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“To ignore evil is to become an accomplice to it”- Martin Luther King
“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing”- Edmund Burke
Photo:BROOKINGS: The rise of the right
"First they came for the communists, and I did not speak out - because I was not a communist;
Then they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out - because I was not a socialist;
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out - because I was not a trade unionist;
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out - because I was not a Jew;
Then they came for me - and there was no one left to speak out for me."- Martin Niemoller
Fascism is on the March Again: We Need Values-led and Progressive Education to Fight Back.
It is hard to imagine a more urgent moment for making education central to all we do, all we imagine, to build a better world.
‘In the aftermath of the Second World War, we told ourselves: “Never again.” Standing in the rubble of London and in the ashes of Hiroshima, we swore that we would not allow a conflict of this scale to proliferate again. The generation that had seen the rise of fascism and genocide, of dangerous nationalism and xenophobia, vowed that we would not stand by and do nothing in the face of the Hitlers and Mussolinis of the world…
Because the truth of the matter is that fascist, nationalist, and white supremacist power is growing in the West. Fueled by hatred of social progress…
Our defense against fascism now rests upon the edge of a knife, and it could fall into peace or into extremism. And if we are not careful—if we let down our guard and let ourselves think that this sort of rhetoric is normal—history will repeat itself.’-FORDHAM POLITICAL REVIEW, January 31, 2017
Photo: Will we ever learn?
Could we have had a better world, could we have been able to stop this tragic rise, if we had a values-led and principled education system, a fairer and more equitable economics and economy? These are my pertinent questions. Have I got answers to them? Perhaps. You will be the judge of that.
Education today, at all levels, mimics a business culture run by a managerial army of bureaucrats, non academics, drunk on market values, guided by cruel machinery of exploitation, racism, austerity and disposability, unleashed by neoliberalism, celebrating extreme individualism, feral competition, worshipping mammon, rat-race to a success that never it can deliver, fooling the foolish to vote against their own self interest, in the circus of elections.
Resisting and destroying fascism requires making education values-led and central to our lives. Enough is enough. We need real education!
N.B. I am prompted to write this piece after reading and reflecting carefully on the excellent article by Sadiq Khan in today’s Observer. I believe Khan is speaking for all of us, the humiliation that we all feel when our country is rolling the red carpet out for Trump, a man khan has likened to a 20th- century fascist.
‘History teaches us of the danger of being afraid to speak truth to power and the risk of failing to defend our values from the rise of the far right. At this challenging time in global politics, it’s more important than ever that we remember that lesson...In years to come, I suspect this state visit will be one we look back on with profound regret and acknowledge that we were on the wrong side of history.’- Sadiq Khan, mayor of London
It’s un-British to roll out the red carpet for Donald Trump
Sadiq Khan, The Observer, Sunday 2 June 2019
Photo:theguardian.com
‘Praising the “very fine people on both sides” when torch-wielding white supremacists and antisemites marched through the streets clashing with anti-racist campaigners. Threatening to veto a ban on the use of rape as a weapon of war. Setting an immigration policy that forcefully separates young children from their parents at the border. The deliberate use of xenophobia, racism and “otherness” as an electoral tactic. Introducing a travel ban to a number of predominately Muslim countries. Lying deliberately and repeatedly to the public.
No, these are not the actions of European dictators of the 1930s and 40s. Nor the military juntas of the 1970s and 80s. I’m not talking about Vladimir Putin or Kim Jong-un. These are the actions of the leader of our closest ally, the president of the United States of America. This is a man who tried to exploit Londoners’ fears following a horrific terrorist attack on our city, amplified the tweets of a British far-right racist group, denounced as fake news robust scientific evidence warning of the dangers of climate change, and is now trying to interfere shamelessly in the Conservative party leadership race by backing Boris Johnson because he believes it would enable him to gain an ally in Number 10 for his divisive agenda.
Donald Trump is just one of the most egregious examples of a growing global threat. The far right is on the rise around the world, threatening our hard-won rights and freedoms and the values that have defined our liberal, democratic societies for more than seventy years. Viktor Orbán in Hungary, Matteo Salvini in Italy, Marine Le Pen in France and Nigel Farage here in the UK are using the same divisive tropes of the fascists of the 20th century to garner support, but are using new sinister methods to deliver their message. And they are gaining ground and winning power and influence in places that would have been unthinkable just a few years ago.
