World Politics Today

When we think about Leaders, we generally tend to think about those who grace or occupy the world stage. Historically, Lincoln, Washington, Ghandi, Martin Luther King, Churchill, Stalin, Nelson Mandela come to mind but there are many. Some political, some religious, some social, some in the world of sports and in the world of literature, music and art.

There are those who present themselves to the public to be chosen to lead. At present, we have, perhaps the world’s best example of that process being acted out on the American Stage. America is presented with choice of future President. Will it be Hillary Clinton, John McCain, Barak Obhama or Mike Huckabee who will be the beneficiary of their preferences? It is an enormously onerous duty and responsibility they bear in making this choice because, of course, it effects not only the United States but it will also impact significantly on the rest of the world.

The “rest of the world”, does not have a vote in the process. One might ask, if the person selected for the position of President of the United States, will be cast in the role of Leader of the Free World, then perhaps consideration ought to be given, at some future date, to allow those countries outside of the United States, who will, or maybe, affected by the result of the election, some way of exercising or expressing their preferences in the choice of President.

Of course, one can anticipate the contrary argument. Why should countries or persons outside the jurisdiction of the United States or any other sovereign state, have the right to exerise a vote in internal elections? In perhaps all other countries, the Prime Ministers or Presidents do not normally purport to have a right to dictate how other countries behave. Such has been the position with the U S, and I hastily add, often at the behest of countries in Europe and elsewhere. Many countries have, in time of war or economic crisis, requested or imposed on the US to come to the rescue.

Whatever the reasons, we are faced with a defacto recognition of its perceived status. In those circumstances, what are the characteristics now being sought in the candidates? What are the attributes that shape and inform those candidates? Leaving aside the fact that each and all of them will play to the particular audiences they meet in their thousands as they plead for support, what are the real values that drive and sustain them as persons? Where and how do they display their courage and how is it measured? How is their commitment to honesty portrayed? Outside of claiming to the omniscient in all things political, how do they demonstrate their capacity to be truly understanding of the human condition and offer wise counsel in dealing with complex situations.

Leaving aside the wonderful rhetoric and lyricism of the speech writers, where is the demonstration and evidence of capacity to deal only with truth?

Last year I divided my World Predictions for 2007 into parts or areas. This year I want to mention that at the world level many of these parts or areas overlap. I will use the same areas but will leave out the Internet and Religion as separate areas.

WORLD POLITICS:

PETROLEUM will continue to dominate the WORLD - strategically, commercially, politically, militarily, and environmentally. Petroleum is the major economic lever of the very powerful planners of the new world order - and again the major contributor to the top three problems of the world - as it has been since the beginnings of the cold war - 1) environmental degradation 2) geopolitical antagonism 3) war. Again people - led by a more focused media - will talk about it, but the paralysis of a petroleum controlled political network will offer almost no help. In fact the political machinery on both sides of the aisle in the USA and around the world will continue to evade, ignore and minimize their responsibility or ability at every turn.

Why? Money and Power. Most major politicians owe their funding to the interlocking corporate concerns with oil at the apex. The manipulators of Big Oil also have the power to influence major economic trends, hence policy-making, hence political or real assassinations. Actually, the acknowledgment of Al Gore’s messages on Global Warming is welcomed by Big Oil and most of the power structure. There are several reasons for this.

1) Global warming can be labeled as “our primary concern” - while the other concerns like war and its huge costs can be better hidden and ignored. And Global Warming is gradual and can’t be fully reversed now no matter what is done for decades. Whereas, wars over petroleum fields and shipping lanes can and should be eliminated within 3-4 years, as solar, wind and hydrogen should be hurried along, but are not.

2) All nations - Russia and the USA - as well as any first-world or emerging nations can only fund their programs with an economy. At present the major economies

By Arthur L Browning

With the beginning of twenty century, especially after the first world war, occurred fundamental change in international system, and dominant order based on Euro-center to be exchanged for new America-center order. This new order didn’t endure more than tow decade, and through other war America became a global super power. this super power beside the hard power (military and economy) considered soft power, for instance, culture, mass media, public opinion, human rights, humanitarian aids, even scholarships). This research will prove that soft power despite having great and powerful army and greater economy has had very important significant role in foreign policy of America. Therefore, American leaders, in some period, forgot the role of this power.

