(no subject)
I was in the lucky position to meet a remarkable woman last night. Jody Williams, peace nobel prize awardee of 1997.
Jody Williams gave an impromptu lecture yesterday on multilateralism, disarmament and human security. The latter was the central focus of her speech, putting forth the question of how to gain or reclaim human security in a world of violence.
She rightfully proclaimed that violence - no matter where and how - is always a matter of choice; individual or collective choice. Pointing to the achievement of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, whose coordinator and first ambassador she is, and who successfully lobbied for years to ban this indiscriminate weapon - Antipersonnel mines - and make it a part of international humanitarian law, she gave the example of how governments and the civil society reached a consensus - not to speak of common sense.
There is still much to be done, Anti Vehicle Mines or cluster munitions, both of which act just like anti-personnel mines (that is killing civilians long after the war is over) are not included in the convention, but the success is nevertheless a remarkable one.
She pointed towards many horrible examples of the current state of the world, not only pointing fingers towards some countries (eg. her own) but speaking of human rights as well as human responsibility; individual responsibility. In the end she quoted Betty Williams. Another peace nobel prize awardee from Northern Ireland, who said that many people tend to come up to her and congratulate her for her work and complain about the horrible things happening in the world. Be it civil war, pre-emptive strike, famine or genocide. And by showing this kind of empathy, feeling at the same time better for it.
Jody said rather bluntly: empathy without action is meaningless. She of course relented that towards a lot of things people tend to feel powerless and the typical ‘what can I do when there are so many powerful forces behind this or that’.
But emphasizing again the ‘empathy without action’ theme, she said, that it doesn’t matter to her on what topic you act upon, be it the environment, human rights, education, social equality, or whatever, you have to act. Giving an hour a month of your time to help to change current situations and your meaningless empathy would be transformed it meaningful action.
And if enough people would do so, it would form a powerful force, and the seemingly untouchable powers in the world would think twice before they would go into, or allow, preemptive strike, human rights abuse, genocide, a preventive famine to happen or cutting education budgets.
This may sound like a no-brainer for people like us growing up in democracies where we are told the people hold the power on election day. But we have to gain/reclaim that power, by acting way beyond voting. Thinking would be the first step. Acting the next. Thinking on what our media for example is doing to us. Making us think that Madonna’s last appearance on MTV is what we should waste our brain capacity on, rather than questioning them why they have become such powerful vehicles of the brain-washing machinery.
Jody said she ain’t no Mother Theresa, she was not a pacifist, but she likes to think of herself as an acting thinking individual who, alsongside many others made a difference.
And a big one I might add.
Jody Williams gave an impromptu lecture yesterday on multilateralism, disarmament and human security. The latter was the central focus of her speech, putting forth the question of how to gain or reclaim human security in a world of violence.
She rightfully proclaimed that violence - no matter where and how - is always a matter of choice; individual or collective choice. Pointing to the achievement of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, whose coordinator and first ambassador she is, and who successfully lobbied for years to ban this indiscriminate weapon - Antipersonnel mines - and make it a part of international humanitarian law, she gave the example of how governments and the civil society reached a consensus - not to speak of common sense.
There is still much to be done, Anti Vehicle Mines or cluster munitions, both of which act just like anti-personnel mines (that is killing civilians long after the war is over) are not included in the convention, but the success is nevertheless a remarkable one.
She pointed towards many horrible examples of the current state of the world, not only pointing fingers towards some countries (eg. her own) but speaking of human rights as well as human responsibility; individual responsibility. In the end she quoted Betty Williams. Another peace nobel prize awardee from Northern Ireland, who said that many people tend to come up to her and congratulate her for her work and complain about the horrible things happening in the world. Be it civil war, pre-emptive strike, famine or genocide. And by showing this kind of empathy, feeling at the same time better for it.
Jody said rather bluntly: empathy without action is meaningless. She of course relented that towards a lot of things people tend to feel powerless and the typical ‘what can I do when there are so many powerful forces behind this or that’.
But emphasizing again the ‘empathy without action’ theme, she said, that it doesn’t matter to her on what topic you act upon, be it the environment, human rights, education, social equality, or whatever, you have to act. Giving an hour a month of your time to help to change current situations and your meaningless empathy would be transformed it meaningful action.
And if enough people would do so, it would form a powerful force, and the seemingly untouchable powers in the world would think twice before they would go into, or allow, preemptive strike, human rights abuse, genocide, a preventive famine to happen or cutting education budgets.
This may sound like a no-brainer for people like us growing up in democracies where we are told the people hold the power on election day. But we have to gain/reclaim that power, by acting way beyond voting. Thinking would be the first step. Acting the next. Thinking on what our media for example is doing to us. Making us think that Madonna’s last appearance on MTV is what we should waste our brain capacity on, rather than questioning them why they have become such powerful vehicles of the brain-washing machinery.
Jody said she ain’t no Mother Theresa, she was not a pacifist, but she likes to think of herself as an acting thinking individual who, alsongside many others made a difference.
And a big one I might add.