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WORLD CITIZEN LETTER: 536
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WCL 536 October 2006
A 16th century world citizen
United World (Campaign for Democratic World Government News & Views) a lively periodical which is ably edited by Gary Shepherd in Illinois prints the following words on the cover of
its latest issue:
Let the lover of discord, and the promoters of bloodshed between nations divided only by a name and a channel, rather reflect that this world, the whole of this planet called Earth, is the common countryof all who live and breathe upon it ... and let them also remember that all men, however distinguished by political or accidental causes, are sprung from the same parents."
(To see more, visit the website www.cdwg.org)
The man who in 1521 wrote that passage was one of the greatest humanist scholars of the Renaissance, the last time that the whole of Europe was (more or less) conscious of the unity of the whole. Born illegitimate, but accepted into the Church, he became one of the greatest scholars of his time, a moderate man who had friends in all parts of Europe. Born in the Low Countries, then a cockpit of quarrelling religious sects, he remained on good terms with other scholars on both sides of the divided groups.
Erasmus strove to maintain a unity in religion at a time when it was still a vital part of European civilization and every nation. The use of a universal language, Latin, by scholars and diplomats, made it seem possible that men of good will could surmount their differences, but such hopes proved delusory. Despite his efforts and those of others minded to preserve their humanity and peace, Europe was being bitterly divided into warring factions. Civil wars and religious divisions brought Europe to its worst depth at a time when the sudden advance of learning and science was producing great progress but enormous tensions. The existing social fault-lines led to war after war and that process was continued for the next four centuries until they finally concluded with two global conflicts.
Erasmus, like any good world citizen, offered sensible and even essential advice to his times; he was largely ignored and we can see the results. There have been enough of his successors in the 20th century - H G Wells,Albert Einstein, Yehudi Menuhin, the Dalai Lama - amongst others as famous. So far our world has not been listening and having destroyed large parts of Europe, China and Japan we have followed that up with preparations for the biggest war of all - one capable of destroying our entire world. Why?
There are a few cardinal reasons: lack of world law, the export of weapons, national governmental policies driven by fear or greed, but worst of all is the failure to accept that we are all one family and that we shall live or die together In short, failure to appreciate that we are all world citizens and must live as such and recognise our responsibilities. Nothing less will suffice but who is trying seriously to save us from catastrophe?
John Roberts
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