Peace

Political violence has flared ahead of May 26 Lesotho elections, but Archbishop Desmond Tutu urges candidates to keep the peace and respect election results.

MASERU, Lesotho – Archbishop Desmond Tutu, the legendary anti-Apartheid activist and Nobel laureate, is officially retired from public life.

After listening to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on his recent swing though the United States I can only assume that Bibi just doesn't realize it's 2011.  How else to explain his repeated comments, including his insulting dressing down of President Barack Obama at the White House, explaining why Israel cannot return to their 1967 borders because Israel would then lack the “strategic depth” to defend itself.  Strategic depth?  Why?

This past January, I wrote a post asking whether perhaps it was time for the creation of the position of Secretary of Humanity. This question stemmed from my reading of “The Descent” by Gina Berriault. Out of that post came a lively discussion of who might be a good candidate for this position.

At what point in a revolutionary moment do you put down the drums and take up the guns? It used to be that I was a stubborn advocate of total pacifism and non-violence. Over the past few years, however, I have shifted—very slowly—from that position. The sounds of gunfire and the sight of unarmed protesters scurrying for their lives in Tahrir Square in Cairo last night have once again given me pause.

Just like fellow blogger Ather Zia, my exuberance in responding to the call to share with readers the story I will be keenly watching in 2011 exceeded space allowances. I take this time, then, to build on my thoughts concerning Wikileaks and Julian Assange, and share the other individuals whom I will be watching this year.

A few years back I found myself sifting through books at the Powell’s satellite store in the Portland International Airport. In search of some good in-flight reading, I stumbled upon Gina Berriault’s The Descent. Its yellowed and frayed pages called out to me from the pile of books on the cart. This copy had obviously seen better days, with its pages beginning to pull away from the binding. This, for me, was a sign it was sure to be a good book.

My first thought when I think about feeling peace goes to a time walking around the Dal Lake (Dal means a lake in Kashmiri language). A young girl sauntering around this simply named rippling swathe of water, looking at the silent shikaras (wooden boats) glide in a mute distance, the sun going down - hushing everyone, I would savor the peace that I thought existed around me. The silence and the whispers hung like molasses in the air, as I watched the saffron sky, blue mountains, and the sparkling water enter into a pact of darkness. Turned out, this idyllic time was an illusion (as all life is I agree).

Long before I ever dreamed of traveling to Asia, let alone living there, I was a West Wing fan. Ok, perhaps I was a super-fan. I had my favorite characters and favorite episodes. I mean, how could you not like a show with Allison Janney, Bradley Whitford and Dulé Hill? It is quite possible that my watching this show during my “impressionable years” is the reason for my current addiction to politics and international affairs. So, thank you Aaron Sorkin?