Building on the New Model for Peacemaking
by Rosalie Paul,
speaking at a Bates College Forum on Iraq, October 30, 2002
Rosalie Paul, kayaking on the Little River
The problems we're addressing tonight, threats of military action and fear of weapons of mass destruction, are not rooted simply in the policies of the U.S. or Iraq. They are embedded in the paradigm that shapes our thoughts and assumptions. We see our world through an outdated world view based on Newtonian science that interprets reality as a set of mechanical interactions of separate particles. By extension, we see ourselves as separate from each other and separate from the Earth, which can then be seen as a tool to be used and developed and improved for our profit. US and Iraqi policies are not the problem; they are symptoms of the problem.
Our world view is expressed in our culture, a culture of dominance, a culture of competition and win or lose. Whoever holds the power (by which I mean the money and technology) uses that power over others in order to control resources. That's been going on since the beginning of written history. There's nothing new about it. The United States currently holds the power. Our government is leading us into the next chapter of a very old story.
US policy is the paradigm writ large. We need to be on the lookout for the small ways in which the old paradigm rules us, including the form of this forum. If we are looking for humane solutions to human problems, we need to be careful not to depend too much on analytical thinking where the goal is for one set of ideas to win and the other to lose, keeping us separate. It is important to listen carefully to each other, finding common ground and being sure that our thinking is fed by our hearts and spirits as well as by thoughtful minds
Now I bring out some big names to support the argument that, it is time and it is possible to change our culture to one that values cooperation rather than dominance.
Einstein said it well. "No problem was ever solved in the consciousness that created it".
Buckminster Fuller said it too. "You can never change things by resisting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the old model obsolete."
The new model was identified some years ago, but our social structures are just beginning to be aware of it. No longer is the mechanistic view true. No longer are matter and energy and life made of separate particles. Current science tells us that everything is connected, everything is interdependent. That's why this is such an exciting time to be a student with years ahead for creating a new culture that reflects and expresses those understandings!
Many people already see this as a time for a 180-degree turn toward sharing resources, fostering non-violence, rewarding the best in human nature, spending our time and wealth and energy on real security (by which I mean social and economic justice for all people, and environmental sustainability.) We can see the beginnings of change in the environmental movement, the feminist movement and the peace movement. I encourage you to get involved, dive into the current that's heading in wonderful new directions!
Recommended Reading:
Zohar & Marshall, Quantrum Society. Mind, Physics and a New Social Vision
Fritjof Capra, The Web of Life. A New Scientific Understanding of Living Systems.
Joanna Macy, World as Lover, World as Self
Back to Peace Talk Index, Winter, 2002-2003