SFF

I don't believe in the goodness of man; the wickedness of man. I don't believe in the necessary brotherhood of man; the divisions of man. I don't believe Hegel when he says history is law-governed, propelling and compelling us towards a certain future. I don't believe in Fukuyama. I don't believe in the essence of man. I don't believe we are naturally this or naturally that. I believe in our capacity to imagine new ways of being. To hope for what has not come before. I believe we can remain tough-minded - avoiding naivete - while working towards a paradise on earth. So look up. "The clouds are lifting - the sun is breaking through. We are coming out of the darkness into the light. We are coming into a new world. A kind new world where men will rise above their hate and brutality. The soul of man has been given wings - and at last he is beginning to fly. He is flying into the rainbow - into the light of hope - into the future, that glorious future that belongs to you, to me and to all of us. Look up. Look up."

Sudan's embargo

The United Nations set an arms embargo on Sudan in order to mitigate the murder of Darfurians. Yet, it seems Sudan has decided to ignore it. Read here, and here. What's worse is that the arms, and the helicopters transporting the arms, are being supplied by Russia and China. These states are members of the United Nations Security Council, a coaltion that is supposed to act as the world's police-force. They should know better. And they should start acting accordingly.

Kennedy's speech

On June 10 1963, John F. Kennedy spoke at the American University. At the time, the States were experiencing ever-increasing tensions with the Soviet Union, and it hadn't been a year since the Cuban Missile Crisis. Kennedy's hopes rested on a nuclear test ban treaty that would be signed by the Soviets and this speech was his clarion call.

Here is an excerpt - the most moving and evocative bit, in my opinion.

"Let us examine our attitude toward peace itself. Too many of us think it is impossible. Too many think it unreal. But that is a dangerous, defeatist belief. It leads to the conclusion that war is inevitable -- that mankind is doomed -- that we are gripped by forces we cannot control.

We need not accept that view. Our problems are manmade -- therefore, they can be solved by man. And man can be as big as he wants.* No problem of human destiny is beyond human beings. Man's reason and spirit have often solved the seemingly unsolvable -- and we believe they can do it again.

I am not referring to the absolute, infinite concept of universal peace and good will of which some fantasies and fanatics dream. I do not deny the value of hopes and dreams, but we merely invite discouragement and incredulity by making that our only and immediate goal.

Let us focus instead on a more practical, more attainable peace -- based not on a sudden revolution in human nature but on a gradual evolution in human institutions -- on a series of concrete actions and effective agreements which are in the interest of all concerned. There is no single, simple key to this peace -- no grand or magic formula to be adopted by one or two powers. Genuine peace must be the product of many nations, the sum of many acts. It must be dynamic, not static, changing to meet the challenge of each new generation. For peace is a process -- a way of solving problems."

*My italics

underneath it all

Here's an interesting article discussing new experiments on the subconscious.