But policy-makers and experts of this country considered it again. Of course, with analyzing and examining changes and continuity of the foreign policy of the USA and its historical directions, role of soft power completely will reveal. I should mention that this research will focus on period of Bill Clinton and George W. Bush (1992-2006). Proclaims of this research is that soft power has had/ will have key and main role in the foreign policy of America. This type of power, also, has had more significant in shaping American foreign policy in front of Iran, because applying of military actions is not possible for Iran. For this reason, United States of America resort to soft power as collapse from inside (soft regime change) vis-à-vis Iran. Of course, this assumption will reveal after introducing manses and performance mechanism of soft power.

if we examine the international practice of countries from power perspective, states are the main issue of analyzing the political actors, and we should pay attention to relevance of power between them and power distribution in international system. In investigating relevance of power among states actually was considered quantitative factors of power like grass national production (GNP), number of army, and qualitative elements or the very soft power like leadership, ideology, political legitimacy, and mentality of ordinary people and soldiers. Morgenthau H. J. states international politics is struggle and conflict on power, and argue that power is a psychological relevance among which applying power and who were applying power (Ghavam, 2001, 59). His idea is subjective and psychological concerns of states about factors of hard power, but he unconsciously with using the concept of “psychological relevance” admit that power only does not limit to quantitative elements.

If power be a “psychological relevance” among states, whereas leaders and elites are located in head of pyramid and ordinary people are located in bottom of pyramid, then the deliberation and perspective of them to component of power is very important. Thus, consideration of soft and qualitative elements of power from elites and leaders to ordinary people is significant. This essay tries to explain the role of soft power in USA foreign policy, especially in front of Iran in period of Clinton and George W. Bush presidency, and introduces practical strategies and counter policies versus American policies.

Max Weber believes that power is meant every opportunity/possibility existing within a social relationship, which permits one to carry out one’s own will, even against resistance, and regardless of the basis on which this opportunity rests. Much of the recent sociological debate on “power” revolves around the issue of constraining and enabling nature of power. Thus, power can be seen as various forms of constraint on human action, but also as that which makes action possible, although in a limited scope.

Soft power is used in international relations theory to describe the ability of a political actor, such as a state, to indirectly influence the behavior or interests of other political actors through cultural or ideological means. The term was first coined by Harvard University professor Joseph Nye, who remains its most prominent proponent, in a 1990 book, bound to Lead: The Changing Nature of American Power. He further developed the concept in his 2004 book, Soft Power: The Means to Success in World Politics. While its usefulness as a descriptive theory has not gone unchallenged, soft power has since entered popular political discourse as a way of distinguishing the subtle effects of culture, values and ideas on others’ behavior from more direct coercive measures, such as military action (hard power) or economic incentives. In Nye’s words, the basic concept of power is the ability to influence others to get them to do what you want. There are three major ways to do that: one is to threaten them with sticks; the second is to pay them with carrots; the third is to attract them or co-opt them, so that they want what you want. If you can get others to be attracted, to want what you want, it costs you much less in carrots and sticks. Soft power, then, represents the third way of getting the outcomes you want.

Foreign policy is a set of political goals that seeks to outline how that particular country will interact with other countries of the world and, to a lesser extent, non-state actors. Foreign policies generally are designed to help protect a country’s national interests, national security, ideological goals, and economic prosperity. This can occur as a result of peaceful cooperation with other nations, or through aggression, war, and exploitation. The twentieth century saw a rapid rise in the importance of foreign policy, with virtually every nation in the world now being able to interact with one another in some diplomatic form.

The foreign policy of the United States is marked by the country’s large economy, well-funded military and notable political influence. United States has the world’s largest economy, the world’s most well-funded military, and a large amount of political influence. The officially stated goals of the foreign policy of the United States based on repeatedly mentioned and emphasized by government officials, are:

• Protecting the safety and freedom of all American citizens, both within the United States and abroad,

• Protecting allied nations of the United States from attack or invasion and creating mutually beneficial international defense arrangements and partnerships to ensure this,

• Promotion of peace, freedom, and democracy in all regions of the world,

• Furthering free trade and furthering capitalism in order to foster economic growth, improve living conditions everywhere, and promote the sale and mobility of U.S. products to international consumers who desire them, and

• Bringing developmental and humanitarian aid to foreign peoples in need.
Some of these principles belong to Soft power and others are hard power policies. All of these statements are the targets of many criticisms from various sources.

Hard power is using violence or threats to gain power over someone or a group of people. It is used in contrast to soft power. This can be applied through military power which consists of coercive diplomacy, war and alliance using threats and force with the aim of coercion, deterrence and protection.

Mass media is a term used to denote, as a class, that section of the media specifically conceived and designed to reach a very large audience such as the population of a nation-state. It was coined in the 1920s with the advent of nationwide radio networks, mass-circulation newspapers and magazines, although mass media was present centuries before the term became common. Public media has a similar meaning: it is the sum of the public mass distributors of news and entertainment across mediums such as newspapers, television, radio, broadcasting & text publishers.

Public diplomacy in international relations is a term coined in the 1960s to describe aspects of international diplomacy other than the interactions among states. It has been closely associated with the United States Information Agency, which used the term to define its mission. It was originally used for propaganda. A strategy is a long term plan of action designed to achieve a particular goal. It is differentiated from tactics or immediate actions with resources at hand.

