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Sunday, June 28, 2009

A Just Peace President? "God's Politics"

http://blog.sojo.net/2009/01/28/a-just-peace-president/

A Just Peace President?

by Valerie Elverton Dixon 01-28-2009

If this Gaza War teaches us anything, if the tragic history of wars in the Middle East teaches us anything, it is that when people are determined to obtain weapons and fight, war goes on and solves nothing. Thankfully, both sides have declared unilateral cease-fires even as sporadic violence continues. However, the first moves by President Obama regarding the Middle East signals a paradigm shift. His may be a just peace presidency.

Professor Glen Stassen gives us ten just peace principles: nonviolent direct action; independent initiatives to reduce a threat; cooperative conflict resolution; acknowledge responsibility for conflict and injustice and seek repentance and forgiveness; advance democracy, human rights, and religious liberty; foster just and sustainable economic development; work with cooperative forces in the international system; strengthen the United Nations and international efforts for cooperation and human rights; reduce offensive weapons and weapons trade; encourage grassroots peacemaking groups (Just
Peacemaking: Ten Practices For Abolishing War).

I say these principles
may be grouped into three categories – truth, respect, and security. International cooperation is important to security and to show respect to other nations. In his television interview with Al Arabiya, President Obama sounded these themes. He also spoke of the importance of security for Israel and of economic development and human dignity for the Palestinians.

On truth: He spoke of the importance of the United States to listen to the people directly involved in the conflict. It is important to get to the truth from different perspectives. He said he would formulate a response after Special Envoy George Mitchell reports back to him:

And so what I told him is start by listening because all too often the United States starts by dictating and we don’t always know the factors that are involved. So let’s listen.

On international cooperation:

If we start the steady progress on these issues, I’m absolutely confident that the United States – working in tandem with the European Union, with Russia, with Arab states in the region – I’m absolutely certain that we can make significant progress.

On regionalism:

I do think it is impossible for us to think only in terms of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and not think in terms of what’s happening with Syria or Iran or Lebanon or Afghanistan and Pakistan. These things are interrelated.

On respect:

I think what you’ll
see is somebody who is listening, who is respectful, and who is trying to promote the interests not just of the United States, but also ordinary people who right now are suffering from poverty and the lack of opportunity.
I want to make sure that I’m speaking to them as well.

Life and prosperity, sustenance and joy, are the ends that humanity ought to work toward for
all peoples on the earth. President Obama’s ideas on solving foreign conflicts with negotiation, cooperation, respect, and care for the least may take us a long way toward achieving these goals.

Dr.
Valerie Elverton Dixon is an independent scholar who publishes lectures and essays at JustPeaceTheory.com. She received her Ph.D. in religion and society from Temple University and taught Christian ethics at United Theological Seminary and Andover Newton Theological School.