year.

US politicians have their hands full dealing with the issues that will define November's midterm elections. The two wars and the national debt occupy the majority of the political space. But rising unemployment, immigration, national energy policy, education policy, social security, health insurance, and state deficits continue to crowd the agenda. Each item hampers many lives and it’s difficult to give any one of them priority. However, we must distinguish between war and the others.

All social and economic issues are replaceable, renewable, and restored in the long run. But war takes a different toll. The loss of loved ones, the demoralized lives of young people, the respect of nations, and the destruction of national monuments that make up a shared history are not replaceable. These are immeasurable in an economic sense.

The US Constitution states that Congress shall have the power to declare War. Who, then, determins whether Congress allows our country to enter down such a path?

We do, of course, to some degree. Voters hold Congress accountable—but mostly for social and economic issues. The wars the US are fighting now hardly rile up the American people. Only about 1 percent of Americans are in the military—add families and friends and the number grows, but not yet to any election-swaying amount.

Here lies my great concern. People now are not holding Congress responsible for waging America’s wars. And without this check, politicians can say what they like—use strong rhetoric as they’d like, and mold opinion as they like—to get elected.

This strong rhetoric—let us call it the “vocabulary of fighting”—is more damaging than one might think, in the age of the 24 hour news cycle and instant media. Look at Terry Jones: Who would think that a tiny community pastor in Florida threatening to burn the Koran could generate such strong reactions from President Obama, Secretary Gates, and General Petraeus and fully attract the international media? For one event to spread so widely would have been impossible during a war in the 20^th century.

Let’s think back to the game of Rock-Paper-Scissors. I am deeply puzzled trying to understand what would motivate America’s people to take back their check on Congress’ war powers. Some of my eminent friends have mentioned to me that a 5 percent War Tax might be a tool to force voters to consider war more cautiously. But where are the leaders to create such a tax?

Fighting words have caused the escalation of wars and unintended consequences throughout history. This time won’t be any different. And it is of course very difficult to later dam a worsening situation.

We should understand, at the very least, that the vocabulary of fighting in the 21^st century is the most powerful weapon to provoke the opponents, and—on the other side of the coin—the vocabulary of perception building is the most powerful tool to achieve our positive goals. Otherwise, politicians talk only at the price of young soldiers.

New Strategies in US Foreign Policy: Building Perception instead of Animosity

2010-08-14T20:44:00.010-04:00

by Akio Matsumura

We are out of money. The 2008 world economic crisis and economic recession have forced many governments to cut back in spending. The media reports daily on which programs will be kept or cut, and lobbyists are working hard to make sure their piece of the pie is not tossed out. In Europe, Greece’s austerity measures—while staving off disaster—have caused riots. In many countries, national security budgets, despite ballooning to epic portions, will be the last to go, though surprisingly, US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates last week announced that the Pentagon will slash spending in the years ahead.

The defense budget will remain high because of a national paranoia (perhaps rightly) of foreign attack, influential business interests, and the all-important fact that the US is still fighting two wars. And their position on both fronts looks increasingly untenable: the effects of the "surge" in Iraq--General Petraeus' miracle work--is now reportedly dissolving; Western efforts in Afghanistan are producing fewer results than hoped for. Just this week the New York Times published an editorial, "The State of the War in Afghanistan." Their survey is disheartening:

But, like many Americans, we are increasingly confused and anxious about the strategy in Afghanistan and wonder whether, at this late date, there is a chance of even minimal success.

Military efforts are continually stifled or delayed. What is the Commander in Chief's next step? Approval is waning (although a majority of Americans still support the war). Military operations--even if professed to diminish in the coming years--will continue on at least for the greater part of the decade. The idea of "winning hearts and minds," is thrown about loosely and has been variously integrated into the war's strategies, but I do not believe it has been wholeheartedly included.

I have often mentioned that it is the relationship of trust between individuals that determines a nation’s destiny if it, as a last resort, must go to war. War is always composed of two tactics: 1) military operations and 2) perception-building (hearts and minds) operations. If military operations are the blood that pumps the heart of victory, then perception-building is the spirit that wills it to sustain its endeavor.

The US has not done enough to create a favorable perception of itself in Afghanistan. Specifically, educational and international student exchange programs seem to be of lower priority due to their intangible and invisible results. Certainly they are not regarded as critical to—or even part of—the national security agenda. Congress should increase funding to these programs while recognizing the important role they play in perception-building abroad.

I would like to mention a story that illustrates how international student exchange programs build national security as well.

I had the pleasure of being acquainted with former US Congressman Philip Ruppe (R) who visited my home. One day, Mr. Ruppe and his wife, Ms. Loret Miller Ruppe, invited my wife, my son Keishi, and I to their home in Washington, DC, for dinner. Mrs. Ruppe was director of the Peace Corps under the Reagan administration. She asked me my opinion of US foreign policy since World War II.

I mentioned there were four great success of US foreign policy. First, I said that the Marshall Plan and the Occupation Policy for Japan were certainly great achievements. She nodded—these were clear successes.
I said next that the other two were the establishment of the Peace Corps and the Fulbright Scholarship. Mrs. Ruppe was surprised to hear me mention the Peace Corps and asked, “Akio, are you just being diplomatic?” I told her, “Mrs. Ruppe, I have no need to be diplomatic. When I was a university student, I wanted to join the Peace Corps so much. But being from Japan, I could not join.” Many of my American friends joined the Peace Corps after university.

In October 1964, I visited South East Asia as part of a university student exchange program. For some time we stayed at a Saigon University dormitory—the Vietnam War had not yet escalated to its zenith (or nadir). We talked through the night with Saigon University students about the war. Obviously, they were against it: the anti-Vietnam War student movement was reaching its peak all over Asia. I emphasized to Mrs. Ruppe that although they were against the US war policy, they admired US culture and the friendships they had made with Peace Corps volunteers had given them an indelibly positive view of American people.

I cannot emphasize enough that the Peace Corps volunteers and the Fulbright scholars, who later became leaders throughout Asia, have contributed enormously to reduce tensions in the region. Their work has led to the recovery of relationships with many Asian leaders. If we consider that the national security programs are the government’s first priority, then it is clear that student exchange programs must figure as prominently as soldiers on our national tool belt.

It impressed me as a student to hear President Kennedy express his appreciation to foreign students for choosing the US as a place to share their culture and their future, and to hear him encourage US students to live abroad to facilitate further exchanges. I think it is time to revitalize the spirit of President Kennedy: American leaders should express their appreciation to foreign students—in particular ones coming from Muslim countries—who wish to share their culture and lives with young Americans, and encourage more exchange.

After all, we are working hard for our children—for their future and for the betterment of society generally. Emerging leaders who have benefited from international student exchange programs might use their abroad experiences—and most important, friendships—to create a more equitable and peaceful world then we have managed.

The concept of the Peace Corps, Fulbright Scholarship and Pell Grant should be rekindled and bolstered now as we flounder and delay in confusion.

Response from Gary Levinson, violinist and concertmaster for the Dallas Symphony Orchestra

2010-07-26T09:32:00.005-04:00

Last week, I was invited to Dallas by one of the most visionary businessmen I have met, Mr. Luke Stewart, President of Energy Parametrics & Communications. He arranged a surprise dinner reception in my honor, presenting my concept and my 38 years of work.

They arranged special music performance by Mr. Gary Levinson, violinist, Concertmaster for the Dallas Symphony Orchestra and his wife, Baya Kakouberi, pianist, who performed a wonderful music for the dinner reception.

Mr. Levinson was born at Leningrad (St. Petersburg) and his wife was born in Georgia, therefore they were very much moved by watching a short video of the Moscow Conference. He was moved to respond to the article because Princess Elizabeth’s article connected with his roots. On her mother’s side, Her Highness descends from Empress Catherine the Great of Russia.

I am very happy to introduce his response to her article.

--Akio

Dear Akio,

I have to say that your email just made my day! What an extraordinary opportunity to electronically meet Her Highness, Princess Elizabeth; I was immediately transported to my birthplace, St. Petersburg, and the hours I would spend at the Winter Palace looking at the gilded carriages and the exquisite chef d'oeuvres of the czars. It is no accident that while recording the Beethoven Sonatas this last winter, I researched the reasons Beethoven dedicated the second and third sonata to Czar Nicholas.

I can't tell you how much the Princess' essay moved me. It reminds me that whatever gifts God endows us with, they are there to serve the society, which is the most important reason musicians play and composers write. Our talents are first and foremost to carry the message of spiritual connection between all people.

I wish all of you a lovely rest of the summer and look forward to your thoughts on the subject.

Warmly,
Gary
http://www.glevinson.com/

The Desire to Improve Ourselves

2010-07-22T15:08:00.011-04:00

Dear friends,

I am pleased to inform you that we received the article, “The Desire to Improve Ourselves,” from our old friend, Princess Elizabeth of Yugoslavia. She greatly contributed to the Global Forum as an International Advisory Council member. Her life has shared a path with the history of a nation—it has been extraordinary. I have certainly benefited from her insights into European history, with which I was largely unfamiliar.

I might add that she was wife of the late Senator Manuel Ulloa of Peru, Co-Chairman of the Global Forum.

I hope you will enjoy reading it.

Yours truly,

Akio

The Desire to Improve Ourselves

Millions of dollars are spent on cancer research and cures have been found for many killer diseases but no one has yet figured out how to eradicate collective stupidity, arrogance, and pretentiousness. These are dangerous and contagious and have been infecting the brains of humans for centuries.

Man, because basically it is a man’s world, created God in his image, wrote holy books and decided he knew who God was and what God wanted. He imagined there would be a better world after death, a more beautiful place, fields full of languid virgins, harp music and enough room for each and every one to sit on the right side of the Almighty. The planet had obviously been given to Man and mankind to use and abuse and subjugate because man is superior to Nature. I do not believe that any human, not even the best of artists, can produce anything as beautiful as a flower, a sunset or a snowflake. Music is as close as it gets to sublime sound but then Nature has her own songs…

As time went by, forests have disappeared, lakes and inland seas dried up, diverted rivers brought bilharzia and drought, wars have brought and are still bringing untold misery to millions of families.

There some fundamentalists who are looking forward to the end of the world so they can go to heaven. Perhaps we are already in Paradise but it seems Earth is not good enough for them.

I read out the following statement of Indigenous delegates to the
‘Global Forum on Environment and Development for Survival’ in Moscow in 1990.

As it is still very applicable and very wise, I am reprinting part of it:

“It has been agreed that the Earth is governed by the great laws of the Universe and that we human beings are responsible for the neglect and violation of these laws. There is now a crisis of life upon this planet because we the human beings have upset the balance of the life-giving forces of the natural world and have interfered with the structure and cycles of air, land and water.

These great powers of the universe are now turning against us, as rain, the gift of life that waters the earth, is now contaminating and killing the gardens and trees of life that sustain us.

Our eldest brother, the sun whom we celebrate and cherish as he brings the dawn of each new day, now throws rays of cancerous light, and new diseases stalk the earth.
We tremble as we realize what we have done and are doing to our Mother, the Earth. We have jeopardized the future of our coming generations with our greed and lust for power. The warnings are clear and time is now a factor. We delight in technologies, which reap harvests without regard to the life cycles of the natural world.

Earth suffers ill treatment because of lack of respect. We must return to the spiritual values that are the foundation of life. (Not dogma and man made rules…my quote). Spirituality should be our foundation. All societies, which have come to peaceful co-existence with nature, were possessed of a strong tradition.
We must love and respect all living things, have compassion for the poor, respect and understanding for the women and female life on the Earth who bear the sacred gift of life.

There can be no life without water. The waters need to be made clean again as they were before technology arrived. All rivers, lakes, streams and oceans were full of life, so fish, animals and humans lived from the life of the waters since the beginning of time.

We must return to the prayers and rituals and celebrations of thanksgiving, which link us with the spiritual powers, which sustain us, and teach our children this respect.

We are accountable and shall be held accountable if we fail. Our responsibility is to protect Mother Earth. Nature is a seamless web of life in which all forms of life are related to all others. It recognizes no national boundaries. All our relations, the birds, the fish, the trees, the rocks, we are all connected to that web. Every religious tradition has a view of the sacredness of life and of the relationship of nature to life. All traditions must be encouraged to advance and build upon that aspect by intense education, from early childhood on.

We, the indigenous peoples of the earth, have a long experience of living on agreeable terms with the Earth. Is it possible that we can share our ancient knowledge with other peoples? Yes, surely. We shall go on together, in trust, in confidence, in belief, and we shall save our souls. This is the way to our salvation.
We are the peoples of the Earth; Earth is our place. Let us believe in it; let us take care of the Earth as we take care of our children, of our parents and grandparents.

We must remember we do not inherit the Earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children.”

What will it take for each of us humans to wake up with an intense desire to improve ourselves… and is there still time?

Written by Princess Elizabeth, a daughter of Prince Paul, the Prince Regent of Yugoslavia.