They are intentionally pitting their own citizens against one another, regardless of the horrific impact in our communities. They are picking on minority groups and the marginalised to manufacture an enemy – and encouraging others to do the same. And they are constructing lies to stoke up fear and to attack the fundamental pillars of a healthy democracy – equality under the law, the freedom of the press and an independent justice system. Trump is seen as a figurehead of this global far-right movement. Through his words and actions, he has given comfort to far-right political leaders, and it’s no coincidence that his former campaign manager, Steve Bannon, has been touring the world, spreading hateful views and bolstering the far right wherever he goes.
That’s why it’s so un-British to be rolling out the red carpet this week for a formal state visit for a president whose divisive behaviour flies in the face of the ideals America was founded upon – equality, liberty and religious freedom.
There are some who argue that we should hold our noses and stomach the spectacle of honouring Trump in this fashion – including many Conservative politicians. They say we need to be realists and stroke his ego to maintain our economic and military relationship with the US. But at what point should we stop appeasing – and implicitly condoning – his far-right policies and views? Where do we draw the line?
Rather than bestowing Trump with a grand platform of acceptability to the world, we should be speaking out and saying that this behaviour is unacceptable – and that it poses a grave threat to the values and principles we have fought hard to defend – often together – for decades.
I am proud of our historic special relationship, which I’m certain will survive long after President Trump leaves office. The US is a country I love and have visited on many occasions. I still greatly admire the culture, the people and the principles articulated by the founding fathers. But America is like a best friend, and with a best friend you have a responsibility to be direct and honest when you believe they are making a mistake.
In years to come, I suspect this state visit will be one we look back on with profound regret and acknowledge that we were on the wrong side of history.
It’s too late to stop the red-carpet treatment, but it’s not too late for the prime minister to do the right thing. Theresa May should issue a powerful rejection – not of the US as a country or the office of the presidency, but of Trump and the far-right agenda he embodies. She should say that the citizens of the UK and the US agree on many things, but that Trump’s views are incompatible with British values.
History teaches us of the danger of being afraid to speak truth to power and the risk of failing to defend our values from the rise of the far right. At this challenging time in global politics, it’s more important than ever that we remember that lesson.’- Sadiq Khan, The Observer, Sunday 2 June 2019
See also:
'Two and a half years after Theresa May rushed to become the first world leader to meet the newly inaugurated President Trump in Washington, she has chosen to make a state visit that should not be taking place the final act of her premiership. While the prime minister’s poor political judgment and obstinacy have been hallmarks of her three years in office, the spectacle of the next three days will make a particularly awful ending. Mr Trump is only the third US president ever to be honoured with a state visit, the others being George W Bush and Barack Obama. Inviting him in the first place was a crass error. Following through in the midst of the UK’s current political crisis is an act of gross irresponsibility...' The Guardian view on Trump’s state visit: the president is not welcome
Donald Trump, Brexit, and the Rise of New Fascism
And now reverting to my questions noted above:
Could we have had a better world, could we have been able to stop this tragic rise, if we had a values-led and principled education system, a fairer and more equitable economics and economy? These are my pertinent questions. Have I got answers to them? Perhaps. You will be the judge of that.
There are, I suppose, many reasons for this tragedy visiting us again. However, as a long standing academician, concerned with education and economics, I am going to identify two of the main reasons that to my mind have played a crucial role:
1- The values/ moral/ ethical/ spiritual-less education system;
2- The values/ moral/ ethical/ spiritual-less economics and economy.
To stop the rise of fascism and indeed, to destroy it, We Must Make The World Great Again.
HOW?
Photo: maestrobytumlare.com
To reverse the damage already inflicted, stop and destroy the rise of fascism, we need a new story of what it is to be a human in the 21st century and to reclaim our humanity for the good of all creation.
Lest we forget, it is crucial for educators to remember that we live at a time when the language of democracy has been pillaged, stripped of its promises and hopes. If fascism is to be defeated, there is a need to make education the guiding principle of what we are, who we are. In part, this can be done with a language that exposes and unravels falsehoods, systems of oppression and corrupt relations of power while making clear that an alternative future is possible. In short, our language, words and actions are a powerful tool in the search for truth and the condemnation of falsehoods and injustices.
