A Non Violence Classic

We have recently seen some wonderful examples of the power of non violence - for example the successful liberation of Egypt from the Mubarak regime. I am reminded of Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela and the Dalai Lama, all of whom have preached justice by non violent means.
I subscribe to the Christian magazine Sojourners, Faith in Action for Social Justice, and in the July edition just received have had my attention drawn by a letter from a Tom Ewell of Clinton Washington, to The Power of Non Violence,  written by Richard Gregg in 1934, after the author had spent four years with Gandhi running up to the campaign for Indian independence.
I have found an inexpensive second hand copy, the revised 1959 edition that includes a foreword by Martin Luther King, and look forward to reading it - and will write a review in due course. I am sure, as Tom says, that this has enormous relevance today as all those years ago.

Irrational behavior, Hi-Tech weapons, empathy and entropy

I have been writing quite a bit lately about our irrational behavior in the face of the many problems we need to solve in the world. The last irrational behavior, on 1 February, referred to the questionable ethical and health implications of the way we breed animals for food.
Here is another one:
"Hi -Tech weapons that are more dangerous than the conflicts they could possibly resolve are being developed and stock-piled, at vast investment of money and resources."

I was reminded of this particular item when I heard this week that of the $1.5 billion of annual aid from the USA to Egypt, $1.3 billion is for supporting military operations.
Now you can find plenty from a Google search to explain the rationale behind this aid, and this revolves pretty much around Egypt and its military playing an important role in the stability of the middle east generally. OK. And the Egyptian military certainly seem to be playing an important and thus far peaceable role in the current extraordinary events in Egypt itself. Again, OK.

But looked at totally dispassionately what a nonsense it all is. Again I think of Rifkin's new book, The Empathic Civilization, reviewed here a couple of days ago. Is it but a pipe dream that one day we shall have a global and totally empathic civilization? Or will entropy win and we self destruct?

We are wired for empathy. When are we going to realize that we have to do all in our power to nurture and develop that empathy throughout the human race, from the cradle onwards?

(all these Irrational Behaviors are being taken from the essay by Ervin Laszlo on “The World’s Health Problem: an Integral Diagnosis” in A New Renaissance – Transforming Science, Spirit and Society. I keep referring back to this book as it is such an important initiative from the Scientific and Medical Network. I have posted a review for this book on Amazon).