Founder of the Serbian Foundation. www.princesselizabeth.org

International Advisory Council member of the Global Forum Oxford and Moscow conferences.

36 Million Miles before 5,000 Feet

2010-06-24T21:58:00.015-04:00

Photo: Akio speaking at Rotary International convention in Mexico, 1991.

Less than two weeks ago, on May 16, I wrote “Plunging a Hole into the Ship’s Bottom,” to publish my despair for the environmental and economic disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. Last month, scientists estimated that the Deepwater Horizon oil spill was releasing 210,000 gallons of crude oil daily. I predicted drastic, terrible outcomes for the area, and I was convinced I was not wrong.

Now I know I did not worry enough. The Flow Rate Technical Group now estimates that the gusher -- 5,000 feet (1,500 m) underwater -- is flowing at 1,500,000 to 2,500,000 gallons of oil per day. Every day we see heartbreaking images of birds, turtles, and 400 other species suffering amid the crude muck. Every day we see that the delicate wetlands are perishing. And hurricane season has not even arrived.

And every day we see the BP engineers continue to fail in their attempts to stop the flow. Every day we notice that the US government has its hands tied even more. This is the most watched news since the first man walked on the Moon in 1969. I remember watching then with such excitement—the capacity of our technology was unlimited. We all joined in watching America succeed at our common dream.

The challenges of space technology still continue to push society on, generation to generation. Forget the internet—this is the Facebook generation. We even plan to put a person on Mars within a decade. Until April 2010, we still believed that our technology was unlimited.

Now, on the contrary, we have learned that the powerful US military cannot stop the flow, and that their abilities are even less than BP’s. Before the US House congressional hearing, the heads of all the major oil companies indicated their inability to help. Until the two relief wells are finished in mid-August and permanently cement the hole shut, the oil will continue to spill. Some experts say even this solution is not guaranteed.

The current reality is much worse than I predicted. Our technology cannot save our base on Earth, even as it soars toward Mars.

I am afraid that the Gulf ecosystem might take several decades—precisely, more than 50 years—to recover. It is reported that fish, shrimp, and birds still have not fully returned to Alaska after the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill.

This issue with water reminds me of a speech I gave at a Rotary International convention in Mexico in 1991. My friend the late John Denver was master of ceremonies and sang and played before my speech.

Here is an excerpt to restore our thoughts to the deeper issue at hand.

We live on a world of water. From space, our planet is blue with the oceans that cover 70 percent of its surface. As life on our planet comes from water, we too are formed from a single cell in the small sea of our mother’s womb. Like the earth, we are 70 percent water. But something is terribly wrong when water, the worldwide symbol of purity, becomes polluted.

The natural order is upside down when a drink of water brings disease instead of relief. When a soaking rain kills trees and lakes. When the source of life is poisoned as it flows from the ground.

Today, we all need a more global mind. This means re-evaluating priorities and deciding what is truly precious to life, so we have a good foundation for positive action. For example, we need to truly value water. Pure, plentiful water—not gold or diamonds or oil—may be the most precious resource on earth. It is the essential ingredient of life. If we had to pay its true worth, we would treasure it.

Rivers, lakes and seas can be revived and brought back from near-death caused by decades of pollution to support life once again. It happened in London in the River Thames, and it is happening in the Great Lakes of North America and the Mediterranean Sea.

Our organization is made up of leaders from many worlds: leaders who will cross spiritual as well as physical boundaries to work together all through this decades on programs to “ Preserve Planet Earth” and its most basic resource, water. I hope each of you will personally join us, wholeheartedly, in this partnership to save the planet.

I reiterate that one could imagine that we are on Noah’s Ark with all of Earth’s species, but this time humans are greedily plunging holes through the bottom of the ship in search of the ocean’s riches.

We have focused on the wrong goals. We are able to travel 36 million miles to Mars but cannot get the right equipment 5,000 feet to the ocean floor to stop this spill. Our technology cannot save us from ourselves. What do you think?

--Akio Matsumura, Former Secretary General of the Parliamentary Earth Summit Conference at Rio de Janeiro, June 1992.

Plunging a Hole into the Ship’s Bottom

2010-05-16T22:12:00.013-04:00

Photo: Akio, Maki, Dr. Thor Heyerdahl and his wife at Akio's home.

The disaster from Hurricane Katrina on August 29, 2005 is still vivid in our memory.

In the city of New Orleans, the storm surge caused more than 50 breaches in drainage canal levees and precipitated the worst engineering disaster in the history of the United States. 80 percent of New Orleans was flooded.

People around the world tuned in to see the wreckage and could not believe their eyes: dead bodies lying in city streets and floating in still-flooded sections. The advanced state of decomposition of many corpses, some of which were left in the water or sun for days before being collected, hindered the coroners’ efforts to identify many of the dead. In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, looting, violence, and other criminal activities became serious problems.

During the next five years, people and communities in New Orleans and states along the Gulf coast have made extraordinary efforts to recover their lives and community. Tourists are returning, fishermen are enjoying profitable catches, the economy is recovering, and the Saints won the Super Bowl. New Orleans is back in business.

However, feelings of extreme fear and insecurity returned with the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico on April 20, 2010.

The oil spill, originating from a deepwater oil well 5,000 feet (1,500 m) below sea level is discharging an estimated 210,000 US gallons of crude oil daily. The spill is expected to eclipse the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill as the worst US oil disaster in history. Experts fear that it will result in an environmental disaster as the oil from the well site reaches the Gulf coast, damaging the Gulf’s fishing and tourism industries, and the habitat of hundreds of bird species. I am afraid I predict the worst possible outcomes, but I am more afraid that reality is on my side.

Consider why life in New Orleans and the surrounding region was able to recover in a relatively short period of time. The Gulf is an ecosystem teeming with a rich diversity of birds, aquatic life, and people. Such a complex system is also delicately balanced. New Orleans, despite its repeatedly unfortunate history, has been blessed with a wealth of natural resources. But, we have missed the basic vision and wisdom that allowed our ancestors to live cooperatively and sustainably in such an environment. And without this abundance of resources the quick recovery of the city would not be possible.

America has benefited immensely from its natural resources—resources that were not handed down to us by our ancestors at free price. Native Americans have passed on their wisdom from collaborating with nature, the government drew out the borders of the National Parks as public property for the next generations, and John Muir founded the Sierra Club in 1892 to protect the Earth’s wild places and promote the responsible use of its ecosystem and resources. This spirit of environmentalism, even in the face of increasingly more harmful problems, has persevered.

Six decades ago, Dr. Thor Heyerdahl of Norway led the Kon-Tiki Expedition on a 4,300 mile (8,000 km) journey across the Pacific Ocean in 1947. Later, when he made the Ra Expedition in 1969 he took samples of ocean pollution and presented his findings in a report to Mr. U Thant, UN Secretary General. His discovery of the pollution in the Pacific Ocean brought about the conception of the United Nations Environment Program. At the time, people thought of the Pacific Ocean as always blue and clean, and the Pacific Islands as a permanent paradise. Dr. Heyerdahl helped frame the contemporary environmental movement; I mentioned his work in my article, “Acupuncture Approach to Environmental Global Thinking.”

In the last ten years our knowledge and awareness of environmental issues has immensely improved, but so has the seriousness of environmental harms. Our ancestors left us a network of ecosystems rich in natural resources, and in turn, we are passing to our descendants a world where fish and birds populations are in grave danger. We are not living collaboratively, but instead as predators. As we ignore this need for balance, we are placing future generations in a harder position. But, by being selfish tenants of the planet, we are also making our own lives more difficult. The people of New Orleans know this very well.

We must continue to construct buildings and help industry to thrive in order to develop economies and prosper as a species. But this is only one piece of a larger picture. We must also focus on developing communities, improving the health of our citizens, and promoting responsible use of the natural environment. Our concept of prosperity must expand to include all of these aspects, not just the financial and material wealth that drove us through the industrial revolution. Disasters such as the BP oil spill several weeks ago drive this point home. If we do not work to improve health—of our citizens or our ecosystems—who will enjoy the dollars our efforts bring?

Following the footsteps of John Muir and Thor Heyerdahl, the Earth Day Network, Green Cross International, and all environmental groups should continue to inspire awareness and appreciation for our contract of responsibility with the planet. As we continue to harvest its natural resources, we must be responsible tenants of the Earth and stand alongside its millions of species.

One could imagine that we are on Noah’s Ark with all of Earth’s species, but this time the humans are greedily plunging holes in the bottom of the ship in search of the ocean’s riches.

--Akio Matsumura, Former Secretary General of the Parliamentary Earth Summit Conference at Rio de Janeiro, June 1992.

Response from Sunil Mittal

2010-04-18T13:32:00.003-04:00

Mr. Sunil Mittal, Chairman and CEO of Bharti Group and Bharti Airtel, was kind enough to respond regarding the article on his father.

Whenever I visited Senator Mittal in India, I would also visit Sunil and his wife Nyna. They hosted me so graciously. I remember when Sunil accompanied his father at the Moscow Conference, hosted by President Gorbachev at the Kremlin. Senator Mittal made a memorable speech at the closing ceremony. Many eminent leaders at the Moscow Conference were impressed with young Sunil, recognizing in him the qualities of a diplomat and a leader.

To me, Sunil is the model case of the remarkable generational transition from parent to child. I would like to commend him for the approach he has taken to his business practices and laud his outstanding success. Sunil has proven the advantages of a truly global vision—we must now encourage the next generation of emerging leaders to follow the example he has set.

I am pleased to introduce his response here.
---

Dear Akio,

Thank you for forwarding me the beautifully written piece. I really enjoyed reading it and laughed at the piece on my father.

I am reminded of an event. Once a Japanese team of two engineers from Suzuki Motor Co. had come to impart training to my staff on portable generators. I per chance visited the workshop and stood in a corner when I noticed the team leader going over and over again on some point and I sensed the confusion amongst the trainer and trainee. I went up to the Japanese and asked why is he going on repeating himself? He said every time I ask have you understood and they say no, so I start again. I asked the local staff and they said this man just goes on repeating and is not moving ahead. You, by now, must have understood the humour. Every time he asked OK, all shook their head left to right and he thought it means not understood. I too had such a laugh.

Hope you are well. All my best.

Regards,
Sunil

“Sat Paul, Do you disagree with me?” Learning globally to act locally

2010-04-13T15:54:00.004-04:00

Photo (L-R): Akio, Rep. Scheuer, former President of Costa Rica Carazo, Senator Mittal

The media coverage over the U.S. health care debate throughout the last month has been extraordinary. Put aside your thoughts on the outcome—the coverage helped viewers become more familiar with U.S. politicians and the U.S. political process. And many were left disappointed. The deep rift that splits American politics invites bitterness and disappointment at all levels.

As I have had the pleasure of meeting with so many politicians, in and out of the U.S., in my thirty five years at the UN and other international organizations, I would like to share my perspective on the potential power of our elected leaders. I think I can paint a more hopeful picture than the one we are witness to currently.

Politicians share a host of characteristics. First, their sensitivity to and engagement of broad population groups is important. It is why they are elected. Second, they promote ideas and opinions with a success that other sectors struggle to match. Their goals are threefold: to build consensus, foster action, and finally succeed with legislative implementation. Particularly impressive is their ability to transcend tough challenges—whether they are daily hurdles or national referendums. Here, I find their dynamic spirit of sympathy to be invaluable. Politicians can identify and sympathize with another person; bureaucrats find this very difficult.

My wife Maki and I had the great pleasure of welcoming so many political leaders to our small apartment in New York. Through these visits and long-lasting friendships I have been fortunate to glean many insights from the political world.

One of our most frequent guests was the late Representative James Scheuer (D-NY), chairman of the House Subcommittee on natural resources, agriculture research and environment. Even Rep. Scheuer’s mother and his wife Emily’s mother have visited my home.

Several stories of Rep. Scheuer and other politicians are worthwhile to share—they are indicative of the capabilities of strong politicians. Many of these relate directly to World War II, an event that erected the steepest barriers that we have had to overcome for the last sixty years.

Many years ago, Mr. Takashi Sato—junior MP from Japan, and future Minister of Agriculture—was visiting Washington, DC. Much earlier, he had been assigned a kamikaze pilot mission in August 1945, but Japan’s surrender on August 15 saved his life. When Mr. Sato visited Washington, I pushed hard for him to stay at Rep. Scheuer’s home, without anyone from the embassy or the help of an interpreter. Mr. Sato spoke no English. Mr. Scheuer spoke no Japanese. Both agreed to the challenge, and there was great success. The next day, there sat Mr. Sato, explaining to his boss, Prime Minister Takeo Fukuda, his extraordinary time with Rep. Scheuer. Evidently Mr. Sato, Rep. Scheuer, and Emily had found a way around the barrier.