I have nothing against women leaders, but there appears to be a trend that exists among them all. We will take a look into the past and see what a woman in power has done. I will only focus on the 20th century to present (that’s from 1900 - present for all of the brain challenged people out there), not that Nefertiti and Cleopatra are any less important, but not here.

We will take a stroll back in time starting from the 1960’s where the first modern woman came to power. I am only going to talk about Presidents and Prime Ministers, those people who were elected and voted in. It gets into a whole new can of worms if we start talking about people like Imelda Marcos.

INDIRA GANDHI

We are starting in 1966 with Indira Gandhi. She ruled India from 1966 to 1977 and 1980 to 1984. Some Indians called her the “Respected Mother”, while others called her “Dumb Doll”. There were several agreements made during those early years. One was with Pakistan and the other was with Russia. This led to the youngest nation to have successfully detonated a nuclear bomb.

Things started looking good for Mrs. Gandhi and the country was moving forward. She was trying to feed the poor and keep things stable in India. Then the ugly old saying starts creeping in, “power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely”. Things started taking a turn for the worse.

Being accused of leaning towards authoritarianism the first order of business was changing the Constitution. In 1975 the high court ruled her election invalid and she was removed from Parliament. She appealed, of course, and this caused large rallies and strikes from people who wanted her out. So what does she do?

STATE OF EMERGENCY from 1975 to 1977 which led to the arrest of her opposition leaders. Within a few months the entire country was under direct dictatorial rule from Delhi. During the 19 months of total rule the government arrested and tortured thousands and forcibly removed ghetto people from their homes. On rumors of a coup from the air force she was forced to hold elections in 1977 that she lost.

She was later arrested on charges that would not hold up in court. This gave her sympathy from people who thought of her as a tyrant. Things never really got back in order and this ended with her assassination in 1984 by two of her body guards.

GOLDA MIER

Next we move on to 1969 with Mrs. Mier where she served as prime minister of Israel from 1969 to 1974. She came out of retirement to take the job after the sudden death of Levi Eshkol. She started meeting with world leaders to promote peace for Israel and eventually agreed to withdraw to “secure and recognized boundaries”.

After the tragedy of the 1972 Olympics she sent the Mossad to kill the guys who took part in the massacre. You may remember the movie “Munich” which is loosely based on those events.

Next we have the Yom Kippur war that many thought Israel was not prepared for. Some say Israel’s confidence after defeating the Arabs was clouded and a little cocky. But, with the help of the US they won the war.

With her seemingly dislike for Arabs and Palestinians she is still loved by many. She once said about Palestinians “There are no Palestinians”. Not what I would want to hear from a world leader, but I don’t live in Israel.

Plagued by in-fighting and Israel’s lack of preparedness for the war she eventually resigned in 1974. She died in 1978.

MARGARET THATCHER

Being known as “The Iron Lady” she served as the UK’s Prime Minister from 1979 to 1990. It is still an on-going debate if her policies helped or hurt the UK in those years. She seemed hell bent on doing things her way and not really listening to advice from advisors.

One of the first things she did was to increase interest rates on an already struggling economy. Value added tax was raised to 15% which caused short term inflation. Who benefitted from this increase? Not the manufacturing industry or small businesses. The UK saw an unemployment rate climb to over 2 million people and eventually hit 3.6 million.

Next she wanted less state intervention and started selling off state owned companies. Her cuts in higher education spending led Oxford University to not offer her an honorary degree. This degree has been given to every Prime Minister who attended Oxford in the past.

Then the highly popular “Poll Tax” was introduced. This would make everyone pay the same amount of tax. In 1989 the economy suffered its highest interest rates and she blamed someone else. Well, that’s not good enough so she started after the trade unions, which eventually destroyed the mining industry.

We can’t forget about the African controversy, the Brighton bombing (which was an assassination attempt) and her relationship with the Labor Party. These actions combined with her destruction of the economy, her views on homosexuality and tax rates, led to her being ousted in 1990.

VIGDIS FINNBOGADOTTIR

Who? Never heard of her myself until I started doing this. She was elected in 1980 and served until 1996 as Iceland’s head of state. This position and title is really only for show. She did not have any influence on Iceland’s policies; instead she spent her time promoting Iceland and its entire splendor.

This position differs from a Prime Minister or President, but she was an elected woman leader and had to be mentioned.

MARY EUGENIA CHARLES

The first and only woman elected as Prime Minister in the Dominica and held the position from 1980 to 1995. Her biggest stances were on anti-corruption and individual freedoms. She also supported the Grenada invasion and was seen with Reagan on TV.

