In the course of human history, rare moments arise in which it is possible for a seemingly weak force to completely alter the trajectory of the world, and to conquer what had, up until that point, been an enemy so powerful that none could resist. The victory of the American Revolution against the British Empire was one such moment.
In Leonardo da Vinci’s painting The Adoration of the Magi, the most powerful figure is the tiny, vulnerable baby, Christ, sitting in the lap of a serene Mary and curiously reaching his hand toward an offered gift. Throngs of confused, curious people crowd around the child, their faces half in shadow as they cautiously approach, hopeful, perhaps, and wondering. Behind them, the storm of the collapsing Roman Empire rages and mighty figures battle out its last moments amidst already collapsed ruins.
Such a time is ours. A new world order, a light in the darkness, has begun to take shape, whose great power lies in its rejection of colonialism and insistence on the right of all nations and peoples to develop and contribute to the progress of the human family. Partnerships like that of the BRICS nations and of China’s Belt and Road Initiative now comprise the vast majority of nations on the planet and are already implementing paths for development and the end of poverty for all involved. This is the only approach that has real power—the power to create a viable future for humanity in both the long and near term.
The alternative, which will only bring about its own (and our) destruction, is the logic of nuclear war, now codified, unabashedly, in official policy by the US/NATO establishment. The statement on Nov. 20 by Rear Adm. Thomas Buchanan that fighting a nuclear war—and the fantasy of coming out on top to “lead the world"—is the US strategic policy betrays the tragic and fatal impotence of the old thinking.
Despite that, the ghouls of the old order are loath to let it go, and are desperate to lock the incoming Trump administration into a fait accompli of war against China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran. To that end, not only has the outgoing “collective” Biden authorized Ukraine to continue to use ATACMS missiles against Russia, the latest strike occurring on Dec. 18, but on Dec. 20, an additional $571 million in defense assistance for Taiwan was approved, in complete violation of the “One China” policy. Congressional Republicans are also pressuring Trump to prepare to strike Iran, perhaps alongside an emboldened Israel, to preemptively take out its nuclear facilities.
World War III, anyone?
And what of those people emerging from the shadows of the collapsed system? What power can citizens in the West wield to stop the logic of nuclear annihilation? Learn from Leonardo: once the possibility of the new, more lawful system has been born, the old order has already collapsed, “ob sie noch so brummen” (“however much they still rumble”).[[1]]
The introduction to the Schiller Institute’s new report, “Development Drive Means Billions of New Jobs, No Refugees, No War” states, “In order to overcome the danger of war for good, we need to establish a new international security and development architecture, which takes into account the interests of every single country on the planet. This should be done in the tradition of the Peace of Westphalia, which ended 150 years of religious wars in Europe, because the warring parties realized that there would be nobody left alive if the fighting continued. How much more is that true in the age of thermonuclear weapons! Let us unite for security and development, to usher in a new era for Mankind.”
This is the Christmas message to take, with uncompromising insistence, to your elected officials and others. How easy and natural it would be for the United States to join in win-win cooperation to end empire and colonialism!
The Rev. Dr. Munther Isaac, Palestinian pastor, ended his Dec. 20 sermon from Bethlehem with this: “In our steadfastness—sumud, let us have eyes of faith to perceive and believe that every Herod will pass, every Caesar will fade, for Empires have an expiry date, and let us remember that it is the meek, not the powerful, who will inherit the earth. In our pain and oppression, we might feel that death has the final word, that Herod is sovereign. But through the eyes of faith, we see that God has the final word: and it is a word of life and light, not death and darkness. In Christmas, God has spoken, and the Word is Christ. Christ is born! Hallelujah! Peace on Earth Hallelujah! May it be so today.”
[[1]]: Text from J.S. Bach’s motet Jesu, meine Freude, BWV 227.