It is also important to mention Rep. Scheuer’s relationship with Mr. Peter Petersen, a member of the German Bundestag. Mr. Petersen and his young colleagues were not aware of the full extent of the Holocaust as it transpired. Many of Mr. Petersen’s colleagues committed suicide when they learned of the horrors their government had carried out. Instead, Mr. Petersen launched his political career, inspired to never allow such an event to reoccur. I remember when Mr. Petersen met Rep. Scheuer, who was Jewish. Their frank and compassionate discussion surprised me. The importance and productivity of open, candid dialogue cannot be understated—we would never see such a conversation in the UN, or any other public forum, today.

Another time, Rep. Scheuer was speaking at a press conference at the UN headquarters in New York. Among others, Senator Sat Paul Mittal, a friend and Indian political leader, was in attendance. In the middle of the speech Rep. Scheuer interrupted himself suddenly. “Sat Paul,” he asked, “do you disagree with me?” There was no response, so he continued to speak. But he stopped again, repeating, “Sat Paul, Do you disagree with what I am saying?” We were all confused as to what was going on. I looked over to Senator Mittal—he was smiling and shaking his head to the right and left. In India, this is a sign of agreement. Of course, in the United States its meaning is construed differently. Later, after some explanation, they laughed and laughed. (It is worth mentioning here that Mr. Sunil Mittal, a son of Senator Mittal, is now one of the world’s most important business leaders).

Looking at the trust and friendships that Rep. Scheuer had built with Mr. Sato, Mr. Petersen, and Senator Mittal, I was convinced that politicians could act to build bridges between nations. These four overcame incredible historical barriers to become friends. Politicians have enormous influence that could be put to positive use.

I would like to encourage U.S. congressmen to travel abroad during their Congressional recess—especially to Muslim countries. It is imperative our politicians work to continue dialogue and construct personal relationships here. It does not matter if they stay at a nice hotel or drink French wine. Even small trips build understanding and personal sympathy for a place; reduce tensions and the possibility for miscommunication.

This is the power of a politician. History shows that when war breaks out, the official diplomatic communication is cut off and both countries depend heavily on the private channel. Personal relationships between politicians could keep dialogue from freezing and keep relations from sliding toward the worst possible outcome. A politician must learn globally and act locally. Their global views are helpful to their constituents and their nations. After all, we live within the political laws they write.

Young Business Leaders: the missing link in world peace

2009-10-21T16:34:00.005-04:00

Written by Rinaldo Brutoco, Founding President of the World Business Academy

Youth have a unique ability to serve as peacekeepers between Muslim and Western communities, but the missing link among youth has been their recognition of the possibility of creating an improved human condition for both Muslim and Western nations through increased commerce. Young people have the energy and the drive for entrepreneurial engagement, so it is likely they will be the most effective peacekeepers through commerce.

Young people also have far more to gain from peace than their elders do, and far more to lose from war. Totally apart from the fact that youth constitute a disproportionate number of the casualties of war, war is not good for any youth, ever.

The youth caught up in the Israeli-Palestine conflict can see that if the conflict continues on its present course, they will be caught in a grim lifetime of grinding poverty stretching decades into the future. Young people can see that their lives will be better in peace than war. Peace provides the opportunity for commerce. Without peace, a community cannot create meaningful jobs; young people cannot easily nurture their new families; and the grinding cycle of poverty rolls on infinitely into the future.

Violence has taken a toll on both the Palestinian and Israeli economies, but the contrast between the economies of the West Bank and Gaza highlights the opportunities for economic development that come with an improved security situation.

The West Bank’s economy is improving, thanks to Prime Minister Sala Fayyad, an American-educated reformer; a clamp-down by Palestinian security forces that prompted Israel to remove many of the checkpoints that had cut off movement and trade; and the Obama Administration’s more effective, highly targeted, quiet diplomacy. Life in Hamas-ruled Gaza remains grim, the Israeli blockade remains in place, and the economy has ground to a halt.

As young people realize that with peace come economic opportunities, they will slowly recognize that there is no need to endure decades devoid of a secure livelihood and stable family life. At that point, they will be better able to move beyond the old fears and hatreds that have circumscribed the lives and narrowed the visions of their elders.

The challenge for the rest of the world will be to help create economic opportunities in conflict areas—to create hope. Jordan’s Queen Rania has called rising unemployment among Arab youth a “ticking time bomb” that must be defused. Last year, she predicted that the number of unemployed people under 30 in the Middle East could increase from 15 million in 2008 to 100 million by 2020. The Middle East has the highest rate of youth unemployment in the world.

Can anyone doubt that such an enormous number of unemployed youth, and even greater number of underemployed youth, will ignite into a firestorm of hatred with each passing stressful incident in the Middle East? Is this level of youthful idleness not the very breeding ground for the next wave of terrorism, and the next, and the next?

Business leaders, especially young business leaders who can see the necessity of breaking the cycle of violence by employing their fellow youth, can best foster the network of commercial and business ties that can bring hope to the Mideast and other conflict areas. In the process of creating new commercial relationships, they will create a new platform for peace.

Tragically, the adults of the Middle East have been only too willing to stay intertwined in a culture of reciprocal violence under the mistaken belief that an “eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth” will somehow result in a solution. As Gandhi so correctly observed, such a mindset will leave everyone blind and toothless. It is time for the youth, who have their entire lives in front of them, to let the scales of this false reality fall from their eyes so that they can begin to co-create together, Muslim and Westerner, the grand enterprise which will be the new Middle East.

http://www.worldbusiness.org/

Global Hip Hop: Music for Expression

2009-09-02T19:59:00.005-04:00

Hip hop is music that has been around in the US for 40 years, but is taking on new shapes and forms as it sprouts in different regions of the world. Check these out: hip hop for freedom of expression and even a way to fight extremism by spreading positive messages to youth.

African Underground: Hip Hop in Senegal

I Love Hip Hop in Morocco

I spoke on the telephone with Josh Ashen, the creator of I Love Hip Hop in Morocco almost 3 years ago while I was planning my own trip to research music/social movements in Morocco. I saw this film at a festival in NY and was hooked. Check it out.

New Muslim Cool: A Muslim Puerto Rican-American rapper in Pittsburgh

PBS made a great documentary about the diverse issues faced by a diverse person in Pittsburgh. It’s a long video, but take a look at the beginning of it.

The bottom line of these videos is that music is an incredible way to spread culture, religion, and political messages, either within a group of people, or beyond, to a new group. Hip Hop is a growing global form of communication. Go check out Hip Hop for Social Change on Facebook or email at tuftshiphop@gmail.com

-Chris

Response to Lubna Malik from Akio

2009-09-02T19:54:00.003-04:00

Dear Lubna:
I thank you very much for sending to us the wonderful article that Mr. Chris Cote and I are preparing to launch a discussion, called Finding the Missing Link, around the role of youth as emerging peacemakers between Western and Muslims communities.

Peace represents always the willingness and hope for the future, and it depends on how the younger people like yourself see the world and your country, and challenge toward the goal without a finish line. Gross National Product (GNP) is the measure of the economic welfare of the country, and Gross National Dream and Hope (GNDH) will be measured as the potential human development of the country which is the strongest engine toward constructing ideas as well as nations. Economic Power and Military Power alone could not develop a strong nation without the high standard of the GNDH.

From this point of views, it is very encouraging to learn your opinion that being a peacemaker, you believe that peace in the world starts with each and every one of us, and the younger ones have more potential, opportunities and chances of success to draw the reconstruction between two communities. I could not agree with you more that we must establish international links from the school level to introduce our children the diversity of cultures.

I am very much encouraged to learn your vision and pleased to get acquainted with some one like you who are carrying the enlightening endeavor in the most difficult region of which I mentioned in my blog. Your country and its region badly need you and your colleagues for the common future. We are grateful to you for your strong commitments and we very much look forward to working with you.
Yours truly,
Akio

Amartya Sen: Discussion and reason, our tools against terrorism

2009-09-01T20:46:00.003-04:00

Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen has published a new book, The Idea of Justice. In it, he argues that to achieve justice you need public reasonable discussion, outlawing the use of torture no matter what the situation. (Christopher Hitchens gets water boarded to get the inside scoop, check out the video here ) Sen argues, “Dedicated terrorists survive on the basis of very large number of people who are compliant in some sense,” so, we need to reduce the bases on which terrorists depend in order to continue their actions. How? Public reasoning and debate. Terrorists may not be reasoned with, but the compliant masses, the guard that says, “Sure go ahead, I’ll be quiet about it,” can be brought to discussion.

This is just one case for the importance of public discussion. Expanding the reach of law and order toward a public discussion. The interview reaches a lot of points of contention, but Dr. Sen dismisses them all. Do you have any more?
Each day of this week, the Blog of Akio Matsumura will see a new post about the power of dialogue.
Use this blog as a launching point for a discussion or at least a thought-provoking read. Check back in tomorrow for Global Hip Hop.

The Power of Dialogue: Words to Action

2009-09-01T09:21:00.004-04:00

The freedom of expression is a foundational tenet of democracy, and of individual freedom. At the Global Forum for Human Survival, where Akio gathered 100 spiritual leaders and 100 political leaders to discuss the world’s largest problems and its future, there was no agenda. The openness that each participant brought with them, the willingness to cross cultural and religious barriers made James Lovelock write,

"The Global Forum did not end with the departure of the coaches from Oxford on April 15, 1988. For many of us it still goes on as a new and thrilling way of life, a rewarding and purposeful communion that has sustained us and set our minds and hearts on the true task ahead: to ensure not just human survival, but the survival of all life through living in harmony with the Earth itself. (Foreword of Earth Conference One)"

Dialogue is our weapon this century, of our generation now. It’s how to win hearts and minds.

From Lahore, Pakistan: Youth as Emerging Peacemakers

2009-08-31T23:42:00.005-04:00

Ms. Lubna Malik, international link coordinator for Beaconhouse Schools in Lahore, Pakistan, sent me this contribution for the blog. A positive message encouraging dialogue.

First, a quick intro to the Beaconhouse School System:

The first Beaconhouse school opened in Lahore in 1975. Beaconhouse has now established more than 130 schools in 30 cities and towns in Pakistan. Students study a variety of curricula, and Beaconhouse alumni are successful in all walks of life in Pakistan. More info at: http://www.beaconhouse.edu.pk/bssgroup/index.php

The post from Ms. Lubna Malik:

Youth as emerging peacemakers between Western nations and Muslim communities

Is peace in the world possible? Emphatically, yes!
Before writing anything else I should give a message to the youth who are raising the banner of peace, harmony and unity between the western world and the Muslims nations that you may not be able to make a big contribution, but you can make a little one, and you've got to try. Even if your contribution is a "little one," in the long run, the smallest ingredient can be the most powerful, and the slightest act the most potent.
We are to discus the role of young generation in achieving the enlightened future, in succeeding to turn dream into reality; PEACE between western countries and Islamic nations.
Being a peacemaker I believe that Peace in the world starts with each and every one of us, and the younger ones have more potential, opportunities and chances of success to draw the reconciliation between two communities. Guys and girls we need to understand it, why should we always suffer from the agitation, aggression and all that distress which is enforced to us by mischief makers. Why can’t we work for a better tomorrow to prove the world the power of youth?
I believe we should be bit more practical both secretly and publicly, only on the basis of more interaction and talking on the common issues we can proceed in such a way that peace can be imminent. We need to utilize our potential to make this world a better place.
We all live in one world, within our own cultural framework. We are interdependent to one another to survive. We need to broaden our vision to see the oneness and links across the globe. We all are on the same track- the track of peace.
Here, I have few ideas to share with you, by approaching these we can show the world practically what we are up to:
First of all we should cooperate with each other on different issues.
We must develop the culture of having table talk to resolve conflicts on equality basis.
We must pay visits to one another’s countries to spread harmony.
We must have some friendly exchange of sports, education, religion and other visits.
We must establish international links from school level to introduce our children with the diversity of cultures.
We must have forums and wake up calls for young generation to work as peacemakers.
We must welcome the positive suggestions to this noble cause open heartedly.

FP's Top 100 Public Intellectuals

2009-08-11T19:59:00.004-04:00

Foreign Policy published a list of the world's top 100 public intellectuals last year, and it's very worth checking out.

I bet you haven't heard of most of the people, even within the top 10!

Here's a preview: (links are to wikipedia pages)

Aitzaz Ahsan: Lawyer/politician- Pakistan
Kwame Anthony Appiah: Philosopher, Ghana/United States
Anne Applebaum: Journalist/historian, United States
Jacques Attali: Economist/writer, France
George Ayittey: Economist, Ghana
Daniel Barenboim: Conductor/pianist/peace activist, Israel
Anies Baswedan: University president/political analyst, Indonesia
Pope Benedict XVI: Religious leader/theologian, Germany/Vatican
Ian Buruma: Essayist, Britain/Netherlands
Fernando Henrique Cardoso: Politician/author, Brazil

Check out the full list at the link above for the other 90.