Her colleagues called her a brilliant lawyer and savvy politician. She is known to support economic reforms, improve the lives of its citizens and keep Dominica as natural as possible. During her time in office there were no casinos, night clubs or duty free shops, because she wanted to preserve Dominica’s natural ecology and national identity.

BENAZIR BHUTTO

Elected two times as Pakistan’s Prime Minister after her party won the election, from 1988 to 1990 and from 1993 to 1996. She became the youngest and first woman to be elected in a Muslim-majority country.

She started out with reforms to nationalize and modernize Pakistan. Many saw this as Westernization. Her government was abolished in 1990 on charges of corruption, but she was never tried. Her party won elections again in 1993, but more corruption charges were filed and in 1996 she was dismissed.

Do you see a pattern with her in office? During her campaign she promised reforms for woman, but none of these were ever fulfilled. The corruption charges have been her biggest issue, which includes money laundering, and her failure to fulfill any women’s rights policies.

With assets worth 740 million pounds, a 4 million pound mansion in England and a 2.5 million dollar house for her husband’s family (which had modest means before they married) in Normandy, it causes one to wonder.

If we take a trip to Switzerland, Poland, France and Western Asia, each of these countries have handed over documents about financial dealings with the Bhutto family. She was put in exile and only recently allowed to return to Pakistan where she was killed by a suicide bomber.

GRO HARLEM BRUNDTLAND

Norway Prime Minister from February to October 1981. That was her first stint as PM and she went on to rule again from 1986 to 1989 and from 1990 to 1996. Not much to talk about, this is Norway after all.

She is mostly known for the amount of women serving in cabinet positions (8 out of 18 were female) during her PM ship. She is also famous for her positions on public health, environment and development and was elected to the position of Director-general of the W.H.O. in 1998.

She didn’t cause many problems and seems to be an OK woman. Her only controversy was in 2002 where she received an operation and charged it to Norwegian public expenditures. Since she had changed residents to France she was not entitled to Norwegian social security and eventually decided to pay for the operation herself.

VIOLETA BARRIOS de CHAMORRO

Elected as Nicaraguan President from 1990 to 1997 and the second woman in the Northern Hemisphere to hold that spot. She is known for bringing peace to her country after 10 years of fighting. She also abolished mandatory military service, reduced the army by 75% and burned thousands of weapons.

Her policy, in office, was a program of national reconciliation, end the US-backed contra war and free the military from Sandinista control. It appears she did all of that and more. The major upset about her was the keeping of General Ortega as head of the military. He is a strong Sandinista supporter, the very outfit she defeated. Her government never had control of the military or police and that could have been a big issue.

Some of her own children spoke out against their mother and there are claims she is unprepared to be President. Her economic reforms seem to have been the focus of the opposition party. I wonder if they opposed the “Occupational Conversion Plan”. This plan reduced public employees from 75,000 to 50,000 and provided loans to help them start small businesses.

Anyway, finding information about her economic reforms has proven difficult. The piata law, which she tried to veto, was her biggest defeat and one that would leave her unable to reform Nicaragua’s economy.

She didn’t seem to do a bad job, but the lack of power and control made it difficult to get the job done.

MARY ROBINSON

Elected as President of Ireland in 1990 and served until 1997 with an approval rating of 93%, which is a spectacular number. She accomplished a lot during her term in office and was praised by Lenihan as “being a better President than he ever was”.

Her accomplishments included the decriminalizing of homosexuality and to liberalize the law on available contraceptives. She eventually went on to become the High Commissioner on Human Rights at the UN.

It appears that this woman is on another level of leadership.

MARY McALEESE

We are sticking with the Ireland theme and including their current President, whom was elected in 1997. Ireland must have a thing about women Presidents. Both of Ireland’s women Presidents seem to have remarkable careers and popularity.

Mary is not without some critics. One of which said she was “a tribal time bomb”. She has proven many people wrong and that is evident of her second Presidential victory that went unopposed. Again, Ireland has found a niche with woman Presidents and it seems to be working in their favor.

HELEN CLARK

The 37th Prime Minister of New Zealand and ranked the 38th most powerful woman in the world by Forbes magazine. She is calling for New Zealand to become a republic, which has her critics in an uproar. She is not the first person to suggest this and it seems New Zealand will be on the road to republic town.

Her changes to the welfare system, which included a child tax credit, and raised the minimum wage 6 times, have surely made her popular. No interest student loans and 14 days paid maternity leave are some other important factors in her popularity. With the economic growth of New Zealand and its stable government, I can see her staying around for many years.

TARJA KAARINA HALONEN

Last but not least we are off to Finland with this President serving her second term. She is not without her critics, most notably is her appointment of woman to high office over more qualified men. There is not much to say about Finland or its politics, but she is semi popular with her narrow victory.