'We live in a world with many complex problems, at all levels, local, regional and global. It is said that education is the key that opens the door to a more harmonious world.
The pertinent question is: What kind of education and learning would help us address these challenges and create a sustainable world and a better life for all?
T.S. Eliot posed the question: "Where is the Life we have lost in living? Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge? Where is the knowledge we have lost in information?"
Reflecting on the questions above, we are going to need an education system that respects planetary boundaries, that recognises the dependence of human well-being on social relations and fairness, and that the ultimate goal is human well-being and ecological sustainability, not merely growth of material consumption.
The new education model recognises that the economy is embedded in a society and culture that are themselves embedded in an ecological life-support system, and that the economy can't grow forever on this finite planet.
In short, we need to listen to our hearts, re-learn what we think we know, and encourage our children to think and behave differently, to live more in synch with Nature.
If we do this successfully we can become wiser as a species, more “eco-logical.” We and the planet that gave birth to us can be happier and healthier, healed and transformed.'...
Brexit, Trump and the failure of our universities to pursue wisdom
The Journey to Sophia: Education for Wisdom
Calling all academic economists: What are you teaching your students?
To build a better world we need to be guided by values, other than money, money and more money.
“Values represent our guiding principles: our broadest motivations, influencing the attitudes we hold and how we act.”
As it has been observed throughout history, in action and thought, people are affected by a wide range of influences. Past experience, cultural and social norms are some of the most important ones. Connected to all of these, to some extent, are our values, which represent a strong guiding force, shaping our attitudes and behaviour over the course of our lives. Our values have been shown to influence our political persuasions; our willingness to participate in political action; our career choices; our ecological footprints; how much money we spend, and on what; and our feelings of personal wellbeing, contentment and happiness; as well as our relationship with others, with nature and Mother Earth, to mention but a few.
The Value of Values: Why Values Matter
Mr Trump, we are not what we earn!
And finally, if we are true to ourselves, if we truly wish to reform this horrible economic system, that has brought us the bitter harvest of fascism, then, there is only one option:
All we do has to be for the common good. Our economy must become just, and all our actions should be taken in the interest of the common good. No ifs or buts, if we are truly serious and honest.
How may we achieve that?
What might an Economy for the Common Good look like?
My Economics and Business Educators’ Oath: My Promise to My Students
So there you have it: fascism, populism now sweeping Europe, the US, and the rest of the world. These are the beasts of our own creation and of our own failures. Only us, the people, can reverse this trend, before our world is engulfed in global wars again.
The time is now for a radical departure from our recent troubled past. Let us seize this opportunity and stand side by side to build a better, kinder, and a more gentle world for the good of all. Let make the world great again. Carpe Diem!
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Todi, an original watercolour painting on hand made paper by Alan Reed. alanreed.com
Cortona Week in Todi 2019
A programme to foster a new class of world leaders
An inspiring interdisciplinary week in the heart of Italian Renaissance
An immersion in the complexity of today's world
‘The week in Todi (22-29 June 2019) is the sequel of the Cortona Week, an interdisciplinary residence where graduate students and young managers from all over the world and from all disciplines are “mixed” (in addition to several critical scientists) , with artists, musicians, spiritual leaders, poets, professionals in medicine and psychology, politicians.
We work together in round table discussions, lectures and experiential workshops, where the participants can, for instance, paint, do sculpture or music, meditation, theatre choosing by themselves which aspects of life are more important for their own equilibrium.
The aim, with the help of world-renowned professionals and visionaries, is to open up the horizon of the participants to the values of ecology, ethics, tolerance, internal introspection as well as the actual new frontiers of science, literature, art, economics — the full display of human experience — where life becomes a system view of interacting parts, and not an addition of single isolated domains.
We devote ourselves to this task with the cognition that such a holistic, systemic thinking is generally not provided by our common academic institutions — which form optimised specialists in only one discipline –, and noticing, as a consequence, that the problems of our world cannot be solved or even tackled by only one discipline at a time.
The final, ideal aim of Cortona Week is to forge and catalyze a new class of world leaders — a thing of the utmost necessity for our world today; and to reinforce ethics and human dignity in an environment which presently entails the danger of becoming foreign or even hostile to us.’
