New Year’s 2016 – Getting the Right Perspective

Coming off of a way-too-short Christmas vacation, I sat down in front of my computer this morning only to be confronted by more than 400, unread security and conflict-related emails. [Happy New Year, I guess!]  One contained a link to a Foreign Policy feature article titled:  “10 Conflicts to Watch in 2016,” in which the author began with this cheerful observation:

For 20 years after the end of the Cold War, deadly conflict was in decline. Fewer wars were killing fewer people the world over. Five years ago, however, that positive trend went into reverse, and each year since has seen more conflict, more victims, and more people displaced. 2016 is unlikely to bring an improvement from the woes of 2015: It is war — not peace — that has momentum.

I thought about this for a few minutes, and wondered, “how can one person make a positive difference in the world?  How should people of good conscience respond to this trend?  Where do we begin?

This line of thought then led me to reflect on the words of a hymn that I was privileged to sing during yesterday’s church services.  The text was taken from Psalm 72, and says:

For he will deliver the needy when he cries for help; the afflicted also, and him who has no helper.  He will have compassion on the poor and needy, and the lives of the needy he will save.  He will rescue their life from oppression and violence; and their blood will be precious in his sight . . .

The Psalm reminded me of the current wars in the Middle East and SW Asia, the violence being inflicted on rural populations in Mexico and Central America, and the endless cycle of civil war and strife in Sub-Saharan Africa, and the way in which the developed world responds.  How different are the ideas in the Psalm from the normal messages that we hear from world leaders, political candidates, corporate CEOs, pundits, analysts, and celebrities.  Think about it.  What role do values play in the decisions that are made on the world stage, or the messages that are continually conveyed to the public?  What role should compassion play in our efforts to achieve some semblance of world peace?  Is it OK to compromise human rights if compromise leads to greater stability – even if that stability is built on the back of oppression?  Should the plight of war refugees be a central issue of world concern?   Or is it acceptable to dismiss the refugees’ misfortune as a sad but inevitable, by-product of war –”collateral damage”? 

As we begin the New Year, and before we get caught up in the detail of specific crises, I want to argue for a reset in our thinking.  Values matter.  They reflect who we are – as individuals and as a society.  They aren’t just idle rhetoric.  Wars are fought over ideals and ideas.  Great societies and rich cultures are formed around them.   Human life matters, regardless of caste, religion, ethnicity.   I made a resolution that this year, in 2016, I will speak out against injustice, prejudice, inhumanity, bigotry, and hardheartedness, wherever I see it.  I will not stay politely and conveniently silent. 

I invite you to join me in this.  Instead of making decisions and taking positions, and THEN trying to justify them with what we know is fundamentally right and fundamentally wrong, let’s start with our values, and move forward from there.    Happy New Year, with peace on earth and goodwill toward all.