“Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand.”
There is something profoundly true and yet so simple in what Jesus said in this instance, to the point even the highly respected Abraham Lincoln quoted it in a memorable albeit controversial speech one and a half centuries ago. But, I’m not going to talk theology or US politics right now (at least not directly).
Among there various things going on in my mind lately, including where in the world I think I’m going to spend Christmas, I have found the issue of humanitarian aid and volunteerism on my mind lately. I think is at least in part do to the amount of volunteers I come across in South America – but that’s a topic for another time. The specific household I have been thinking about lately is the United Nations (and I’m sure many will agree with the cartoon I’ve included). There are times when I can’t help feeling bemused by this organisation, supposedly in existence to bring the nations of the world together. Yet with the occasionally contentious issue of the veto power held by the members of the Security Council we see an organisation that is more of a spectators club for many nations who are allowed to participate and who need their voices validated by those in power.
As a result I can’t help thinking that humanitarian agencies existing under this banner have are somewhat like a dog chasing its own tail – going nowhere at top speed, but round in circles. That is, I am not saying that they don't do good work on the ground. After all the structure enables those in power to hold onto that power and one only needs to listen carefully to the news to hear the amount of times that humanitarian aid and/or debt relief comes with political conditions or favours to those giving the aid. And, in the mean time it’s not a new notion that the gap between the rich and poor increases constantly (see the links below to articles from the last decade) yet the world seems to carry on doing things the same way while expecting different results. In fact the "income ratio of the one-fifth of the world's population in the wealthiest countries to the one-fifth of the world's population in the poorest went from 30 to 1 in 1960 to 74 to 1 in 1995".
I have neither the time nor information to go into other issues such as the “Nuke Club” (also known as the “Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty”) right now, but there seems to be a pattern where those who have want more – be it money or power. And at some point, something is going to give. Or what, do you think? Enough said, for now…
http://globalization.icaap.org/content/v1.1/jeremyseabrook.html
Among there various things going on in my mind lately, including where in the world I think I’m going to spend Christmas, I have found the issue of humanitarian aid and volunteerism on my mind lately. I think is at least in part do to the amount of volunteers I come across in South America – but that’s a topic for another time. The specific household I have been thinking about lately is the United Nations (and I’m sure many will agree with the cartoon I’ve included). There are times when I can’t help feeling bemused by this organisation, supposedly in existence to bring the nations of the world together. Yet with the occasionally contentious issue of the veto power held by the members of the Security Council we see an organisation that is more of a spectators club for many nations who are allowed to participate and who need their voices validated by those in power.
As a result I can’t help thinking that humanitarian agencies existing under this banner have are somewhat like a dog chasing its own tail – going nowhere at top speed, but round in circles. That is, I am not saying that they don't do good work on the ground. After all the structure enables those in power to hold onto that power and one only needs to listen carefully to the news to hear the amount of times that humanitarian aid and/or debt relief comes with political conditions or favours to those giving the aid. And, in the mean time it’s not a new notion that the gap between the rich and poor increases constantly (see the links below to articles from the last decade) yet the world seems to carry on doing things the same way while expecting different results. In fact the "income ratio of the one-fifth of the world's population in the wealthiest countries to the one-fifth of the world's population in the poorest went from 30 to 1 in 1960 to 74 to 1 in 1995".
I have neither the time nor information to go into other issues such as the “Nuke Club” (also known as the “Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty”) right now, but there seems to be a pattern where those who have want more – be it money or power. And at some point, something is going to give. Or what, do you think? Enough said, for now…
http://globalization.icaap.org/content/v1.1/jeremyseabrook.html
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