The other globalization

Catholic New Times, Jan 16, 2005 by Chris Mermuys

In his, "Solidarity across Borders" article (CNT, Nov. 21, 2004), Gregory Baum asked in discussing Samuel Huntington's book, The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order, "What are civilizations?" and then stated, "Civilizations, Huntington argues, refer to larger entities than cultures. Civilizations are constituted by values, norms, institutions, symbols and ways of thinking that include many cultures ..."

One of those visions comes from an old dictionary definition and the other is in reality an extension of Martin Luther King Jr.'s famous "I Have a Dream" speech.

The 1966 Webster's Third New International Dictionary definition of 'civilization' says "an ideal state of human culture characterized by complete absence of barbarism and nonrational behavior, optimum utilization of physical, cultural, spiritual and human resources, and perfect adjustment of the individual within the social framework." In context: "true civilization is an ideal to be striven for."

Martin Luther King Jr. stated "I have the audacity to believe that peoples everywhere can have three meals a day for their bodies, education and culture for their minds, and dignity, equality and freedom for their spirits."

Dwight Eisenhower, former president of the U.S. and a veteran of WWII who saw first-hand the horrors of war once said, "I like to believe that people in the long run are going to do more to promote peace than our governments. Indeed, I think that people want peace so much that one of these days governments had better get out of the way and let them have it."

The other globalization is humane and humanizing because it uses dialogue within cultures and between cultures as an integral part of "education and culture" for the minds and hearts of people who will not let governments stand in the way of people who want peace and plenty for all.

Chris Mermuys

Montague, P.E.I.