Dubbed the “Conan O’Brian look alike” she may be on her last leg and will not win next time.

SUMMARY

That’s my take on women in power during my life time. It seems the smaller the country the better the woman President has been. Based on this small history lesson you will have to decide if America or the World is ready for a female President.

Look at all the people around you, individuals with their hopes and dreams. Unfortunately they have their fears and sorrows, the disappointments that can pollute the quality of life. Despite this they move forward doing the best they can do.

Do the grand schemes of world-improvers, schemes that totally disregard the feelings of the individual matter? Does the megalomaniac who conceives a world molded after his delusions actually help anybody except other power seeking delusionals?

Now look at the history of mankind. Did any of the social systems conceived by world-improvers, those extreme absolute moralists, benefit the lone individual? Did the systems of militarism, feudalism, divine rights of kings, communism, socialism, fascism, Nazism, or our current system of interventionism really help anyone except those in power? Didn’t the lone individual pay for all these disastrous schemes with his life, liberty and property? Wasn’t his only reward pain and sorrow?

The last one hundred years supplies us with 3 tragic examples.

The Communist Revolution

In 1917 the famous Communist Revolution led by Vladimir Lenin and the Bolsheviks was supposed to bring us the dictatorship of the proletariat. The actual result was the starvation of millions and over 70 years of misery, degradation and poverty in the Soviet Union and its satellite nations. An untold number of individuals were sacrificed at the cross of Karl Marx’s philosophy of socialism put into action by vicious, power seeking world-improvers.

Envision this. One summer night we fell in love. Imagine 2 lovers on a warm, breezy summer night. They have discovered each other. They taste the joys of love. They gaze into each others eyes. Their lips meet and their searching tongues entwine. Soon they join as one. On another glorious June day they will unite in the rites of Holy Matrimony.

Does a world-improver really care about the future these young lovers have planned or the summer night when they consumed the sweet nectar of love? Or is his megalomaniac scheme for “improving” the lot of mankind all that matters to him–no matter who he has to sacrifice?

Hitler and Nazism

A particular evil scourge was the rise of Nazism in Germany and Hitler’s attempt at world domination. The philosophy of Nazism was base on garbled socialist theory–bad economics that resulted in the sacrifice of millions. It’s estimated that over 6 millions Jews perished in Nazi death camps. Once again individuals were sacrificed for someone’s delusional dreams and the mass movement that followed.

It’s the holiday season in a small northeastern town. The afternoon sun is shining brightly signaling the end of a winter storm. A young mother with her small baby son at her bosom gazes outside at the snow covered hills. The icicles hanging on the tree by her window reflect the light back to the gleam in her eyes. The love of her life, her husband, the baby’s father will soon be home.

This is their first Christmas season together. As a family they will grow together. She will mature into vibrant successful woman. He is becoming a successful businessman, an exemplary husband and father. She dreams of her baby son, so small and precious, growing up into a healthy young man who may some day make a difference in the world. Her only regret is the day will come when she has to let him go to his independence. She knows she can’t freeze the many tricks of time.

The world-improver–perpetrator of wars, revolutions and mass murders–would destroy the hills of clean white snow and the surrounding woods. The fire of death melts all the icicles and kills all life–as man, animals and plants perish. He would turn the warm, cozy house of the young couple into smoldering ruins of death and destruction. What for? For his delusions of grandeur.

Iraq, Terrorism and Western Civilization

Now we have the threat of radical religious terrorists who will stop at nothing to destroy Western Civilization. The horror and carnage of the Twin Towers tells the awful story.

On the other side we have the mightiest empire on earth, the mightiest military force in the history of mankind. Tens of thousands of individuals have been killed and maimed in Iraq. And what for? To bring peace and democracy to this country of chaos. And for what end? What is the purpose when government interventionism, inflation, corruption, war and massive liberty violations are enough in itself to destroy Western Civilization? The terrorists won’t have to raise a hand. We are doing it to ourselves.

The world-improvers have the best of both worlds. They are controlling both sides of the conflict. In fact they are controlling world politics on a massive scale. The only possible result is mass destruction. The sacrifice of innocent individuals.

What is more important? A family celebrating their daughter’s 16th birthday. That one delightful day in a life of probably 30,000 days or more. Joined by the 17 year old boy who worships her as a teen angel. Or the world-improver who would sacrifice this moment for a so-called better society based on his delusions. You decide.

And you must decide. What will it be– a world gone insane and finally destroyed by world-improvers and our own submission to them? Or will we finally realize that those precious moments in the life of an individual are all the really matters.