Whether you're searching for research or the next summer reading book this list reveals what's important in the world today. Each person has created their own body of work and their name appearing on this list shows its weight in the world.

Who do you think is missing?

Search for Common Ground - “The Bridge”

2009-08-07T16:37:00.004-04:00

“The Bridge” is a video available from the Search for Common Ground that explores the cultural differences between two Americans and two Egyptians. By finding common ground, differences can be overcome and relationships can move forward.

On the Eve of the Creation of Japan Parliamentarians' Federation for Population (JPFP)

2009-06-06T02:10:00.002-04:00

A response from Dr. Osamu Kusumoto

Dr. Osamu Kusumoto
Secretary General/Executive Director
Asian Population and Development Association (APDA)
Secretariat of Parliamentarians Federation for Population (JPFP)

On the Eve of the Creation of Japan Parliamentarians' Federation for Population:
General Draper and parliamentarians' activities on Population and Development

Background of Mr. Akio Matsumura's article

Japan Parliamentarians' Federation for Population (JPFP) was established as the world’s first non-partisan parliamentarians group on population and sustainable development in 1974 It is not well known that General Draper who was American Retired General of Army played a key role in creating the JPFP. Nor is it widely known that General Draper is a great benefactor of Japanese recovery from World war II.

William H. Draper was a famous banker before the war, and he was the key figure in the 180-degree shift of U.S. policy for Japan. As the Under Secretary of the Army, General Draper submitted the report to the U.S. Government in 1948 in favor of redirection of the Occupation policy by General Douglas MacArthur, which had been repressive and crippling Japan’s economic recovery.

In fact, General Draper’s plan laid the basis of economic growth of Japan after World War II. Some of his contributions include: his lobbying the U.S. Congress for foreign aid for Japan; his appointment of Joseph Morrell Dodge as an economic advisor to Japanese economic recovery; and fixing the exchange rate at 360 Japanese yen per of US dollar. Such General Draper’s plans helped Japan leap from a developing to a developed economy. Such contributions made by General Draper are not adequately recognized or appreciated by Japanese people.

General Draper is also a benefactor of parliamentarians' activities on population and development. Under the initiatives of General Draper, former Prime Ministers Nobusuke Kishi and Takeo Fukuda and their fellow parliamentarians established the JPFP, with the aim of stabilizing population. Addressing population issues is the key to achieving a sustainable society and parliamentarians, as representatives of people, should play a catalyst role between people and the government since the measures should not be forced upon the people.

It was JPFP that took the initiative in promoting this parliamentary movement and creating parliamentary groups worldwide. In 1982, Asian Forum of Parliamentarians on Population and Development (AFPPD) was established, which was followed by the creation of Inter American Parliamentarians Group on Population and Development (IAPG) and Global Committee of Parliamentarians on Population and Development (GCPPD).

ICPD in 1994 saw a new opportunity to create other regional forum under the leadership of Japanese parliamentarians; namely, Forum of Africa and Arab parliamentarians on Population and Development (FAAPPD) and EPF (European Parliamentary Forum). Today every region of the world has its parliamentary forum on population and development, linked by international networking and actively engaged in these issues.

Mr. Akio Matsumura, who was the first Executive Director of AFPPD and GCPPD, contributed an article on General Draper’s contribution to the creation of JPFP. General Draper conceived a plan of incorporating peace management training into the regular army training, which was a very innovative and predecessor of the UN Peacekeeping forces. Mr. Akio Matsumura currently dedicates his life to creating peace through the dialogue among religious leaders and parliamentarians

Today we enjoy the fruits of the efforts of those who had contributed towards the parliamentary activities dealing with population and development issues. To renew our commitment to address these issues and achive sustainable development for the benefit of future generations, the re-start of the GCPPD was unanimously agreed at the 25th Asian Parliamentarians’ Meeting on Population and Development that was organized by APDA this May.

On the occasion of their 35th anniversary of JPFP, parliamentarians’ activities on population and development look at a new horizon. Now it is the right time to reaffirm the foundation’s guiding principles and commitments.

Why Do Retired Generals Become Peace Advocates? Let us create a curriculum for peace in our military academies

2009-04-17T21:29:00.004-04:00

(General Draper and Akio in Naples, Florida 1974)
Written by Akio Matsumura
During September in 1973 I found myself beginning a two hour bus ride, headed for the outskirts of Jakarta. I was with the Japanese Parliamentary Study Mission on Population and Development, headed by former Prime Minister Nobusuke Kishi. We had already had very fruitful visits to India and Thailand, and were now moving through Indonesia.
All parliamentarians and three foreign special guests (General Draper, former Maryland Senator Joseph Tydings, and Mr. McDonnell) sat in their own private car, while the rest of us—government bureaucrats, population experts, media and staff—traveled behind by bus. As the youngest member of the group I sat at the back of the bus. Before we departed, a member of the Japanese Embassy staff came to the back of the bus, saying that General Draper was calling for me. General Draper and Mr. Tatsuo Tanaka, MP, deputy head of the mission, were sitting together when I got to the car, with the staff member from the Embassy. General Draper wished to speak with me during the trip, and asked me to sit in the car instead of the staff member. Meanwhile, Mr. Tanaka, MP seemed to be uncomfortable next to General Draper, and found the excellent excuse—he wanted to operate the video camera, and so the front seat would be a better location. So, I ended up next to General Draper in the back, to the astonishment of the Embassy staff. Mr. Tanaka, MP assured him it was the request of General Draper, and we began the two hour ride.
General Draper had spoken with Mr. Kishi earlier, and had discussed Mr. Kishi's wish to establish the Japanese Parliamentary Group on Population and Development—the first in the world. Mr. Kishi had already made it clear to the General that it was critical to establish the US parliamentary group as well, creating an extended network throughout several countries.
Now I understood why I was called into the car. I was scheduled to move to London with my family to work for the IPPF in 1974. General Draper asked that I work with Senator Tydings to establish the US parliamentary group from the IPPF office. Ever since this car ride I have stayed true to this assignment, working diligently alongside parliamentarians to this day. Later in Jakarta I separated from the group to attend the IPPF 21^st Anniversary Conference in England while the mission continued on to its final stage in the Philippines.
I received a call from General Draper in 1974, inviting me to his home in Naples, Florida, to continue our discussion from the car ride in Jakarta. We talked all through the morning and well into the afternoon when Mrs. Draper interrupted: “Darling, why don't you stop talking and let Akio swim.” Eyeing the beautiful swimming pool, I thought it was a wonderful suggestion. But General Draper said, “Akio is the one who wishes to talk.” Her suggestion was gone.
I stayed that night and was invited to dine with General Draper and his colleague, Major General Hugh John Casey, General Douglas MacArthur's Chief Engineer. Major General Casey arrived in Japan at the end of August, 1945, as an advance team to General MacArthur. He was stationed in Japan with the US Occupational Forces. At dinner, General Casey told a story revealing his wonderful character, which I wish to share here:
During the Christmas holidays in 1945, General Casey invited many Japanese children to his home in Roppongi. The morning of the event, he and his wife, in the spirit of charity, decided to do the following after mutual consultation: “Even if, by any chance, children end up stealing something, we should not blame them.”
Fifty children came, and half of them wore shoes with holes or wooden shoes they had outgrown. The other half were barefoot. So, the couple quickly ordered their maid to make preparations for foot washing. The children entered a large hall after washing their feet and waited for the hosts. And when the couple entered the hall, they ran into an incredible scene. The fifty children were sitting on their knees, neatly lining up from the shortest to the tallest. They were completely surprised at the children’s good manners in spite of their insufficient shoes and hunger. This presented how wonderful the Japanese were and how Japan with such children was certain to have an amazing recovery.
While speaking at length with these two US generals at dinner that night, I couldn't help but think how lucky Japan was to be under such quality leaders. General Draper was the Under-Secretary of War in Washington DC, and General Casey, serving under General MacArthur, executed the policies in Japan. I still wonder if Japanese generals were of this caliber during the occupation of China, Korea, the Philippines, and Indonesia. I have to admit that it was unlikely.
Discussing peace issues with the generals, I began to wonder why retired generals seem to always become great advocates for peace. General Eisenhower, General MacArthur, General Marshal, and General Draper all followed this path. I am also sure, for that matter, that many other generals across the world have acted similarly, but my limited knowledge keeps from me naming them here. I see a common reason.
The general is always walking on a tightrope—winner, loser; war, peace—carrying their nation's destiny on their shoulders. After feeling this tremendous pressure and seeing what goes into a war, becoming a strong peace advocate seems a more natural course than any other profession I can think of.
With this in mind, I pose a question. War has always been a part of human history, and seems that it will continue to be in the near future. Why not establish a curriculum for peace in our military academies, a curriculum to which our retired generals could contribute greatly? With this simple foresight, tremendous gains could be made in achieving peace more quickly. History shows that it is far more trying to reconstruct and maintain peace after a war than it is to enter one in the first place. Our world is in dire need of military leaders who are up to that challenge—when will we begin the peace curriculum?

Why Did McDonald's Go the Moon? There are no financial deposits in the spiritual world

2009-03-30T01:25:00.003-04:00

Written by Akio Matsumura
(Photograph of myself, Mr. Satoi and Mr. Jim Toner)

In September of 1973 I was working down to the last moment to arrange the Japanese Parliamentary Study Mission to Asian Countries on Population and Development headed by former Prime Minister Nobusuke Kishi. It was hosted by the International Planned Parenthood Federation in London and the UN Population Fund in New York. General Draper called me from Washington to tell me that Mr. McDonald would be joining the mission and would be arriving the following day in Tokyo from the U.S. I was to meet with him and explain the program for the trip. I didn’t know who Mr. McDonald was, so I asked a Japanese friend who he might be. He said, “Oh yes, a McDonald hamburger restaurant just opened at Ginza, so he might be the owner of the McDonald restaurant company.”

The next day we met and ate lunch at the Hilton Hotel in Akasaka. He was an older gentleman, with white hair, so I asked him at the beginning of lunch, “Mr. McDonald, when you were 31, like I am now, what did you dream of being?” He told me, “Akio when I was your age I was so interested in the universe, and spacecrafts. My dream was that one day man would go to the Moon. And Akio, when we first landed on the Moon in 1969, many of my company’s products went there.” His face was glowing with pride--he was telling me the story as a grandfather would to his grandson.

Yet, despite the fondness with which he reflected on his life, I could not get past one question: why did the McDonald hamburger go to the Moon? The more I listened the more puzzled I became. I quietly looked at his business card under the lunch table. I read

JAMES MCDONNELL, CHAIRMAN OF MCDONNELL DOUGLAS CORPORATION

It was not the McDonald hamburger company!

General Draper arrived in Tokyo to meet with Mr. Konosuke Matsushita, Founder and Chairman of Matsushita Electric Industry, now Panasonic Corporation in Osaka, outside of Tokyo. Mr. McDonnell and I accompanied General Draper for the three hour ride on the Bullet Train. On the train I told General Draper about my McDonald mix-up and he laughed all the way to Osaka.

We finally arrived and Mr. Matsushita welcomed General Draper, having arranged the American Flag and United Nations Flag in his office. (General Draper was a senior advisor to the UN). I was immediately impressed with his statesmanship, and then after with their global views and the quality of the discussion between them. We departed, and on way to the train station I told General Draper of my benefactor, Mr. Tatsusaburo Satoi, Secretary General of the Osaka Chamber of Commerce and President of the International Osaka Airport. Mr. Satoi had encouraged me to work at the IPPF in London and told me of General Draper’s great contributions to Japan during the post-war reconstruction. Hearing this, General Draper wanted to meet Mr. Satoi before returning to Tokyo.

Mr. Satoi was deeply honored to receive General Draper in his office, and in fluent English thanked him for his efforts in Japan’s post-war economic recovery and for guiding me in my work at the IPPF. Mr. McDonnell also spoke with Mr. Satoi, asking him many technical questions about the construction of the new Kansai International Airport. Mr. Satoi politely asked me in Japanese who this other guest was, as they had not been introduced. I immediately introduced him, though probably as Mr. McDonald again, by accident. Later, departing at the Osaka station for Tokyo, I was struck by Mr. Satoi’s overall demeanor. He had received us so graciously and had been so earnest in thanking General Draper for his kindness to me; his international protocol and overall manner made a lasting impression on each of us. Shortly thereafter we left for the Japanese Parliamentary Mission.

Decades later I made the acquaintance of Mr. John Whitehead, former Deputy Secretary of State and former Chairman of Goldman Sachs. His white hair, global vision, international protocol and tremendous listening skills immediately brought Mr. McDonnell to mind. Was it coincidence that both of them served as President of the United Nations Association of the US?

Leaving these great memories of these sophisticated business leaders, I would like to think for a moment about our current situation with the anger over the AIG bonuses. President Obama has said the executives are greedy and shameful. But step back a moment from all the criticism of the greed and shame that these business leaders have brought, and put yourself in the shoes of their employees across the world. Of course they are rightly upset and angry with their executives, but for what reasons?

