The Heavenly Vision

Found amongst my late mother’s papers:

The Heavenly Vision

I dreamed death came to me one night, and Heaven’s gate grew wide,

With kindly grace St. Peter came and ushered me inside.

And there to my astonishment were folks I knew on earth,

Those I had labelled as unfit, and of little worth.

Indignant words arose to my lips, that never were set free,

For every face showed stunned surprise – NO ONE EXPECTED ME!

Indonesia, spying and whistle-blowers.

There is a level of poetic justice in the uproar that the exposure of “spying” and international phone tapping and hacking has created.

Consider the irony in the criminal proceedings against the former editors of the now defunct News of The World newspaper. They are being tried for illegal phone hacking. We now know that the governments of America, the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia were (are) involved in exactly the same manner of “illegal” phone hacking!

It is a tenet of our Laws, that - “Justice must not only be done, but must be seen to be done”. This can only happen in an open society. This can only happen in a society that is not always kept in a of state ignorance about matters that affect them on a daily basis; that affects their individual rights (see the UN Charter of Human Rights); that affects their personal wealth; that affects their health.

In the latest revelations it is alleged that the Australian’s hacked the mobile phone of the wife of the Indonesian President. How could listening in to her phone calls possibly make Australia a safer place? How could listening to her phone calls possible affect Australia’s, or for that matter the World’s security?

No wonder the Indonesians are upset – just as I am positive we would be upset if it was reported in the press that the phone of Abbot’s wife had been tapped by the Indonesians!

Whistle-blowers, by definition, shine a light on the darker corners of the way the world is controlled – be it in industry, commerce, the law or by governments. And this is a good thing.

If any society is kept in a state of even partial ignorance – by subterfuge or deliberate misinformation then rumour and uninformed opinion will take hold and create divisions within any community or society. This should not be how a democratic country is governed – particularly in Australia where voting is compulsory and we are fined for NOT voting!

I will be the first to admit that there is some need for commercial or industrial processes or inventions to be kept from competitors – this is normal business practice – as long as there is no hint of corruption, malpractice or fraudulent behaviour. Similarly there is need for the legal fraternity to maintain a high level of confidentiality regarding their clients; the same applies to the medical profession – as long as there is no hint of corruption, malpractice or fraudulent behaviour. 

With governments however I am not so sure. When matters concerning the armed forces and with some areas of policing are involved I agree that there should be a high level of secrecy – as long as there is no hint of corruption, malpractice or fraudulent behaviour. But when it comes to other government offices such as trade, or immigration, or border protection and customs I can see no reason at all for any level of secrecy.

If we, the public – voters, purchasers and consumers – were always kept unaware of dishonest practices, of corruption, conflicts of interest, nepotism, of malpractice and fraudulent behaviour, how could we ever make informed opinions and judgements about who to vote for, the value of our portfolio of investments or whether the people we deal with are honest or trustworthy and whether justice is being truly applied?

The short answer is that we couldn’t. 

This is why we need whistle blowers. They tell us what has happened or is happening behind the veil of secrecy that has been drawn to avoid any scrutiny by the public - however “embarrassing” such disclosures maybe for the government(s) involved.

What’s with China?

China wants to be part of the modern world and treated as an equal – even as a Super Power. China is the producer of a significant volume of the Worlds consumer goods. China has significant wealth.

But China is still a communist country driven by communist ideology.  That there are many millions of generous, compassionate Chinese citizens, I have no doubt. I do have doubts, however, that many of these generous, compassionate citizens are in positions of power, in China.

I raise this point because, unless I am very ill informed, Chinese aid to the cyclone stricken Philippines is conspicuous by its absence. Where is the “World Citizen China”? Where is the help from generous, compassionate China that is so needed?

I seem to recall that when China suffered the effects of a massive earth-quake some years ago they asked for some “outside” help that was gladly given. This may have been a diplomatic “tool” to advance the cause of the Beijing Olympic Games but the help was given all the same.

Now maximum help is withheld from a country, admittedly at odds with China over a few uninhabited rocks in the middle of the China Sea. This is NOT what World Citizens do. All China is doing is giving a few million dollars in aid and sending a hospital ship - very welcome – but only announced 10 days after the disaster struck.

I do not believe this lack of action by China is doing them any favours in the eyes of the  South East Asian countries – and I do not think it is good enough. Not for a supposed world power.