Al Qaeda and Hezbollah have declared that the United States is finished. The President of Iran has stated that the Jewish State of Israel will be blown off the map and that the United States domination is over. Is it rhetoric or is it true? The Online Think Tank took up this question recently and one member stated;

“America is not gone yet, it is only a mass media perception that it is. In fact, if we do nothing, we will be re-awoken later and be doomed to repeat. All of mankind will exhaust all the weapons they have built in a massive World War. Iran cannot be allowed to have nuclear weapons to give to International Terrorists.”

Another member stated that the United States is not taking such World Threats seriously and are in fighting and do not have the guts to get the job done. But this was met by resistance from even another member who said;

“If what you are saying is true (we are too weak in our hearts and minds) and how we are going to play this created reality then the only other answer is to pretend to act like the losers and defeatists that the media perception is over playing, remain strong and then wait until we are attacked again and reciprocate within 48 hours.”

Another member states; But in doing so we will find a Democrat come along again as an anti-war candidate and gut our military and make us further weak and then China will over exert their will, all funded by us. Thus we have thrown away the number one Tenant of our Federal Government; To Protect the American People.

Well, I personally do not like such a Lose/Lose scenario. Now who is it you want me to thank for giving away my country? This is not about “Who can we blame for losing America” it is about “How can we prevent it?” This is a time for some tough calls and some tough leadership. So, we need the Bush Administration to stand tough. Is this is an honest assessment of what must be done? Some believe so, others want to de-escalate the conflict, yet others say that if we do not act now, we will end up with no support to act later and we will have to wait until we are attacked to act again.

That means Americans will die and blood will be on our hands due to our failure to protect the American People. If Israel is attacked and blown off the map, their blood will also be on our hands. Appeasement or backing off now; will result in the Following;

1.) A major Western World city with a Mushroom Cloud over it

2.) China pushing their will in Africa, Indonesia, Taiwan

3.) Russia so deep in our shorts in South and Central America, with China (A real Domino Effect)

4.) A Rioting Middle East. Over throw of Saudi, Egyptian, Pakistan Governments, maybe others.

5.) Elimination of the Jewish State by International Terrorism and War

6.) Another major International Terrorist event in the US

If we show weakness now you lose and then the World politics and hostile Machiavellian Nation States will rat-pack us and gang up and it will not be pretty. If we go after the cancer now with the fierceness of 1000 Suns, they will back down and there must be examples made; Iran and Syria. Otherwise, everyone, Mankind, loses.

Therefore perhaps it incompetent not to act in pre-emption against Iran’s nuclear weapons now. I certainly hope this article is of interest and that is has propelled thought. The goal is simple; to help you in your quest to be the best in 2007. I thank you for reading my many articles on diverse subjects, which interest you.

I wanted to write this article to demonstrate how the ancient philosophy behind the Tarot is still relevant to us today, and to show how these ideas can be used to illuminate our modern world. Whether or not the Tarot has any mystical power I believe a lot can be learned from the view that it gives of the universe, which goes back to antiquity. As someone who teaches and practices Tarot I also wanted to create a guide to help people understand the meanings behind each card, by reframing tarot in a modern context which can be related to more easily.

When someone receives a Tarot reading the cards offer meanings that are universal but also personal to the questioner. If one was to carry out a reading for the state of the world, how then could the reader interpret the cards? What are the pressing issues for us all at this time? I asked myself this question and, whilst thumbing through the pack, the meanings became quite obvious and stark to me. Below I have listed these meanings for the 21 Major arcarna or trump cards.

FREEDOM - The Fool
TECHNOLOGY - The Magician
RELIGION - High Priestess
HUMAN RIGHTS - The Empress
STATE POWER AND SECURITY - The Emperor
TRADITIONALISTS VS MODERNIZERS - The Hierophant
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS - The Lovers
WAR AND CONFLICT - The Chariot
WORLD POLITICS - Strength
INNER WORLD - The Hermit
INTERNATIONAL LAW - Justice
WORLD POVERTY - Hanged Man
GLOBAL WARMING - Death
THE MISSING ELEMENT - Temperance
TERRORISM - The Devil
GENETIC ENGINEERING - The Tower
INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION - The Star
THE INTERNET AND THE INFORMATION AGE - The Sun
POWER AND CORRUPTION - The Moon
POPULATION - Judgement
THE ENVIRONMENT - The World

Incidentally if you wish to read the complete article alongside images of the cards there is an illustrated version on my website at http://www.tarot-cards-reading.com/about/tarot_world_article.html

FREEDOM - The Fool

As card number zero in the pack the Fool represents all that is new, free and innovative. In medieval times the court jester was someone who was not expected to follow the same rules and conventions as everyone else and so was free to be spontaneous and creative. The Major Arcana is often described as a journey through life starting at the childlike simplicity and freedom of the Fool and ending with card number 21 - The World. However, for many in the world, freedom or lack of it, is a big political goal which they need to achieve before they can start their journey.