The great cause for concern here is larger than within the AIG corporation--this behavior is changing the image of the United States. Corporations have such a strong influence worldwide--even the president of the United States does not have as large of a direct influence. AIG has 116,000 employees in 130 countries. Their professional reputation has been damaged from within their own company, a reputation that affects international perception of Americans as a whole. In many countries the relationship between a company and its employees is very strong--familial, even. Together they are viewed as having a mutual responsibility to their society and it is regarded as a last option to fire an employee. How do many of America’s corporations fit this image? We, finally, cannot forget the link between the global perception of America, influenced largely by the perception of its business leaders, will have a direct or indirect cost to young soldiers worldwide. If greedy leaders do not care for their own staff, imagine the difficulties in persuading them to consider world peace.

We are passing problems of huge national debt, international conflict, environmental deterioration, scarcity of natural resources to our own future generations. Can we at least pass along quality business leaders as well? Mr. McDonnell and Mr. Whitehead have always stood out in my head as exemplary leaders, bringing an ethic of responsibility and statesmanship to the business world. They encouraged and inspired me in my path working for human issues, which I cannot say for AIG’s leaders today.

I wonder when our greedy leaders will realize that in the spiritual world there is no bank in which you can deposit your money.

Sovereignty's Struggle in a Search for a Common Future

2009-03-05T17:51:00.002-05:00

Written by Chris Cote

In 1648, with the Peace of Westphalia, a system of sovereign states was established. Sovereignty gave these states’ complete self control over internal affairs, and since World War II, has evolved to include external sovereignty, a term defining the legality of inter-state interventions. European growth has contributed to an expanding evolution of the term, now subject to interpretation and debate. One thing holds true: a state’s rights to sovereignty are undergoing change.

Deep century old lines of territorial sovereignty are becoming blurred. Expanding global communication and economic routes are introducing new concerns regarding security and ethics. Transboundary concerns spur on international wars, internal crises and conflicts, and are redefining our politics, economics, and future on the whole. Security has always been the main concern of states, and as a state’s security, or ability to control the goings-on within its borders, erodes, states move to action. Factors that contribute to the erosion of state sovereignty include growing technology, economic interdependence, environmental degradation, poverty, human rights violations, and failed states. These can each be seen as having different levels of causation for one another, indicating that they are all interconnected and part of the same puzzle.

An easy example of the deterioration of sovereignty is the United States entering Iraq and Afghanistan. Our security was threatened (before?) September 11, 2001 by the Taliban and extremist Islamic groups, presumably encouraging the United States to eliminate the Taliban as a threat to its security. The United States’ “War on Terror” is immediately seen as a result of almost all of the factors listed above, except perhaps less obviously environmental degradation (although it is still a relevant factor). A failed state, Afghanistan, harbors an extremist group, who, angered by their poverty (and more importantly, its causal factors including a consumerist, capitalistic, hegemonic agenda), use technology (airplanes) to attack an international powerhouse, who in turn attacks, with the motives of economic interdependence (oil), human rights violations (in Iraq), which in turn were caused by environmental degradation brought about through a dictatorial regime and failed states. I wrote this in this long-winded, awkward way to show the causal connections throughout. Terrorism is the quintessential example of sovereignty deteriorations in this day and age.

Other sovereignty concerns abound in smaller regions, such as the water conflicts between the Palestinians and Israelis. Here we have a human rights concern, a political concern, as well as an environmental and economic concern. The issue linkages are immense.

So, instead of trying to create an innumerable list of examples of international security and sovereignty concerns, it will suffice to say that the game is changing. International organizations, in their efforts to diminish issues of sovereignty, present threats in themselves. The United States will not concede to signing many declarations and commitments put forward by the United Nations’ negotiations for fear that they are handing over their power.

What is the world to do? Clearly these issues need resolution, as they are the very core of our international dilemmas. One problem is the incompatibility of world views between America’s propagated lifestyle of consumerism, and the Islamists that disapprove. Each has their own fundamental values that should not be shifted, but instead, harkening back to Akio's previous post, must be reinterpreted and compromised to find common ground. And this is with the understanding that a true compromise must be made on both sides, where the middle is actually found an agreement reached. Many of our human races’ oldest problems sit atop the premise that this fundamental disagreement cannot be resolved. But it must be, to ensure the survival of our human race. While security concerns between states grow, concerns of human security also grow, and this is alarming. Only in the past 50 years has anthropogenic global harm been a possibility, and now we are facing it on several fronts: nuclear arms, climate change, resource scarcity. We are quickly approaching limits we are largely unaware of, and trying to regulate ourselves in an ineffective matter, if at all. America has become involved beyond its own capabilities, stressing hard, short-term solutions such as military engagement, while ignoring the possibility of productive, long-term gains that soft power and diplomacy bring about. But this is not enough.

In the next post I will work around Stuart Kauffman’s argument, as well as my own and others’, for a global ethic. The world’s most powerful nations must acquiesce an amount of their own national sovereignty, forgoing security concerns, to ensure our gravest concern: human security. If we do not survive, what more can concern us? Only with a common ethic can we forge a common future, or, perhaps too grimly, any future at all.

An Environmental Bonus: Finding the Missing Piece

2009-02-26T16:03:00.002-05:00

Written by Chris Cote

Over the past few weeks, President Obama has sent an important message to the United States and the world: we will not sacrifice the environment. Sure, several pressing environmental issues have been put further back on the burner in order to stimulate banks and other economic sectors, but these issues are all connected. Stability is needed in all sectors to have any be truly effective. $70 billion (8%) of the stimulus package is being provided for our energy economy, and most of those dollars are directed toward green energy. The boost is aimed toward solar and wind technologies, infant technologies that are more vulnerable in economically difficult times. America cannot afford to have these technologies wiped out. We are in a period when their importance grows each day. Thankfully President Obama has shown that he is not just a fairweather friend of the environment and will continue to support it in hard times as well. To move forward in a sustainable manner, a manner which we can continue over many generations, we must link together our social, economic, and environmental issues.

Green jobs are an example of one way to link these three issues together. By developing new green technologies, such as solar or wind, we are creating jobs. These jobs can largely employ people with low incomes providing benefits to them as individuals, and to society at large. Whatsmore, we are clearly helping the economy, developing more jobs and diverting away from dead-end industries. With investment, these sectors will continue to grow and produce more jobs, becoming sectors indespensable to our workforce/economy, and leading America into a new future. Left untouched, the jobs can become outsourced, and America's working class will once again lose out. But the federal government has the financial clout to make a project happen, and they are doing things right this time, providing the necessary demand for this sector.

Yes, we are still years behind the Scandinavian countries, and most of Europe, but maybe now America is finally beginning to pick up its pieces? Perhaps there has always been a piece missing as we fill in the puzzle of our American Dream. As a nation we have always focused on economic progress, and our people have always pushed back to include society. And over the last several decades there has been the struggle to include the environment, but with little success. President Obama's investment in our energy and green economy holds promise that we will find the missing piece and rediscover the American Dream--a dream that links together the economy, society, and the environment.

Peace as Process: Religious Interpretation and Political Compromise

2009-02-16T22:16:00.004-05:00

Written by Akio Matsumura.

At the Kremlin in Moscow in 1990 I learned a life changing lesson, watching those Jewish in attendance, all prominent leaders, pray to attend during the Sabbath. For those who are not familiar with Jewish tradition, the Sabbath is a weekly day of rest, lasting from Friday to Saturday evening, with the timing depending on the time of year. Observation and remembrance of the Sabbath is one of the Ten Commandments. I’ve mentioned this story in my blog before, on September 1, 2008 and Inauguration day, January 20, 2009 and received many responses. People have continually expressed deep surprise that we were able to transcend the religious tradition and have everyone in attendance at the closing ceremony. Although the story itself is extraordinary, it is the lesson that is most important.

Jewish rabbis and other participants gather to pray in the Kremlin

Our global world is experiencing a battle of ideologies—of cultures. As these cultures grow, spread, and become more interconnected, more confrontations arise between them. Over the years I have stressed the importance of approaching each issue from a practical and spiritual perspective, encouraging effective change to be made while keeping long term ideals in mind. Many ideologies and values, especially in religion and politics, are not shared cross-culturally because of their self-contained traditional barriers. So how in this case, were the rabbis able to transcend their religious barrier? Why was the meeting able to go on?

If we had planned the closing ceremony originally for Friday night, the Jewish participants would not have attended. If I had bluntly ignored their important religious tradition, I would have been disrespecting them, and the situation would have gone awry. However, because President Gorbachev and Dr. Evguni Velikhov, MP, were working with equally extreme diligence on the political side to accommodate the meeting at the Kremlin, it was quite clear that this was an extraordinary circumstance and that the Communist party had made a political compromise (in timing) to allow us to proceed. So, our Jewish friends sought a new interpretation for that circumstance, praying to act toward our common goal.

This story shows how ignorance of culture will prevent us from transcending important traditional barriers, but it also shows us the power of cooperation and selflessness. Any of the many prominent Jewish leaders could have kept them from participating. Instead they saw a need to act toward a common goal, and with the entire conference, a common future.

Religious leaders hold a role of immense consequence, not only for their constituents, but for humanity. That is why they must bear in mind, in unusual circumstances, the future of humanity. Religion should be interpreted for humanity, for a common future, not for an individual. After all, human beings started the relationship between God and human. This relationship continued until we began writing—interpreting—what God said. These written documents are what we call the Torah, the Quran, or the Bible, and here we find religion.

Over the course of human history, four or five million years, there has been no single year when the entire world was at peace. So, in a way, war has been with us much longer than peace. Peace does not exist in practical terms. Whose world do we even speak of when we ask for world peace? We define our own conception of “world.” For many, the world is their village, their city, their nation, or their world of faith, but each interpretation comes from the individual mind. Religious leaders have the option of contributing to world peace through their interpretation of religion, just as political leaders bring peace through compromise. In the Kremlin that day I saw both happen, and the end effect was wonderful—a full celebration of people coming together to discuss how we will move forward solving our human issues and toward peace. Each leader made adjustments in order to accommodate the other, and must continue to in the future to maintain the perception of peace.

Tensions will only grow in the near future in the regions of Israel, Palestine, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan. Our leaders must continue to work tirelessly toward seeking a new perspective joining religion and politics to transcend conflicting traditional barriers throughout the 21st century. We must approach peace as a process, a race without a finish line.

America Sets Sail: Crossing the Border toward Peace and Hope

2009-01-20T18:11:00.005-05:00

By Akio Matsumura

In December 1995 the World Assembly on Reconciliation was to be held at Jericho, hosted by Prime Minister Rabin and Chairman Arafat. A steering committee meeting I attended was held at Jericho in June, 1995. During our lunch break we went to see the Dead Sea. In case you haven’t been there, the Dead Sea is between Israel and the West Bank. It is the lowest point on the surface of the Earth on dry land and the water is 8.6 times saltier than the ocean. It was remarkable to see people reading their books while floating on the water. On the tour my friends also pointed out the Mount of Temptation where it is said Jesus was tempted by the Devil. We enjoyed our lunch and tour and returned to the afternoon session of our meeting. We kept moving to finish our agenda because I was scheduled to meet with Chairman Arafat at 9 PM that evening in Gaza.

During the afternoon, while finishing our agenda, we received an emergency phone call informing us that a suicide bomb had exploded on a public bus in Tel Aviv. There were more than 25 deaths, one of the largest death tolls in many years. The accident closed the border between Israel and Gaza—no car, diplomatic or not, was allowed to cross the border.

Immediately I rushed to the office of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Palestine to meet with the representative, Mr. Wate. He checked with the Foreign Ministry and confirmed that indeed, the United Nations car was not allowed to cross the border. I moved on to check with the Israeli Minister of Culture, Ms. Shulamit Aloni that there was nothing I could do. After I asked for her help, she said that the border security was not the charge of the Foreign Ministry, but the Ministry of Defense. Knowing the urgency of the situation, she immediately called the Minister of Defense and explained who I was and the importance of my meeting with Chairman Arafat at Gaza that night. The Minister of Defense agreed to issue a special permission for me to cross the border.

Mr. Wate, the UNDP representative, offered me to use his marked UN car so that I would not be stopped by the police on my travel across the 80 km (50 mi) distance. I arrived at the security checkpoint and the military officer found my name on the list authorized by the Defense Minister. Ready to cross, I encountered my next hold-up. I would have to change into the Israeli military car because no car, even Mr. Wate’s UN car, could cross the border. I boarded the Israeli military car and crossed the distance of the border, about one kilometer.
I arrived at the other side of Gaza where the police officer sent by Chairman Arafat awaited me and requested me to change into his police car, now my fourth car, and after doing so, we proceeded directly to the office of Chairman Arafat.