SCIENTIFIC DIRECTION: Pier Luigi Luisi, Prof. Emeritus ETH Zurich
Prof. Pier Luigi Luisi
Professor Emeritus at the ETHZ (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology), a professor of biochemistry and a leading authority on the origin of life (cells), prebiotic chemistry, and synthetic biology, and a pioneer of a "systems view of life" which involves thinking of cells as integrated automated information-based biochemical entities. In 1985 he founded Cortona Week, the legacy to the Todi-Week (devoted to the interdisciplinarity of science and humanities). Prof. Pier Luigi Luisi, Professional Profile
ADVISORY BOARD: Fritjof Capra, Physicist and Author, Berkeley, USA; Michel Bitbol, Philosopher, Paris, France; brother David Steindl-Rast, Benedictine Monk, Ithaca, USA; Renuka Singh, Professor of Sociology, New Delhi, India; David Lorimer, Pres. Medical network, Aberdeen, UK; Wittfrida Mitterer, bio-architecture, Professor at LUMSA and Innsbruck university, Jorg Rasche, psychotherapist, Berlin, Germany, Kamran Mofid, Founder, Globalisation for the Common Good Initiative (GCGI),UK.
Cortona Week in Todi, 22-29 June 2019 – Being Human in a Technological World
The Location – Todi: the ideal city in the heart of Italy
Photo:smartraveltoitaly.com
“Todi is the best man could desire on Earth: the hilly microclimate is ideal, precipitation is adequate, humidity is low, temperature acceptable. Its size is also ideal: Todi is not too small, nor does it suffer from overgrowth. What is more, the relationship with the surrounding area, particularly farmland, is exemplary”
According to the legend, Todi was founded by Hercules in the far 1330 BC and went under the name Eclis. More ascertained and reliable sources situate the foundation of the historical city in the 8th-7th century BC and attribute it to the ancient Umbri, that had been already populating the central and mountainous spine of Italy for more than a millennium. Since marking the border between them and the Etruscans, the Umbri strategically decided to perch it on a hilltop overlooking one of the banks of the Tiber river, flowing all the way to Rome. Annexed to the Etruscan kingdom first and then Romanized, later it came to be Byzantine together with few other strategic centers of the area. After a period of dormancy in the early Middle Ages, Todi flourished again as an independent town, excelling in the arts of ceramics, jewelry and marquetry. Of these prosperous times, the city saves the traces in its corners, palaces, churches, like as if borne to us frozen within its walls.
Sitting on a hill, the city shows its slight detachment and, at the same time, its bonds with the farming fields stretching at its feet; it represents an urban utopia: Richard S. Levine, a professor of architecture at the University of Kentucky and pioneer of sustainability, chose Todi as the model sustainable city, because of its scale and its ability to reinvent itself over time. After that, the Italian press reported on Todi as the world’s most livable city. Professor Levine concludes after a thorough study on Sustainable Cities. Discover more about Todi
Conference venue: Hotel Bramante
Hotel Bramante is the former Franciscan monastery of Santa Margherita, a 12th-century building that has been restored as a hotel maintaining its original stone walls, terracotta floors and rooms derived from the nuns’ cells. Only a few steps away from one of the most famous monuments of Todi, Donato Bramante’s Tempio della Consolazione, the hotel is located in the upper part of the city, overlooking the valley and surrounded by a breathtaking scenery...See more about Hotel Bramante
In Search of the Light to Build a Better World
At Todi we will continue our journey of Hope. A journey which is about many things. It is about challenging the norm. It is about volunteerism and service. It is about serving our communities, our world, and caring for our planet, our home. It is about finding out more about ourselves than we ever imagined possible. It is about having a dream. It is about a mission and our vocation in life. It is about believing in our journey and stories.
‘It is hope that can give meaning to life and which will give us the courage to continue on our way into the future together.’
And this is why Todi-Week 2019, similar to previous gatherings in Todi and Cortona before that, offers a journey of hope to all those dreaming for a better world, a world of wisdom and beauty, peace and justice, fairness and kindness, trust and ethics, caring for our Sacred Earth and Mother Nature.
