Talking to the Enemy:
Why is it, now that everything is connected at a global level, that people have become so narrow in their outlook? Surely the opposite was supposed to happen, that travel and open borders and universal access to information would produce a global culture and easy cooperation on shared problems and interests.
Yet everything seems to be constantly sub-dividing. The Republicans and the Democrats in the United States, after two hundred years of doing deals with each other, can only express their disdain and dislike for each other; with the Republicans breaking up into further factions amongst themselves whose obsessive differences are apparently more important than the national economy.
The Egyptians, one of the most coherent peoples on earth since prehistoric times, find the strength to get rid of a hated military dictatorship, only to fall apart over who should replace it. The Iraqis, the Afghans, the Syrian opposition, all show the same symptoms, and the Europeans aren't a lot better. Localised identity,
being with people we know and trust, distinguishing ourselves from others beyond the immediate horizon, comes before anything else.
The world is undoubtedly a freer place since the colonial era and the Cold War both came to an end. Every state is sovereign and independent, and in more of them than ever before the people have rights and a voice. That has to be a better world. But we all seem to have forgotten that individual freedom is part of a compromise. It is worth nothing unless it sits within a social structure and the rule of law. And that means doing deals when we disagree, not fighting.
Since the United Nations was founded in 1945, wars between states, of the kind that wrecked the first half of the 20th century, have become much rarer. But conflict within societies has increased, as though the next-door tribe has become the first enemy. Has the world stopped communicating at the local level? Northern Ireland is one place where the answer was, eventually, 'no, we need to talk'.
For a number of years some colleagues and I have been working with the harder edges of Palestinian and Israeli politics to try to open up channels of mutual understanding that might prevent the next Middle East war. We decided that the place to bring the protagonists to learn the story of why communicating is better than killing was Belfast. They have found it an eye-opener, the courage and determination it takes to set aside hatred and talk. President Obama is now attempting the same thing, against the odds, and against the natural instincts of many of his countrymen, with the Iranians on the nuclear issue and with the Russians over Syria. It's late and it's uncertain, but what a relief to see the effort made.
Freedom will disintegrate into disorder unless we make ourselves talk to the perceived enemy, just occasionally, when it matters most. A connected world cannot survive without that.
Sir Jeremy Greenstock - Thought for the Day, UN Day 2013, BBC Radio Ulster