Finally being received by Chairman Arafat, I expressed to him my deep gratitude for the car he had sent, and said that it was the fourth car I had used to reach his office. His countenance could not conceal his surprise. Then, I also told him of my great appreciation for Minister Aloni and the Minister of Defense of Israel for their extraordinary efforts to make our meeting happen. Chairman Arafat also appreciated this. Moving on, I showed him two photographs.

The first was the group photo in front of Christ Church at Oxford University. The photo is enormous, one meter long, and I always take it with me; it has piqued the curiosity of so many people. Chairman Arafat scanned the faces of the 300 participants in the photograph and was very much impressed, seeing many notable leaders. Surprisingly, he asked me of my concept—why I organized the parliamentarian and religious leaders together. He very likely understood well the concept of looking at human issues in practical and spiritual terms.

Next I showed him the photo of the Kremlin and the Jewish members attending during our closing ceremonies on the Sabbath. He asked if even the Jewish Orthodox members attended, and his eyes grew especially large with surprise when I answered yes! I told him this too would be the spirit of the Jericho conference, and he assured me of his support and its importance for the Palestinian people. Upon ending our meeting, I noticed that it had gone on for much longer than the scheduled time. We shook hands and, despite his fierce reputation, I felt the incredible softness of his hand—the softest of the many head of government’s I have shaken. On my return to Jerusalem late that night, I above all noticed the beauty of the dark sky. It was as if I could catch the shooting stars in my hands. I thought back to the four cars I had taken that day to cross the border, and how not one of the cars—UN or diplomatic—was allowed to cross, yet I, who didn’t hold a position of government or in the UN, was able to cross.

The answer to why this happened is very clear. A car runs primarily on gasoline—just as a country primarily is run by the government. However, no car can function without lubricating oil, or the trusting, individual relationships between people. This is why I have always been encouraging leaders to participate in conferences in an individual capacity, instead of in their position of rank. Then, individuals instead of institutions would produce the vision of the conference.

History shows that once conflict begins, governments cease to communicate. And, on the whole, people are afraid of the consequences of not fighting a war when called upon. Communication stops, misconceptions grow, and fear sets in. At this point the only remaining function is the relationships of trust between individuals. It is the lubricating oil, not the gasoline, that determines a nation’s destiny if, at the worst outcome, must go to war.

All of us in the world participated in the joyous bon voyage for President Obama as he sets his sails and begins his journey for reconciliation. Today the President reminded us that America is and should remain open to freedom and change. “To the Muslim world,” Obama said today at his inauguration, “we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect.” This will for change and for peace embodies the United States’ spirit for hard work and the willingness to lead. With confidence he asserts America as a leader of the world, but with limits and responsibilities, not a manifest sense of expansion. President Obama, filling so many hearts and minds with hope, perhaps has the possibility to be the gasoline and lubricating oil of America’s car, inspiring freedom and trust in individual leaders and whole governments alike.

May we pray for his prosperous voyage toward freedom and a new hope.

A Day of Service

2009-01-19T15:21:00.001-05:00

"An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity. " -Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

President-elect Obama is setting an important example for Americans today with his participation in the national day of service. A commitment to service, be it in the Armed Forces or in a local homeless shelter brings about a set of values that will propel this country to be a world leader in many new ways. Here are 3 values that are as important to individual relations as international relations.

1. Compassion. United we stand, divided we fall. Every school children in the country knows that. Yet we are too often divided in this country. Our compassion is neutralized through competition in the labor market and many other areas of life and we far too often forget the plight of others. By volunteering we see a different area of life and begin to understand how someone else's life works--an experience that encourages us to live in a better way. Realizing the difficult decisions and struggles other leaders are making, we can rethink our decisions and perhaps not to choose to exploit a situation that would leave us better off but damage others.

2. Cooperation. The US often 'goes it alone' until we realize we can't. Competition is emphasized daily in this country from the job market to the supermarket. We constantly jockey to be first in line for everything we do. Ignore the rush and realize that there is more to be earned from one moment of cooperation or helping than many of competition. The current idea is that if we help others then we'll fall behind, but so many people and populations are falling behind right now that it in the end we are hurting ourselves trying to get ahead at their expense. With a joint, cooperative force we are much more likely to succeed.

3. Evaluation of goals. Is what I'm volunteering for worthwhile? That is always a question you should ask yourself. Many operations are not best practice, and although look good on the surface, do not address critical community or national needs. Sometimes, "why are we here?" is the best question to ask. Reassessment of goals is essential to any project or plan.

The bottom line is that as a country we have run ourselves aground in competition and are suffering for it. A day dedicated to volunteering and service let us see a new side of life and avoid competition, allowing us to see the web that connects us to one another. As a human race, or as a neighborhood, we must cooperate to ensure a positive future. Although resources at every level remain scarce, we have shown that this does not have to be the case. The world is in a food crisis, yet mountains of corn and lakes of butter waste away due to poor distribution policies. For this day, take away the message of cooperation instead of competition. It is not an easy message, and involves more work, but we are breaking our backs now to get no where. We might as well work in a positive direction.

As Dr. King said, we must rise above the individual level and arrive at a broader human level. It is important to remind ourselves that we are citizens of the world, not just the United States. We all share a common future. President Kennedy noted that we should work for our country. Perhaps the message has changed over time, and with President Obama it will be that we should not ask what the world can do for us, but what we can do for the world.

Go plant a seed,
Chris

From Akio: My Honeymoon Memory of the Israelis and Palestinians: Can a computer game for peace be profitable?

2009-01-11T16:42:00.003-05:00

On December 27, 2007 the World Business Academy published my article, “Planting the Seeds of Peace.” In it I mentioned how I visited India after many years and met with many parliamentarians and business leaders, encouraging them to establish an unofficial network with their counterparts in Pakistan. Sadly, the date of December 27, 2007 also became the date of the assassination of Mrs. Benazir Bhutto of Pakistan. Exactly one year later, December 27, 2008, Israel began her assaults against Hamas, escalating the ground war. My aim is to steer you away from what we are all watching on television. I will put the conflict of the moment aside to tell you the story of my honeymoon memory of the Israelis and the Palestinians.

In Cairo on May 4, 1994, the Gaza-Jericho agreement (sometimes called the Cairo Agreement) was signed by Israel and Palestine. From this accord grew the Palestinian Authority and the relationship led to the Oslo Peace Process. During this time, October 1994, I was at my home with Ambassador Angier Biddle Duke and Mr. Bradford Morse, former Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). We judged that, in light of the positive climate, it was a good momentum to organize what would be the Jericho conference.

I sought the counsel of several old friends: Co-chair of the Global Forum, Rabbi Awaraham Soetendorp of the Netherlands; Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz, Director of the Israel Institute of Talmudic Publications in Jerusalem; and the Israeli Minister of Culture, Mrs. Shulamit Aloni. All had attended the Global Forums in Oxford and Moscow. Minister Aloni told me that no one would question my religious background. This meant, importantly, that I was able to be an unbiased participant in the talks to come. She directed me to Chairman Arafat of the Jericho Conference while she talked with Prime Minister Rabin of Israel. The other Co-Chair of the Global Forum, Grand Mufti Sheikh Ahmad Kuftaro of Syria, was so pleased to hear of the positive news he offered to introduce me to the Imam Al Aqsa Mosque. Grand Mufti Kuftaro later made an historic achievement when he joined Pope John Paul II in entering the Omayyad Mosque at Damascus, Syria in May 6, 2001.

And so we began the first exciting and positive steps toward the first World Assembly on Reconciliation to be held at Jericho in December 1995, hosted by Prime Minister Rabin and Chairman Arafat.

Rabbi Steinsaltz suggested that the conference should be held at Hisham’s Palace in Jericho. Jericho is a city in the Jordan Valley, near the Dead Sea and Jerusalem. In addition to being the lowest city in the world (at 250 meters below sea level), it is also the oldest. Parts of the city are 10,000 years old. My Palestinian friends agreed that Hisham’s Palace would be an excellent site for the assembly and were proud to have Jericho as the host. I was taken on an incredible tour through the old part of the city (constructed in 5000 BC to 8000 BC), and was awed. Astoundingly, the “new” part of the city has roads where Jesus might have walked. Living in the United States, this brought me a new perspective.

We found throughout the preparatory meetings that it was very difficult to move along—the Palestinian members were so excited by the prospects, suggesting that we should invite business leaders, create cultural exchange and education programs, and so on that each item took much time. It was incredible to see their unlimitedly excited ideas flow forward, showing their hope for the future. The climate was very positive, which boded well for the Assembly itself.

When I visited the Gaza Strip to meet with Chairman Arafat, I and my Palestinian friends sat down at the Gaza beach. They told me that they were living a dream—only recently they were unable to walk through the street there at night.

On the Israeli side, Rabbi Soetendorp, Rabbi Steinsaltz, and their colleagues were also excited to establish a new dialogue with their Palestinian counterparts. I cannot stress enough the positive climate and level of excitement brimming on both sides of the discussion.

My wonderful memories of working alongside both Israelis and Palestinians are filled with positive attitudes and a hopeful dream for the future. I wish to keep these as my honeymoon memory of this area’s people forever.

I have the impression that their thousand years of shared history and cross-cultural experiences have cultivated a basic sympathy between them—a sympathy for their historical sacrifices. This had led me to believe that, in any situation, positive thoughts and hope is the strongest engine toward constructing ideas as well as nations.

I was born in Tokyo during World War II and raised in its ruins. Although being brought up in the decaying skeleton of a city, I remember the hope that was supplied to us by nothing more than the Walt Disney movies our parents comforted us with at the time. The characters and fictitious worlds of Disney gave us a positive dream for our people and the world. In this new century, our youth rely on other sources of entertainment beyond video, specifically the computer. Our time now is filled with violence and war, and so are our computer games. I wonder, if instead of a game based on war or violence, a talented businessperson produced an equally entertaining game based on the installment of peace, what would happen? I have no doubt that children’s minds will be nurtured in a peaceful way, and my honeymoon memory of Israel and Palestine’s people will be able to be extended further throughout the world. I am sure that the world’s people, with a desire for peace, will rally to support a game for peace, and will become a profitable enterprise.

-Akio Matsumura

The Acupuncture Approach to Environmental Global Thinking

2008-12-22T17:25:00.003-05:00

by Akio Matusumura

Photo from the Oxford Global Forum

I had the extraordinary fortune of having many visionary scientists in attendance at the Global Forums, including Dr. Lovelock, Dr. Sagan, Dr. Heyerdahl, and Dr. Capra, about whom Mr. Chris Cote has written previous articles in this blog. The Forums gained enormously from their perspective. Each of these scientists did more than research in a lab: they contributed in moving vertical thinking to the horizontal, and combined their scientific knowledge with philosophical viewpoints. There is certainly a common nature among them.

Their science carries through the steps to reach a new perspective, so their philosophies are on the forefront. They are always searching for a new perspective. In a way, they were each extremely optimistic, a cautious optimism accompanied by a great concern for the next generation. Their universal minds caused them to have great interest in human issues, and each did an outstanding amount to work to convey their messages to the public—a task not often though of or accomplished by most scientists. After all, it is the public, the tenants of the planet, who are damaging the ecosystem and must understand the repercussions of their actions.

I was especially impressed with Dr. Sagan’s ability to present scientific information in a clear manner. I asked him why he could present so well, unlike many other scientists I knew. Carl had returned to school to learn to act, knowing the importance of learning to perform well. An extraordinary man becomes extraordinary by making an extraordinary effort at tasks that others ignore. By expanding his perspective he was able to relate complex issues of astrology and the cosmos to the general public and his television series and books.

At the Oxford Conference Dr. James Lovelock said, “It seemed as if being forced to think of the future of our planet instead of just ourselves induced a large form of ecumenicity.” The Forum encouraged not just religious leaders, but the commonwealth of species that forms part of the living Earth to find importance in the pressing human issues. As I have always advocated, we must examine our issues through a spiritual as well as practical lens. I therefore made my efforts to invite Valentina Tereshkova, the first woman to fly in space, to speak at Oxford, revealing a new perspective of looking at the planet—our only known means for survival—from without rather than within. With this expanded perspective we can acknowledge wider, long term gains over any temporary benefits. Therefore, I paid enormous attention to Dr. Lovelock’s point of view—Gaia theory—a view that, through science, led him to a philosophy that allowed the spiritual view to transcend religious, dogmatic views and could help us develop common understanding over our true issues.

His explanation of the Gaia theory reminded me of different forms of acupuncture treatment in China. When I was in China in 1980 I had severe back pain and was introduced to an eminent doctor of acupuncture. Surprisingly, the doctor did not apply the needle to the area of my pain at all. The needles did not enter my back. He applied the needles to a completely different location, an area where I couldn’t see the pain. He said the body is the organ of blood circulation; therefore the needles minimize surgical operations which damage the organs and reduce self healing.

