Mariola Grobelska/Unsplash
- Universality is a necessary ethical position. It is the only approach that paves the way for gaining a proper understanding of what it means to be human and the global issues we face. It also encourages acknowledgment of an “other”, thus, creating an alternative – one that is genuine and can be put into effect – to discrimination, prejudice, stereotypes, and ultimately, racism. These two elements, the universal and the individual, also open up the possibility of equal relationships. Individually, a human being is as important as the human race itself; it is also as important as any other human being. Knowing that this equality is possible is the start of a process of making it happen, but, more importantly, it provides a meaningful and constructive basis for sharing positions. And everyone is happy!
- Peace is a necessary practical position. It is not a matter of building it – that comes with putting it into use – so much as living it, as peace is also something we feel so that we can understand and explain it, measure it, apply practical tools that allow it into our personal and social life, as well as using political participation, to which everyone has a right, for example, to create peace by means of public policy. And the world has a future.
- Once the universal nature of being human and the idea of peace being both a precondition and an outcome of all successful forms of harmonious human cohabitation and cooperation have been raised, it is easy to broach questions relating to identity and establishing positions. A world where everyone has the right to live and to live well!
- Identity needs to be worked on, given shape, and managed based on knowledge and learning, but also in light of choices and circumstances. Identity is, above all, an ethical and introspective matter: self-care and self-awareness are things we have to work on, along with maintaining and understanding healthy relationships. But there is also a social aspect to identity: our social environment and the times we live in influence our choices and habits, and sometimes our reflexes and instincts too. But we can also influence our cultures, the circles we move in, and our futures, partly through the way in which we manage our personal, social, and political identities. A world in which everyone is involved!
- Establishing a position is first and foremost a matter of choice. Choices with no ethical basis are all about gain and are rarely sustainable. Choices based on fundamental values are usually easier to share. Non-violence and prevention are more than enough to provide a basis of conscience or “guide values” for making these choices and playing a part in developing attitudes and behavior. Dialog – inclusive dialog between equals – or, if necessary, mediation and reconciliation, create the spaces needed for choices and practices to be expressed, but they also allow attitudes to be managed if the effects they generate go against the principles of universality, equality, well-being, and peace. A world where everyone contributes to the common good!
- On a planet with limited space and resources, any relationship is, in part, universal and if any disagreements threaten to emerge, the relationship needs to continue and progress on every level until harmony is mutually restored, if necessary through adapting identities and changing positions.
