Countering Polarization: A Key to Peacemaking

In concluding my book, I emphasize the need for changes in the cultural values of citizens around the world. These changes include truly independent judicial systems that are founded upon the universal values of compassion toward all others and actions that emphasize fairness and equality of opportunity to live a good life. This implies replacing the tribal-scale systems of honor with larger-scale trusted systems of justice organized at state, national, and global scales. It is the clan and tribal systems of honor that often lead to violence, torture of others, and nepotism. The foregoing considerations apply to peacemaking in the Middle East, in other third world nations, and in Western industrial nations, including America. Closed minds and tribal (small) scale commitments are found in all of these areas. Limited influence, power, and frustration at not knowing how to negotiate peaceably with ones oppressors and exploiters who are in power often lead to violent responses. Such responses are found in street gangs, rebellious outcasts from society with little hope in their future, regressive believers of orthodox religious and/or political beliefs, and the like.

Updating political and religious traditions to make them more relevant will not be easy. I believe that some kind of independent and trustworthy judicial hierarchy guided by universal moral principles is needed to provide checks and balances for the narrow perspectives that sometimes dominate religious, political and corporate organizations. Poorly educated leaders in third world countries mislead their people, especially those with little or no education. They mislead them to use religious justifications to support evil actions. Somewhat similar problems arise among Christian believers wherein clerics follow a selective literalist approach to theology, one that is often slanted by extremist political tactics.

When political perspectives domina