Their wisdom knew that the cause of the pain does not come from the locality where we feel it, but from other parts of the body which we cannot see clearly from our limited perspective. Our planet works the same way, just as Dr. Lovelock had explained with Gaia theory. You cannot treat only the place where you live because every other region of the world is affected also. Acupuncture is ancient—it has already accumulated 1000 years of wisdom. We are the living organ, the body as one and the planet as one.

Dr. Carl Sagan knew of our limited viewpoint in space, and worked to convey this to the public. The Milky Way Galaxy is beyond our human measures, with between 200 billion and 400 billion stars, yet the Native American elders have said that the distance between the brain and the heart is the longest distance. My constant concern follows these lines: how do we transform concept into practical achievement?

In response to this question I always tried to build a “non-gravity world” for the discussion of the environment—a world without agenda or dogma, in order to seek a common solution so that each religious leader could use their spiritual dimension to tackle the human issues from their faith, rather than force their dogmas on others. I tried to convert political and religious leaders’ ego into common action. Moving beyond theory, when it comes to practice, the ego comes into play, so I tried to build an environment where they would not pull weight. Always my point as a conductor of any meeting was always to encourage religious leaders to put their ego or dogma aside and listen to what others would say. This produced a common spiritual dimension where human issues could be tackled. It was very encouraging to me to meet His Holiness the Dalai Lama at Oslo, six months after the conference at Oxford. He said to me that the Oxford Global Forum had helped all religious leaders understand environmental issues from a global perspective, and recognize that we are all part of the Earth. It was a very good opportunity for all religious leaders to understand the scope of the global environmental issues we are facing. Adding to His Holiness, Dr. Lovelock, among others, also showed that he was greatly influenced by the Oxford Conference, and wrote the Foreword to Anuradha Vittachi’s book Earth Conference-One.

There is high hope that in the end of the century for the first time in human history a new vision of wisdom will be added by those who look at a blue planet from the Moon and Mars. Therefore all of us have a moral obligation to pass the torch, the spirit of positive force, on to the next generation, so that they may partake in our wisdom, not just our problems.

- Akio Matsumura

Spotlight: James Lovelock

2008-12-15T15:02:00.002-05:00

"The Global Forum of Spiritual and Parliamentary Leaders on Human Survival was without doubt the most significant gathering I have attended in a lifetime. It changed my life irreversibly, as it must have done the lives of many of the other delegates and participants." -James Lovelock, foreword for Earth Conference-One, a book written by Anuradha Vittachi, founder of OneClimate.net and a friend of Akio Matsumura's.

To my generation, the generation of university students, Dr. James Lovelock represents a hopeful new perspective for science and for humanity. Adept as an environmentalist, advocating for real, immediate solutions against fossil-fuel use that propels climate change, he also is famous for the Gaia Theory, claiming the earth as a superorganism, with microorganisms composing organisms composing ecosystems composing the regional spheres and the earth.

"The Earth system behaves as a single, self-regulating system, comprised of physical, chemical, biological and human components. The interactions and feedbacks between the component parts are complex and exhibit multi-scale temporal and spatial variability" (2006, Revenge of the Gaia Foreword)

In this system there are limits to growth and feedback cycles and interactions have repercussions, whether positive or negative.

“..If we fail to take care of the Earth, it surely will take care of itself by making us no longer welcome” (2006, The Revenge of the Gaia).

Along with Carl Sagan, Fritjof Capra, and many others, Lovelock purports that the Earth shifts between states of homeostasis and although accommodates the human species right now, does not need to in order to survive. From this group of scientists scientific knowledge escapes from the mechanistic metaphors of Descartes, an eminence that has dominated Western thought for nearly 400 years. This metaphor reached its limits long ago when exploited beyond its capacity into the Industrial revolution, limits that have now been realized by scientists of our current era, subscribing to systems thinking, and realizing that there is more to their views than a Reductionist philosophy. I encourage you to reread one of my earliest posts, from July 30, 2008, “Pale Blue Dot.” Carl Sagan, the renowned astronomer among all else, showed the power of an image of the Earth from space, letting us finally conceptualize our complete habitat, and then conceptualize that it is not just a habitat, but a living organism that relies on its interactions between beings.

(The Gaia Theory explained)

Lovelock’s Gaia theory is not a prescription for an ailing system, but a prognosis of its unhealthy state (for supporting human life), begging for action in the form of sustainable retreat. We are long past the point where we can hope to continue developing, Lovelock says in his 2006 novel, The Revenge of the Gaia. Instead, we must cut back on production and instead move back within our limits. The views of Capra and Sagan combine with Lovelock's to provide a meaningful, new perspective at the human race’s place in the existence of the Universe, and it is one we must heed in order to remain here.

These scientists were united at the Oxford Global Forum for Human Survival, for which Akio Matsumura was the Secretary-General. Meetings went beyond the niceties and formalities of many conferences, and the real "meat" was found in many conversations, Lovelock noted in his foreword for Earth Conference-One.

"The Global Forum did not end with the departure of the coaches from Oxford on April 15, 1988. For many of us it still goes on as a new and thrilling way of life, a rewarding and purposeful communion that has sustained us and set our minds and heats on the true task ahead: to ensure not just human survival, but the survival of all life through living n harmony with the Earth itself." -James Lovelock

We must take this same enthusiasm and hope as if we have just left the Oxford Conference and infuse our work and lives with it. We are alone in this Universe on this planet, Earth. We cannot inhabit another one and so we must work harmoniously to keep our living environments hospitable. This isn't just a lesson for those in attendance of the Global Forums, but for each member of the human race, indebted to our planet for our vitality.

Spotlight: Fritjof Capra

2008-12-11T12:29:00.001-05:00

Fritjof Capra is an Austrian physicist and educator living and teaching in Berkeley, California. His lessons of ecoliteracy, webs of connections, and sustainability, among many others, are integral to living more harmoniously, in terms of issues of the environment, culture, religion, nutrition, health, justice, and more. These lessons are embodied in his Center for Ecoliteracy (www.ecoliteracy.org), an organization based in Berkeley, California that is "dedicated to education for sustainable living", and works to communicate and spread lessons of these topics and their interconnectedness throughout K-12 schools, especially in California. Author of several books, Capra has touched on the fundamental similarities between Eastern Mysticism (Taoism, Hinduism) and western physics, the importance of school lunch, and the teachings of Leonardo da Vinci. He is able to write on such a wide of array of subjects for his way of thinking.

His terribly strong scientific background has allowed him to think systemically, holistically about the world. Organisms are interconnected through their mutual dependencies in ecosystems, but social systems also rely on dependencies between organisms and functions. Capra recognizes these dependencies, cooperations and competitions, so evident in a biological study of ecosystems, between science and art, or the evolution of language. The recognition of systems and their contained mutualisms can extend to cultures, religions, or politics.

Capra, with the backing of the Center he cofounded, is a pedagogue of sustainability in California's children. Ecoliteracy needs to pervade beyond a handful of California's school systems and into the rest of the United States and then into each nation. If students, and also adults, can learn how ecosystems function, then these lessons can be applied to other systems, as mentioned above. Thinking systematically pulls out of the assembly-line industrialized way of thinking propagated by Descartes and then institutionalized into the present day. Descartes found a fundamental split between art and science, but Capra recognizes this discovery as flawed, a flaw that has unfortunately divided our world for too many years. Da Vinci was a groundbreaking painter and scientist, among myriad other professions, and synthesized his discoveries in each field to his advantage, allowing the overlaps to benefit him. In universities we are seeing the emergence of interdisciplinary fields and cooperation between various professions to find solutions. We are learning to think systemically again, realizing the importance to break free from thinking vertically, in silos, and instead horizontally, making use of all of our knowledge to solve complex problems.

Interview with Fritjof Capra

By continuing to encourage interdisciplinary thought and ecoliteracy the realization will emerge that the differences between each of us are not so great and that really we are more interconnected than we are separated. Capra sends a strong message in this regard, and I encourage you to look more at his personal website , and the Center for Ecoliteracy.

Into the Invisible: Dr. Thor Heyerdahl and the Kon-Tiki Expedition

2008-11-17T17:12:00.003-05:00

Often a scientist is comfortable within his or her academic field. They work where the grant money is and stay within its provided boundaries. Dr. Thor Heyerdahl was not so comfortable. A Norwegian anthropologist, archaeologist, geographer, ethnographer and zoologist, he did not confine his life studies to fit within the ordinary scope of work. Ancient civilizations traded and migrated across oceans, he believed, and so he added “explorer” to his job description in order to pursue his research.

The Kon-Tiki expedition in 1947 showed that it was possible on primitive materials to sail from Peru to Polynesia across the Pacific Ocean, a route that Dr. Heyerdahl believed was used for trade and migration between ancient South American and Polynesian civilizations. Most scientific evidence points out that these civilizations had little in common, and despite this rejection from the academic and scientific communities, Dr. Heyerdahl completed the expedition. The success inspired him to sail across the Atlantic on papyrus boats, Ra and Ra II, to prove that Egyptian mariners could have journeyed to the Americas.

On these expeditions and others around the Polynesian islands he noticed the polluted condition of the Pacific Ocean. Dr. Heyerdahl spoke to the Secretary-General of the United Nations and over time and helped the beginnings of developing a UN program on the environment.

His great imagination and confidence in his views inspired him to defy the commonly held scientific and academic beliefs and follow his own missions and explorations. He was willing to take a large risk that the expedition would not work successfully, and that his research would then fail. Despite the odds he followed through and began to expand his vision of the Earth and its communities as a global unit, whether for issues of ancient civilizations, world peace or the environment.

Akio had the pleasure of meeting with Dr. Thor Heyerdahl in his home years ago. Throughout the conversation Akio uncovered the difference between an adventurer and an anthropologist. An adventurer, said Heyerdahl, looks at a risk and wishes to conquer it for the sake of conquering. Heyerdahl looked at the Pacific Ocean and wanted to raft across to expand his global perspective. Akio’s great admiration for Thor comes from his willingness to push beyond the visible realm of science.

By taking great risks and defying the odds, Dr. Heyerdahl was able to enter the invisible realm of science, and see the greater concepts at play, and not only the pieces and facts that comprise them.

Wake up, Freak out!

2008-10-26T18:56:00.001-04:00

Click this link and watch the film it will lead you to. Wake Up, Freak Out. Leo Murray, in 10 minutes, gives a great over view of climate change and the need for social change as a response. I also encourage you to read his notes in the About section of the web site.

Social Time Bomb: migration in cities

2008-10-26T18:30:00.002-04:00

The UN published a report (read summary here in the Guardian) that cities are growing and their inequalities are growing with them. Now over half of the human race lives in cities and that trend is not predicted to change. The cities are not growing equally, however, and become more fragmented and unjust with growth. The UN report finds that race is a crucial factor regarding equality in the US and Canada. Many US cities such as New York and Atlanta ranked as equally as high for inequity as did Nairobi. Racial inequality in cities stems from trickle-down theories and creates social tensions that lead to violence, political fractures, and over all destabilizes the society.

Most migration has been from rural areas to cities, thus creating mega cities such as Mexico City, Mumbai, Sao Paulo and Delhi. This migration has left rural areas weak without working-age men and little room for development, economically or communally. Flooding into the cities, migrants have created slums around the outside of the cities in an urban cone, such as El Alto adjacent to La Paz in Bolivia, or the favelas of Rio de Janeiro. These informal homes have shaken the economies and infrastructures of the cities that they surround. The governments can't account for their activities nor govern them effectively. Poverty is the defining factor of these shanty-towns and from it stems a multitude of social problems. Cities are ruining themselves with their inequity and social divisions.

Paradoxically, as many cities have been facing the dilemmas of population growth, others are dealing with its converse. Some cities, such as Rio de Janeiro, have been hurt by loss of population, as many of its inhabitants move to other cities. The UN identifies a shift in migration trends from rural-urban to urban-urban in the coming years. People are leaving cities because of violence, poor environmental regulations, resource squandering, corruption, and a general lack of infrastructure and planning. These are all issues that stem from inequity, and so the UN is right in identifying race as one of the primary factors of inequity.

Cities are facing the challenge of population growth—a global problem whose consequences are now being identified on myriad levels. These problems: climate change, violence, lack of water, pollution, et cetera, that are neatly packaged into separate boxes for the United Nations and ten million NGOs/non-profits to deal with are in fact not separate at all. They are connected on such a fundamental level that any change in any one affects the others instantaneously. We need a holistic approach that really reaches for the core of the problem, which is one of accounting, really. We have constructed our society in such a way over the last two hundred years that we do not take into account all that matters. Our cost-benefit analyses are skewed immensely. They have always been so far off for not including the environment, or spatial justice, or community-based knowledge that the ramifications for living how we do are enormous. Governments of all sizes need to understand, as many of the smaller ones do, the importance of tradition, our natural environment, resource use, and the limits of our ecological system over time.