TECHNOLOGY - The Magician

Technology is now the backdrop to all our lives and to those who don’t understand it or haven’t witnessed it before it seems like magic. When people first saw inventions such as moving images or photography some believed it to be witchcraft or some kind of trickery. On the card the Magician shows a powerful figure performing his tricks with us as his audience. He is about to make things happen before our eyes that we never thought possible. The message of this card is that if you know what you are doing and you have the energy of commitment behind you, you can achieve incredible things. This is a valuable lesson for the modern world.

RELIGION - High Priestess

The High Priestess is a woman of God who sits in silence and contemplation. She seeks understanding and looks for the greater meaning behind everything. She is an antidote to the dangers of materialism that can stem from the technological ability and energy of the Magician.

HUMAN RIGHTS - The Empress

The Empress is a ruler that respects her subjects. She is a motherly figure who believes in nurturing and caring rather than controlling and dictating. It is perhaps an unusual card considering its historical origins. We tend to see this regard for individual human rights as quite a modern enlightened view. The Tarot’s values however are timeless and not subject to fashion.

STATE POWER AND SECURITY - The Emperor

The Emperor has a different approach than that of the Empress. He is an old-fashioned ruler who believes in running his empire efficiently and systematically. He believes in looking after the many and not compromising for the needs of individuals. One of the big debates at this time is how much power should the state have? Many argue that with the greater need for security at home and abroad we need a government that is strong and which from time to time is willing to lessen the human rights of a few in order to safeguard the majority. Others disagree, arguing the state has too much power and should behave more like the Empress. This argument will probably never be resolved and so these two cards sit side-by-side in the deck reminding us of this dilemma.

TRADITIONALISTS VS MODERNIZERS - The Hierophant

The essence of this card is about doing things in a conventional way and following traditional wisdom. The Heirophant asks ‘The conventional way has been tried and tested and it works, so why try to reinvent the wheel?’ In this age of individualism where people want to do things their own way the message of the Hierophant is not always a popular one. However, he is still worth listening to because there are times when it is better to fit in and go along with the crowd; and sometimes being different is ill-advised.

WORLD PEACE - The Lovers

Traditionally this card shows a man making a choice between two women and its message is that, like love, most things in life come down to a matter of choice. If we are in a relationship with someone it is because we chose to be with them and we are choosing to stay with them. The same is true for all the relationships we have with people. Also, whether we find ourselves fighting, loving or being distant from others is down to our choosing. If we are to apply this idea to the modern world it seems clear that peace and harmony are not things which just happen but that many active choices need to be made in pursuit of them.

WAR AND CONFLICT - The Chariot

This card needs little explanation. There have always been wars and probably always will be. There is therefore no need to put this ancient card into a modern context.

WORLD POLITICS - Strength

Although this card often depicts a man wrestling a lion, the strength referred to here is strength of will and courage rather than physical strength: the ability to endure and overcome difficulties. In fact it could be seen as the strength of will and character to resist the temptation to use physical force to solve a problem. For today’s modern world many problems could be solved by a stronger political will and greater courage. Perhaps one day more world leaders will realize that there is something stronger and more enduring than military might.

THE INNER WORLD - The Hermit

In trying to write this article about how each of the Tarot cards says something about the state of the world and how we are as a gloabal society, there is one card that seems to shout out against this idea. That is the card of the hermit. The hermit advocates withdrawal from the world, suggesting that the inner world is more instructive for us and within our scope to change. Therefore the hermit stands here to remind us of the limitations of analysing the world as a whole.

WORLD TRADE AND FINANCE - Wheel of Fortune

This card reminds us that life can be a bit of a lottery and fortunes can go up as well as down. It often depicts someone partying whilst someone else (or is it the same person later in time?) plummets to his doom. It is a stark reminder and warning of the fragility of life. In the week after the 9/11 attack Wall Street remained closed for several days, and nobody knew what was going to happen. It was clear the markets were going to slump but would they go into free fall? Were the US and world economies to be dragged into a downward spiral of recession? Our modern lives depend on financial markets and world economies. The card is a reminder not to be complacent.

INTERNATIONAL LAW - Justice

The meaning is simple: that is the need for justice, judgement and good decision making. The card perfectly illustrates the need for international cooperation over rules and legal matters.

WORLD POVERTY - Hanged Man

The Hanged man represents sacrifice, giving up and letting go. His message is that the way to get your needs met is to give up trying and let go - a philosophy that fits with many religions. This idea doesn’t square with the way many of us behave in the west, as our sacrifice might entail giving up some of our material comforts that could help alleviate world poverty. The way the G8 countries behave regarding poverty in Africa it seems this may be too much to ask. If, however, we were to listen to the message of this card, we might realize that sacrifice is the way forward and that maybe with a prosperous third world we might actually gain in the long run.