GCGI is proud to cooperate closely with Todi-Week. It is thus, my pleasure to ask all our friends to consider joining us at Todi. Let us march together, taking action in the interest of the common good, to design and construct a better world that we are all yearning for.
Registration deadline has been extended. A few places are still available. Due to a recent grant, there are possibilities of scholarship, reducing the overall cost of attendance. See the link below and contact the Conference Secretariat for more and latest details: REGISTRATIONS
So there you have it. Going to Todi with the hope of co-creating a better world together. Hope to see you there.
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Life can be tough at times. I know that life can knock us into the dirt. But, I also know that life can be joyous, worthwhile and rewarding if we knew how! Let us see what our three centenarians can offer us on how to take this journey we call life.
Photo: holidaytouch.com
Today, Monday, 27 May, is a public holiday in Britain. As usual I came down at dawn. Wow! What a beautiful day. Birds had got up before me. They were singing their heads off. The Sun was rising and the sky was full of beautiful colours. I put the kettle on and made my tea. Went to the garden and watered our beautiful roses. And then, turned the computer on. I usually get some lovely and inspiring emails from my friends all over the world. Today was no exception. A very dear friend from California had sent me a very nice video about the incredible life journey of three remarkable centenarians.
Whilst having my tea, I began to watch. It was wonderful. It made me laugh, it made me cry. It reinforced me to think, reflect, wonder and ponder, about this journey we call life.
You know, I love stories. I love to hear stories and I love to tell stories. So, I very much love to share their stories with you. Please make time today and watch it. You will be happier for it.
Then, I want to share a few further relevant stories with you. You will see them at the end of this page. I very much wish that you will enjoy them too. So, there you have it. First, the video:
‘Life Lessons From 100-Year-Olds’
‘We asked three centenarians what their most valuable life lessons were, and also their regrets.
The conversations that followed were remarkable. They talked about the importance of family, people, relationships and love. Their view on life, as an elderly citizen with a lot of experience is truly an inspiration and motivation.’
‘Age is just a number, and this is clearly evident in the lives of the three centenarians interviewed in the LifeHunters video below. Each has his or her own story — Clifford Crozier, born in 1915; Emilia Tereza Harper, born in 1913; and John Millington Denerley, born in 1914 — but you'll notice a certain "je ne sais quoi" that they all seem to share.
Positivity and strength are certainly apparent, along with a will to live and a continued interest in and curiosity about the world around them.
Even as times changed, these people kept on living, adapting to and welcoming the new phases of their lives. It's this fortitude and emotional resilience that has likely played a major role in their longevity.’
Check out this incredible video where they share what they’ve learned, what they regret, and their advice for a long, happy life.
Watch it and enjoy it. Truly remarkable.
Hope you enjoyed watching the video. And now, a bit of follow up from me:
In these troubled times let us be ordinary and enjoy the simple pleasures of life
The secret to happiness? Contentment!
The Gift of Retirement is 'A New Lease of Life': A View from Morocco and Lebanon
Composing a New Life: In Praise of Wisdom
And finally, a reflection from the beautiful Island of Crete, Greece.
My wife and spent a most beautiful month in Greece in April and May. First, a week in Athens, and then, three wonderful weeks at our Hapimag Resort in Damnoni, Crete. We were also blessed further, when, our younger son, daughter-in-law and grand daughter joined us too. What a blissful times we all had in Crete.
Whilst in Crete, I sent three emails to my GCGI friends and colleagues, reflecting on my time and feelings there. I received many heartwarming replies. Therefore, in conclusion, as they also reflect well on the gems we heard from the centenarians in the video, I have copied those emails below for your reflections too:
Hello from Crete and small, simple pleasures of life (1st email, 5 May 2019, at 5.33AM)
Dear Friends,
Greetings and love from the very beautiful and lovely Island of Crete, Greece. In the last week or so Annie and I have been traveling in Athens and a couple of days ago arrived here in Crete. Very beautiful, warm and blue skies and calm seas.
Whilst travelling, I picked up, once again, a fascinating book I have been reading. I cannot put it down! I want to read it again and again. And knowing me, I cannot settle until I have shared it with you.
Given the short term tenure of life, and the littleness of human existence, why is it that we spend so much time and effort on things that are not really important?
