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Cultivating a culture of peace |
Educated
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SPECIAL REPORT
Vol. XVI No. 11 DECEMBER 2004
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by Sandie Cornish
One of the big challenges in working for justice and peace is the magnitude of the problems to be addressed and the sheer number of issues. It is easy to feel overwhelmed and ineffectual. How do we maintain our sense of hope and purpose, our sense of making even a small difference, of achieving anything at all? For me it is helpful to try and have a sense of the big picture, but to identify where my efforts fit in. If we use a framework to articulate our analysis of the reality, we can have a sense of doing something about something while acknowledging that we cannot do something about everything. We can see then how our contributions are part of the overall response that is needed, and we can also respect the partial contributions of others. We can be free to get on with the work, rather than dissipating energy in trying to convince each other about which part of the work we should be doing. I was at an Asian region ecumenical consultation on social advocacy last year and heard Archbishop Ledesima from the Philippines refer to the culture of life, the culture of human rights and the culture of peace as nested paradigms. This really ‘clicked’ for me, so I engaged him in conversation about it afterwards. These reflections are grounded in the insight provided by the concept of ‘nested paradigms’ but diverge somewhat from the Archbishop’s use of the concept. A Framework I believe that the culture of peace can provide a framework for much of the welfare, justice and peace work that we undertake and a common language that can join our efforts with those of people of other faiths and none. The UN Decade for Building a Culture of Peace then provides us with opportunities for outreach, networking and communicating about our efforts. This is why the Australian Catholic Social Justice Council, for example, is using cultivating a culture of peace as a unifying theme for its work during the decade. The ASCJC has adopted the language of cultivating rather than building a culture of peace in line with other Christians in the Asian region. Anyone who has ever supervised renovations or tended a garden will understand the difference in imagery! I want to present my version of Bishop Ledesima’s diagram as a way of unpacking the meaning of a culture of peace. Culture of Life A culture of life is about affirming and defending the right to life, not only of the unborn child or the sick and elderly person, but also of the convicted criminal sentenced to death, and of those without enough to eat. It is about welcoming new life, protecting the most vulnerable lives, the survival of the planet, the rejection of killing and all that leads to death. Our rejection of the use of force and armed conflict when it fails to meet moral and ethical criteria, such as the bombing of Afghanistan also fits here. Where there is no justice, there can be no peace. Where there is neither justice nor peace, anti-lifeforces flourish.
Philippines: Taking the cross at the first execution at Manila prison Culture of Human Rights There is more to a culture of peace than mere physical survival. A culture of human rights builds on a culture of life. It affirms and promotes civil and political rights such as: the right to life, physical integrity, freedom from discrimination on the basis of sex, race, religion, ethnicity, belief or political opinion. It affirms and promotes economic, cultural and social rights such as: the right to food, housing or shelter, healthcare, education, and participation in cultural life. Not only do we all have the right to life, but we are also equal in dignity and rights. But a rights based culture is also not enough to ensure true peace. Rights claims may be inconflict. Culture of Peace A culture of peace needs to include all that we have described as a culture of life and culture of human rights. It includes a range of values, attitudes, traditions and ways of life such as: respect for all life, rejection of violence in all its forms, valuing diversity, sharing with others, listening to understand, preservation of the planet, and a commitment to solidarity. Working for a culture of peace requires our means to be in harmony with our aims. The education and formation work that we do to try to change attitudes and behaviors through information and examination of core values fits here. A culture of peace is, in many ways a spiritual quest. For us, presenting and applying the Catholic social justice tradition, which calls us to live the values of the Gospel concretely in our world, is an important part of our work for a culture of peace.
Levels of Action Culture is about how we make meaning of reality. It includes values, attitudes, beliefs and traditions. A culture is a collective thing, but it is carried by individuals. To cultivate a culture of peace then needs action at the individual, family, and community, national and international levels. It is not only work on physical conflict or international relations that contributes to a culture of peace. Living with justice and harmony in our households is a contribution to a culture of peace. For me, a nested paradigm is different to a linear progression. The three paradigms are not a sequence of steps, but concentric circles. In the same way, I think the levels at which we can work are nested rather than a series of steps. They are dynamically inter-related. We are all continually challenged to live more fully the values of a culture of peace in our personal lives. If we had to complete this step before moving on to other levels of aggregation, we would never feel able to take on important spheres of action such as national legislation! The important thing, I think, is to recognize the links between each level at which action is needed, and not to behave as though our personal behavior or the behavior of our community or country is unrelated to work for peace at other levels. How can we have peace in our communities when there is no peace in the world? But how can the world be at peace when our communities are not? How can I personally feel at peace when there is so much injustice in the world? The levels of action are inter-related. We should be striving for congruence in our efforts across each level.
Start Where You Can Over the years I’ve become a great believer in starting wherever you can. If you are reflective about your action it will lead you to follow the connections both forwards and backwards, across different paradigms in the diagram, and across different levels of action. As we move across the diagram from a culture of life, to a culture of human rights, to a culture of peace, each step is cumulative, including and building upon the previous one. In a sense we move from promoting life, to promoting the fullness of life. Working to affirm and protect life is part of a culture of peace. Working to affirm, protect and promote human rights is part of a culture of peace. If we are working against the death penalty, we are working for a culture of peace. If we are working for fair wages, we are working for a culture of peace. If we are working on conflict resolution in interpersonal relationships, we are working for a culture of peace. If we are working for the recognition of the rights of Indigenous people, we are working for a culture of peace. If we are working for the remission of death dealing international debt, we are working for a culture of peace. Catholic and ecumenical gatherings in the Asia Pacific region have confirmed that cultivating a culture of peace is an urgent priority for our region, and it is from our region that the language of cultivating a culture of peace has been adopted. <WM ______________ Sandie Cornish is the National Executive Officer of the Australian Catholic Social Justice CouncilCopyright ©World Mission Magazine |
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