GLOBAL WARMING - Death

The image of the reaper is a reminder that life exists in cycles and that all things come to an end. It speaks more of change than actual death, and how this change can be painful. There seems little doubt that the world climate is moving into a new phase. These climate cycles have always existed - such as the various ice ages - but never has the change been so rapid or man made. This change will inevitably result in the deaths of individuals and of species. Global warming may be one of the biggest challenges we have faced in our history.

THE MISSING ELEMENT - Temperance

One of the most interesting cards in this exercise is Temperance, as it is difficult to fit its meaning into a modern context. The card signifies moderation or self-restraint, but the word temperance itself is rarely used today. We have even changed the word ‘temper’ to mean its opposite, thus losing its traditional meaning. It is difficult to find many examples of moderation in the modern world. Perhaps this is a flaw of the world’s media, choosing to report so many headline hitting stories rather than stories of a more gentle nature. This is especially the case with stories regarding acts in the name of religion: so much of what we hear is in relation to radicals and fundamentalists that we miss the numerous incidents of kindness, love and care in the world. We are therefore left with an unbalanced view of the state of our world.

TERRORISM - The Devil

This is perhaps one of the most straightforward interpretations. The Devil has always been a figure of fear, a corrupting influence that has no compassion or feeling for others. Unfortuneately we live in a world where a few individuals wish to induce this level of fear in others, motivated by self-interest or warped philosophies. Sadly they can become trapped by world-views which can convince them their philosophies are right. This perhaps is the definition of evil; and strangely often done in the name of God.

GENETIC ENGINEERING - The Tower

When creating this list there was such a temptation to make this card about the 9/11 attacks. I have heard that some people have made this connection but I think this is taking the card at face value rather than trying to understand its full meaning. The card in the modern deck actually makes reference to the Biblical story of the Tower of Babel. The card does stand for upheaval and disruption but it also warns of the dangers of over-stretching oneself and getting involved in things beyond one’s understanding. In Genesis the tower is struck down; and the punishment for challenging God’s authority is that the people are cast out and made to speak in different languages. If for ancient people the tower represents diversity, then for us in the modern world diversity is represented by the human gene. Genetic engineering now gives us the power to do what may be thought of as challenging the authority of God. We could do worse than look at this card for advice on this matter.

GLOBAL COOPERATION - The Star

The Star in the Tarot refers to a way forward and to hope for a better future. When I was growing up, hope for the future seemed to centre around the space program. It was the only area over which the then two super-powers would cooperate. Maybe this was because the expense became too much for one nation, or maybe as I like to believe because when one looks to the stars it makes our differences down here on Earth seem less important. It certainly does seem that if human beings are to progress then we must embrace collaboration. The card reminds us to hold the star as a symbol for hope, and whether it is a star of David or a star of Islam shouldn’t matter.

THE INTERNET AND THE INFORMATION AGE - The Sun

This card represents knowledge and understanding. When we understand something we are enlightened and that’s what the sun does to the earth: it shines light on dark corners and illuminates the globe. One of the most significant inventions of the last forty years which brings knowledge and illumination to the world is the internet. It is interesting to note that the internet has been made possible by lasers transmitting information through high-speed fiber optics. Thus, the internet, in effect, is made of pure light. The card also depicts a happy couple who could be lovers: the inference being that understanding between people is the key to harmony. Never before has so much knowledge been available to so many. The couple on the card reminds us however, that unless this knowledge is used to build closer links between people, it is a waste of time.

POWER AND CORRUPTION - The Moon

The word ‘lunatic” derives from the belief that the moon’s rays had the power to intoxicate and send people mad. In the modern world one of the most dangerous forms of intoxication is that of people becoming drunk on power. We see this throughout the world where leaders are corrupted by their power and become self-aggrandizing tyrants. We also see it in the board-rooms of multinational companies where individuals can be seduced by the love of money and the power it brings. The card itself refers to corruption and confusion and to all the dark dealings that happen hidden from the light of day. It has the opposite meaning to the Sun; thus the antidote is to shed light wherever possible.

POPULATION - Judgement

With shrinking resources and rising birth rates, population control must be one of the most pressing world issues for this time. This card speaks of a judgement day when things come to a head and decisions have to be made: when the result of our actions good or bad must be accounted for. In the judgement day myth all the people that have ever lived are risen back to life. Best estimates would put this at about 107 billion souls!

THE ENVIRONMENT - The World

The World card simply represents fulfillment and completeness. Having the World at one’s fingertips means having everything one could possibly want. The problem with having everything we want however, is that this is usually at the expense of the planet. The card’s meaning of completeness and self-containment is a reminder that we must get what we want in a way that is sustainable. This is the final card of the Major Arcana and the end point for our journey. This is our home and we cannot get away from it until death; so we should look after it.