Our collective model of a good life tends to focus exclusively on material side of our existence, whilst ignoring the more important side, namely, the spiritual aspect of our being.
The biggest tasks of civilisation is to teach us how to better enjoy this journey we call life and this is why the book I am reading again and again- Small Pleasures- so beautifully fulfills that function.
Please click on the link below, go to the bottom of the page and see more about this book. Get the book and read it. You will not be disappointed, believe me.
Love,
Kamran
Up at Dawn (2nd email, 14 May 2019, at 4.12AM)
Dear Friends,
Greetings and love from the loveliest Island of Crete.
You know, about 20 years or so ago going through some challenging times in my life, a loving friend, a wise teacher, encouraged me to get up early in the morning, at dawn, just before the sunrise. He told me Kamran, you will see a different world, a better world, a kinder world, a healing world, at that time of the morning.
You will see the clouds dancing, the birds singing, the sky changing. You will see the dawn of a better life.
WoW! How wise and correct my loving, wise friend has been, I must say.
I have been getting up everyday at 5am, doesn’t matter where I am in the world. And I have never looked back.
Today sitting in the balcony of our apartment here in Crete, surrounded by the most beautiful sea and mountains, waiting for the sunrise, listening to the birds, watching the light clouds dancing, I thought it makes me even happier sharing these feelings with you. See the link below, a chapter from my favourite book, Small Pleasures.
As ever,
Kamran
https://www.theschooloflife.com/thebookoflife/up-at-dawn/
On Sunday Mornings (3rd email, 19 May 2019, at 6.22AM)
Dear Friends,
Greetings and blessings to you all from Crete on this beautiful Sunday morning.
I don’t know about you, but, I, for one, am so much yearning for the Sundays we used to have in Britain, which very sadly we have lost.
You know, being from Britain, the land of 24 hours shopping, where everything it seems is about monetary values, shop til you drop, production and consumption, trade and such likes, I thought its the same here, in Crete too. But what a shock I had!
Last Sunday we needed a few items, this and that. Off I went to the nearest small town. But everywhere was closed, like it was in Britain all those decades ago.
I saw families going to church. I saw families going to the seaside. I saw the baker and his wife, their children and grandchildren having a picnic together. The sound of their laughter was so joyous to hear. They were all having a blissful day.
I can remember what it was like all those years ago in Britain. After my marriage to Annie in 1974, and becoming part of my new English family, we, too, had all those lovely moments, going to church, meeting family and friends, grandparents, grandchildren, aunties, uncles, cousins, nieces and nephews. Going to our local, a pint or two, here and there, playing a bit of dominos, and then, Sunday roast with all the trimmings. Good times to be had by all. Those beautiful and blissful Sundays.
These days, Sundays are not the same as before. They are another day, like the previous 6 days before it.
Horrible, Godless, spirit less, right wing, neoliberals, with no humanity, wisdom or principles, started to mess up with God’s day in the 1980s. They said, Sunday must become an economic day, people going to shopping malls, eating Big Macs and Burger King, with litres of fizzy drinks. This, they told the nation, is good for them and the economy!! Making us all great again!!
A crucial part of the pleasure of Sunday morning is our awareness that it’s a distinct, unusual time. I hope, one day, once again, we may be able to feel that pleasure again.
Please look at the link below, a beautiful reflection on Sunday mornings, a chapter from Small Pleasures:
https://www.theschooloflife.com/thebookoflife/on-sunday-mornings/
And then please see still the link below, on how we may be able to regain the joy of Sundays once again:
https://www.gcgi.info/blog/712-sundays-making-them-special-again
Yours,
Kamran
PS: Today, this Sunday, I am very happy. Annie and I have our younger son, daughter in law and grand daughter with us. I don’t need to go for last minute shopping. We are preparing breakfast and then a lovely lunch later. The sunrise is stunning.The blue skies and the calm seas very inviting,...What more can I say, but, thanking God for all his blessings on this Sunday morning.
Photo:flickr.com
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- The secret to happiness? Contentment!
- The scar on the conscience of Britain: The neglect of its children, youth, students and more
- Like Coventry Cathedral Notre Dame will also rise again
- Celebrating the life of William Stanley Merwin, poet of nature, a lifetime worker for peace and social Justice (September 30, 1927 – March 15, 2019)