By Francis C. W. Fung, PH.D.
"Freedom, Democracy and Harmony are three ancient universal
human ideals that belong to the world and not to any one single
nation. They are not entirely independent but intimately related.
As a matter of fact, there exist fascinating relations among them
that warrant immediate global study. Some may wonder why freedom
and democracy have been so widely promoted during the last 400
years of human history, while harmony was barely noted on the world
stage."
"In fact, Freedom and Democracy have been the most successfully
used tools to promote international diplomacy in the 20th Century.
Harmony, as a great unifying force in the on rush of globalization,
has now come of age. Harmony is mankind's greatest common value.
The conflicted world of today urgently calls for international
democracy through the practice of harmony diplomacy."
"Nature imbues us with the instinctive knowledge that we are
born free. The mountains, the wind and the lions are born free, not
to mention any other of the myriad animals that remain free until
captured. Despite being born free, powerful groups desperately
yearn to enslave us. More than 2500 years ago the most ancient
cultures scattered about different continents prohibited slavery
seeing it as hideous. The institutionalized slave trade was most
egregiously practiced in the new world until the American civil war
put an end to it."
"Immediately following 9/11, George W. Bush conveniently thrust
freedom centre stage to rally Americans with the resounding cry.
The logic was that the terrorists hate our freedom and they are
intent on taking it away. To be fair, American democracy as put
forth by our forefathers, guarantees each citizen freedom from
undue infringement through law and order. Freedom as an ideal is
politically neutral, neither good nor bad.However, modern democracy
is designed to prevent minority individuals from exceeding their
rights granted by freedom."
"Bush's call for freedom diplomacy after 9/11 is neither
necessary nor appropriate. Terrorists have not been empowered to
take away our freedom, but the resulting regulation to
counter-terrorism has. As warned by President Eisenhower, the
military complex created by war may seriously threaten our
democracy and hence our individual freedom. The greatest threat to
our freedom today is our enslavement to the military and the
industrial complex through their hijacking of
democracy."?????
"Since time immemorial, the protection of human rights has
occupied our consciousness. The fear of the all mighty unknown that
sparked religious teaching was likely the catalyst for this type of
thought. Teaching morals and common values developed along with
harmony while democracy followed behind. Democratic systems as a
means to guarantee individual rights and freedoms reached new
heights when the American Declaration of Independence and Bill of
Rights were signed, giving way to the system of laws being enacted.
Western diplomacy spread far and wide and profoundly changed the
world during the 20th century."
"Democracy, in different forms, has now become a generally
accepted governance system. Democracy grows best in the fertile
soil of each individual nation without outside interference or
occupation. American chastisement of other nations only offends
their dignity. Many developing nations, after years of domination
by imperialism, have nothing to cling to other than the very
dignity being spoken of."
"Democracy is also no longer an import export item, as pointed
out by Ban Ke-moon, the current Secretary General of the U.N. Due
to the debacle of the US occupation of Iraq, democracy as an
instrument of foreign policy has lost its luster and appeal.
Diplomacy works best in these conflicted times when harmony
principles are employed. Harmony diplomacy is a win-win, no-fault
conflict resolution approach. It is time to minimize confrontations
in today's conflicted world by using harmony diplomacy. It
certainly is worth a try. Mutual win-win development can be more
economically viable than war. We have spent close to 400 billion
dollars on the Iraq war, fast approaching our expenditure on the
Vietnam War, with no end in sight."
"When unity is needed human beings have proven quite capable.
International unity can be reached only through international
democracy, not unilateralism. International democracy will be the
end result of major nations practicing harmony diplomacy. In her
recent book "The Mighty and the Almighty" Madeleine Albright
suggested that world harmony is the end goal of a more peaceful
world."
"As noble as any religion may be, faith diplomacy has fallen
short of uniting the world in harmony evidenced by the countless
tragic faith-based wars of the past as well as the current conflict
between the West and the Muslim world. Religions as we know them
today all expect blind faith and acceptance of ethnocentric
almighty images, quite often unique to a specific culture."
"Harmony's premise is tolerance, acceptance and respect for
other cultures. It is all embracing, endearing and enduring. It
neither dictates blind faith nor does it force acceptance of an
institutionalized and ethnocentric image of the almighty. No
particular personal attachment to the almighty is prescribed
either. Personal attachment to the almighty is a double-edged
sword. It draws those with faith closer, while alienating those
without."
"Harmony is discovered through observation of nature as
discussed in my other papers. It is nature's preferred way of
propagation. Nature is all embracing and human beings are very much
part of nature. It is possible to believe in as wide a universe as
one chooses without adhering to blind faith. Our very survival and
sustainable development is now urgently dependent on our harmonious
relationship with nature. We deny our very existence by not working
to improve our threatened ecology. Most of us agree about the
vision of world harmony and international democracy. We can all
participate in the harmony movement by speaking and practicing
harmony diplomacy in all facets of our daily lives. We can practice
goodness for goodness sake without preaching religion. Why use
faith diplomacy, an indirect approach, when the direct approach,
harmony diplomacy, is readily available? Harmony's resonance is
growing and propagating. The Harmony Renaissance is the unavoidable
tide. It is time to reawaken our innate human desire for harmony
and to begin urging others to recognize the value of this noble
ideal."
"The basic idea of world harmony is in common with all popular
theories of world governance. It hopes to build a more
understanding world through tolerance, respect, equity and
acceptance of diverse cultures and governance systems as destiny
for all mankind."?????
"Through harmony diplomacy major nations will support a stronger
UN. A more democratic world will advocate the solution of world
conflicts through consultation and harmony consensus. Unilateralism
is to be rejected and peaceful resolution will replace war and
violence. Harmony diplomacy will be the foundation of lasting
peace. Without harmony peace will not last."
"In the pursuit of world harmony it is important to narrow the
gap of the North-South/rich-poor disparity through win-win mutual
development. This will create a world with a level playing field,
which will enable the citizens of the world to enjoy all of the
achievements of our great societies."
"In the democratization of international relations, just and
equitable international political and economic orders can be
established through dialogue, negotiation and reaching consensus.
The end result of international democracy will release a new wave
of world creative energy. Human accomplishments can thus reach a
new height of development beyond European Renaissance."
"The Order of Nature is Harmony and Harmony is the Order of
Nature. A harmony world is essential to save our ecology. To rally
major nations to commit to a cleaner and better environment,
harmony diplomacy must advocate a common ecology consensus. Central
to harmony diplomacy consensus is built in awareness to curb global
insatiable appetite for consumption. Continuation of current trend
is not sustainable. Without harmony consensus, the resulting
catastrophic global fight for resources will be more immediate than
the effect of climate change. It is time for all to advocate less
confrontational harmony diplomacy."
(Xinhua News Agency May 23, 2007)