Why we are so cynical today.

When politicians, financiers, bankers, businessmen and anyone else in positions of power or authority are, shall I say, selective in what they tell their constituents, their employees and the consuming public they open themselves to all types of accusations.  

We, that is the public, are not stupid, we are not unintelligent, we are not pawns on some political or economic “game board” to be manipulated and pushed around according to their wishes.

We, that is the public, do not like to be patronized, to be condescended too by politicians, “leaders”, businessmen or whomsoever. We, that is the public, are the only reason they are politicians (we vote) and we are the consuming public – there is no one else!

Treat us as lesser mortals and trust is put on hold. To use “weasel words” and tell untruths as if they were truths spells T-R-O-U-B-L-E. When truth is withheld, trust falters and when trust falters people become unsure about what those in authority mean and so problems arise. We, the citizens will become confused and listen to rumour and conspiracy theories which will then generate their own momentum and without the true facts, we the citizens, will form our own opinions and act accordingly. This may not be to the benefit of those who withhold the truth.

And what results from this patronizing, from this condescension, from this lack of trust, from  withholding information and the truth? Cynicism! We become cynical. When we become cynical we believe no one – not even when those we disbelieve may actually be telling the truth!

To understand what I mean it may help to quote what Confucius had to say about words and their meanings twenty-five centuries ago ( I use Simon Leys’ translation of the “Analects of Confucius”):

Asked what he would do first if he was appointed ruler, Confucius said, “I would rectify the names”. He explained, “If the names are not correct, if they do not match realities, language has no object. If language has no object, action becomes impossible – and therefore all human affairs become pointless and impossible. Hence the very first task of a true statesman is to rectify the names.”

Ask any politician in any country today how we, the public, the consumers, are supposed to make informed decisions when we are denied the facts and the truth? How are we, the public, the consumers, supposed to make informed decisions when what we are told does not equate to the facts as we experience them on a daily basis?

The truth will “out” eventually and when it does, watch out!!!

How shall we live? Confucius – he say!

We are living in a troubled world, beset by many trials and tribulations and where ethics is in short supply – as has always been the case, I suppose, but with modern communications they seem somewhat compounded and “in your face”, as it were. So this all begs the question – in this Twenty-first Century how are we to live? What should be our collective aims? What is mankind’s purpose?

Some time and quite a few posts ago I wrote about ethics and the conditions and attributes necessary for ethical conduct to occur. I now refer to some old texts to expand on this subject.

In the Analects of Confucius (551 BC to 479 BC)  translated by Simon Leys, there is a quote about the importance, in ancient China, of the notion of the word ‘gentleman’.

“Originally it meant an aristocrat, a member of the social elite: one did not become a gentleman, one could only be born a gentleman. For Confucius, on the contrary, a ‘gentleman’ is a member of the moral elite. It is an ethical quality, achieved by the practice of virtue, and secured through education. Every man should strive for it, even though few may reach it.”

To understand this statement it may help to recall what Confucius had to say about justice and laws some twenty-five centuries ago:

 “If you govern the people by laws, and keep them in order by penalties, they will avoid the penalties, yet lose their sense of shame. But if you govern them by your moral excellence, and keep them in order by your dutiful conduct, they will retain their sense of shame, and also live up to this standard.”

In light of the astounding lack of trust and moral leadership shown - and admitted – by many of today’s leaders, I truly believe that it is time for everyone to stop, even take a step back and look, I mean really examine, their actions and see whether they make any sense.

Take the apparently common scenario: “I am spying on you because I know that you are spying on me but I want my spies to find out what your spies are trying to find out about me because my spies are trying to get the same sort of information about you”, kind of thing.

No one likes being spied on, so why do it? I mean, really, does this make any sense? Is this the way we want to live?? After five million years of human evolution if this is the finest example of all we have achieved, then God help us all!!!

If you are a “Creationist” I ask if this is the finest example of all we have achieved since the days of Adam and Eve??? Again, if it is, then God help us all!!

Just because spying is an age old “game” does not mean that it is the right thing to do; just because “everyone is doing it” does not mean it is the right thing to do; just because everyone is doing it does not make it ethical!!!

So – repeat after me, all together now, “Always treat others the way you would like to be treated - because there is no other viable option!”