Only then can practical change be made where we are improving our situation instead of floating without purpose on the surface.

Response from Akio Matsumura

2008-10-22T22:49:00.003-04:00

Dear Chris,

I would like to respond to your article titled “Changing Ethics in Business.”

I think this is a wonderful and timely article that provides a moral appeal to the current business leaders, and speaks to basic human principles.

Twelve U.S. Senators and sixteen U.S. Congressmen including Senator Al Gore, Senator Clairborne Pell, Congressman Hamilton, among many others, attended the Parliamentary Earth Summit Conference at Rio de Janeiro in 1992, co-sponsored by the Brazilian Congress. The photograph of the children from Rio’s favelas speaking from the balcony at Parliament asks us what we have accomplished of our resolutions since then. Let us reflect on what we discussed at that historic event in regard to tackling the global environmental issues we would face in the 21st century. Senator Al Gore, one of the leading environmental legislators in the US Congress at the time and a member of the Global Forum Executive Committee, gave the keynote address and set the tone with a spiritual appeal unusual for a politician. He inquired, “People all over the world feel themselves part of a single global family. Why then are spiritual leaders not joining parliamentarians in this dialog?” Mr. Stephan Schmidheiny, Chairman of the Business Council for Sustainable Development said that the true sustainable development ultimately comes down to ethical, moral and spiritual considerations—we must all become care-takers, working to safeguard the interests of future humans and the interests of the other species with which we share the planet.

These fundamental appeals remind us that we still must tackle these pressing issues of human survival in the 21st century.

Recently, since the world has been facing this extreme financial crisis, people have lost confidence in the financial market system. This trust is as important for the success of the worldwide financial system as oxygen is for people to survive. Similarly, confidence and trust between people is the key to world peace, but most do not realize and appreciate its strength until there is a shortage or it disappears. In order to make a system work people need to believe in it, and if the financial system can’t garner our trust, then world peace still seems several strides away.

The article “Changing Ethics in Business” voices the growing concerns of our younger generations. They are looking for a new vision in the coming decades, one which celebrates and prepares them for their common future.

-Akio Matsumura

(Photo: Dalai Lama confers with Senator Clairborne Pell of US Senate on Foreign Relations Committee, Rio 1992)

Changing ethics in business

2008-10-15T11:15:00.004-04:00

As I've written, Wall Street is in need of change. Business practices in general need a new outlook: one from an ethical and cultural standpoint. The world is changing and the foundations of business are being shaken. One large issue, among others, is the decided ignorance of the cultural and spiritual dimension, and not only in the short term for profits. Large firms and corporations must truly integrate other cultures' ideas into their plans, as well as cater to their different needs. The goal in business now is unlimited growth. The world is seeing the very impossibility of such an idea right now. An organism cannot grow outside its own means without it dying. Businesses are now consuming the the means they live by if they prey on people. Greed is the goal for achieving growth, which is not sustainable.

At the Parliament Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992 children from the favelas (slums) of Rio shared their stories of scrambling for food every day. One girl said how she had to steal food to share it with her younger brother. Not only is the system ignoring our children, the future, but they still have the kind heart to share the little they do have. Businesses have something to learn from the very people they benefit by exploiting: the children, the poor, the homeless. Greed only gets you so far. To really survive you must share and link what you have together. Then you can enjoy what you have for much longer and without the exploitation of so many. A cultural/ethical advisor to businesses could help shift the paradigm of business from one of greed toward one more sustainable, in line with the shifting views of the people of the 21st century.

Beyond Wall Street: Our Ecological Debt

2008-09-23T09:45:00.002-04:00

Welcome to Unhappy Earth Overshoot Day! Today is a milestone, and an unfortunate one at that. Today, September 23, we have already used up our natural resources for the year, in order to live within the biocapacity of the planet. The New Economics Foundation, nef, has calculated our ecological footprint on the Earth and where our sustainable use of natural resources would lie relevant to our year calendar. 1987 was the first year we were to consume our resources before the end of the year, and we have been encroaching quickly further into the year as time passes.

Although Wall Street is in shambles (or doesn't even exist!) and soon the U.S. government and public will be after bailing them out, this is just a smaller piece of a larger system, which clearly is in dire need of a patch. Our system of investments, hyperconsumption, and flexible labor are coming to an end, whether we like it or not. The system doesn't work any more on its own, and that will just be emphasized more as China and India grow and continue to exploit the very system the US prided its own growth on. There are Limits to Growth, as has been known at least in academic circles for 35 years, and we are pushing those limits right now. Each year that we ignore our ecological debt to the planet is another year we will have to pay it back, and sooner rather than later.

So does the system really need a patch? Or do we need a new system? What can we do to live within our planet so that the future can also? This idea of ecological debt goes beyond environmental sustainability and ties deeply into cultural and spiritual issues. Different cultures have different frameworks for life, such as the Andean cosmology of living in balance with the Earth. Most importantly, each culture presents us with a (possibly) distinct metaphor for viewing ourselves, and that is what we are in need of. The world's planners and architects can throw their patches into the rising seas, we need a new paradigm.

A Shifting World

2008-09-14T23:18:00.001-04:00

To continue conveying the message of an approaching shift in global power and why a concordant shift in values is needed, watch this presentation, put out by the University of Minnesota. It's full of great facts that help give perspective to the last post.

Did you know?

Enjoy. Change.

Breaking Barriers

2008-09-01T23:58:00.003-04:00

During the winter of 1990 the Global Forum that Akio coordinated took place in Moscow, Russia, with the final ceremony being held in the Kremlin. A great thing happened that day that showed much promise for cultures coming together and allowing sacrifices for the whole to move forward. There were threats announced that day on many Baltic states, and President Gorbachev had to call an unexpected meeting in the Kremlin during the time scheduled for the final ceremonies of the Forum. The Forum was able to bear with these scheduling changes, but had to move their ceremonies until later that evening. Coincidentally, it was pushed into the Sabbath, and so the Jewish members of the Forum suddenly had a challenge to face. With much behind-the-scenes scrambling, the meeting went forth and Akio and President Gorbachev, among others, decided that indeed sacrifices would have to be made by all in order to close the ceremonies. Many of the Jewish attendees, including the rabbi members and even Carl Sagan prayed together in the basement of the Kremlin to welcome the Sabbath into a cold building with an entirely different focus by nature. The colossal adjustments of the rabbis allowed the procession to go forth and the ceremonies closed with a tremendous speech by President Gorbachev and others, urging in the modern environmental movement with all stunned by the power of the sacrifice and adjustments that had been made to keep the meeting scheduled. Great political and religious figures both bowed their heads in the name of cooperation and each made sacrifices in order to allow the whole group to meet. With incredible sacrifices like these, great results will continue to come, as the International Green Cross came of that meeting.

Consuming ourselves, "The Story of Stuff"

2008-08-20T23:12:00.002-04:00

In 1992 the International Green Cross (http://www.gci.ch/) was co founded by Akio and President Mikhail Gorbachev. It's mission, available on the website above, is to secure a sustainable future for the planet through a much needed paradigm shift. The paradigm shift is the focus of this post, and the focus of the video linked, "The Story of Stuff." We live in a world of advertising, consumption, and waste. Fashion dictates the level of use an item receives instead of practicability. The video embedded teaches an important lesson of the amount of waste we generate as humans (and specifically people from the United States) and how much of it is unnecessary. A paradigm shift toward reducing consumption and recycling what we do need to use would bring us to a level of waste that would allow the future generations to continue to use our planet's finite resources. Although developments in technology do allow us to use new resources to fuel our lives and expand the meaning of 'finite,' there are still great resources devoted to these developments. Just by using less and disregarding the trends and fleetingness of what is popular we are able to achieve an important goal: sustainability. This word does have a plethora of connotations but it's important to realize that through the practice of reduction in consumption we not only decrease what we use now, but make more available for those who don't receive it now and those who will need it in the future. The world has real problems based on inefficient use of scarce resources and the United States is a great model of how to worsen these problems. By watching "The Story of Stuff" we are on our way toward a solution. Ideas are great, but they need to be put into action in order to do anything. I encourage you, reader, to use less today! Keep your computer another year, bring reusable bags to the grocery store, and most importantly, buy less!

The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint Exupéry

2008-08-10T00:00:00.002-04:00

The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint Exupéry (author of all illustrations and words including the cover above) is both seen as a children's book and a novella that delves into a philosophic journey suitable for adults. Between the fictitious adventure of a WWII pilot and the playful-yet-inspiring illustrations lies a search for a truth still relevant to each one of us.

Several of the truths revealed are of particular importance and relevancy to the Plant the Seed Network's mission of peace through cultural understanding. One central truth unveiled is a certain self-importance shared by all and the understanding that each person has a unique niche and area of interest in life. The Little Prince planet-hops, seeking out holders of various occupations and eventually learns on Earth that to love and be loved is the most important thing to aim for in life, beyond being a geographer, king, or lamp-lighter. However, the Little Prince learns much through his friendship with a fox, who teaches him compassion and love.

The teaching, loving fox brings to the Little Prince an experience that the Prince would not otherwise know and this is the second important topic that relates to the Plant the Seed Network. PSN's focus is greatly derived from the wishes, visions, and experiences of Akio Matsumura and his friends and acquaintances from the United Nations and various other international organizations.

The older generation, having worked on the current problems for many years, can show our generation of students the outcomes of their trials. We then have the opportunity of using the most effective ideas in order to influence our outcomes and increase our successes. We will hopefully see great strides toward a shared peace and understanding across cultures and our greatest chance toward this is through a shared understanding across generations. With open ears we will move forward toward open hearts. And remember, as the Little Prince found out in his travels: no job we have is too serious to ask ourselves why we do it, and no animal or prince is too small too love.

The Power of a Chlid

2008-07-31T10:53:00.001-04:00

The speech in the video above is inspirational. This girl, Severn Suzuki, is only 13 years old at the time the speech was given at the Rio Earth Summit in 1993. She astounded every listener at the conference and has astounded every Youtube viewer since. Despite the video's 100,000's of viewings, her voice is largely unheard by those addressed. Our planet still has the same problems it had 15 years ago, and they have largely gotten worse with the passage of time. However to those not addressed--the dreamers, children, students, people largely of a younger generation--her voice serves as inspiration.

Reread the first post of this blog and you see that the Plant the Seed Network's mission is to create an online network/movement of students dedicated to peace through transcending traditional cultural barriers that are now causing conflict as they meet, mix and intertwine. This girl's speech embodies the desires of the Plant the Seed Network: the older generation, although with certain triumphs during its day, has largely unfulfilled its goals and commitments as leaders and we, the younger generation, are now left with the large responsibility of human survival. The Plant the Seed Network is a group of students from around the world committed to taking steps toward global cooperation and creating a harmony among the Earth's citizens that allows us to take strides as a whole toward the solutions we need to survive.

Pale Blue Dot

2008-07-31T01:17:00.001-04:00

Dr. Carl Sagan possessed an insightful knowledge of the universe and with that viewpoint he was able to describe our human issues on planet Earth in a new, compelling way, demonstrating a vision only possible through a fresh look at our planet. This video shows us our interconnectedness as a species and its ability to help solve our problems. For many years we have been dealing with global issues such as environmental preservation and conservation, poverty, hunger, disease, overpopulation, and cultural tolerance. These issues are obviously still pressing, and Akio's work in 1988 and 1990, assembling the "Global Forum of Spiritual and Parliamentary Leaders", created a beginning for a global solution. Carl Sagan attended these conferences and was a friend of Akio's, mentioning the personal importance of these conferences to him in his final book, Billions and Billions (Ballantine Books, p. 167- 169). Through this video and Dr. Sagan's wise words we can see the great insignificance of all that we deem significant, and we must begin to ask ourselves the question: why? Why do we cause so much pain and trouble when we can cause joy? Why hate when it's possible to love? In Billions and Billions Carl Sagan explores these ideas and the conclusion is that by transcending our perceived differences in religion, science, politics, and culture we can achieve our shared global desires of peace, well-being and security.

Gandhi Speaks

2008-07-24T02:56:00.002-04:00

Barbara Walters Interviews The Dalai Lama

2008-07-19T01:51:00.002-04:00

Akio And His Holiness The Dali Lama

2008-07-19T01:47:00.000-04:00

His Holiness the Dalai Lama attended Akio's Global Forums in Oxford, Moscow and Rio and was a powerful presence. Gathered alongwith the high priest of the Sacred Forest of Togo, the Grand Mufti of Syria, the Metropolitan of Moscow, the Cardinal Archbishop of Vienna, Mother Teresa, the chief rabbis of Romania, and many other representatives from the world's religions, a great religious force created the spiritual side of the discussions. There was an equally impressive political force that attended these conferences as well. Through many days of conversation and debate on environmental and social issues, many taboos and cultural differences were transcended, with a new vision emerging from the conferences: a spiritual and practical vision that enforced Akio's concept that working together these two groups can create global solutions.