Share Sounds. from Thought for the Week presented by Gavin Oldham related to Politics - World

This week's Thought proposes four key routes towards 'Loving your enemy', including a gradual transition from national to international law. This would mean justice not being constrained by national borders, so we could look forward to a system of international civil law enforcement replacing reliance on military force to resolve criminal outbreaks — it would also help us to resolve the challenges of climate change. Another element is restorative justice: Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu showed the world that such a system can provide a pathway to peace in the most challenging of circumstances. These initiatives, based on an understanding of unconditional love and an equitable sharing of resources, can provide a way forward from our current woes. Background music: 'Everything Has a Beginning' by Joel Cummins. Image source: United Nations

Unbridled revenge just leads to an escalation of the cycle of violence: in a world which possesses such an arsenal for mass destruction, we have to learn how to deal with national insecurity in ways which promote rather than destroy international harmony. In this episode of Share Radio's Thought for the Week, we set out realistic routes by which this can be achieved. Background music: 'Sarabande' by Joel Cummins

Last Saturday's trail of chaos exposes the challenge facing Russia, absorbed in conflict and with its people living in fear and poverty. Plans are urgently needed to find a way out of this mess. But it has to start with ending the violence in Ukraine. Could there be a role for UN peacekeepers to help while Russia looks for a new way forward? Background music: 'Russian Dance' by Joey Pecoraro

'Stop the boats' calls the UK Prime Minister, but there's no linking of his short-term strategy to the big global issues which are driving migration: conflict, poverty and climate change. That's why the Archbishop of Canterbury called for a new approach in the House of Lords last Wednesday, seeking to tackle the causes rather than just the symptoms, and calling for a long-term perspective to address these challenges. This episode contains his full speech in parliament. Background music: 'Freedom' by Dan Lebowitz

Democracy is a great blessing, but it has a major Achilles Heel — it is not good at coping with all the long-term issues which are growing in number and importance. Trying to address long- and short-term issues together without specific definition will always handicap the former. That's why Princess Anne focused correctly on this challenge in her interview with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation — but monarchy can do little more than draw attention to the problem, which needs constitutional and political resolution. We propose a way forward out of this dilemma, suggesting how the United Kingdom can set a course for the democracies of the world to follow. Background music: 'Saving the World' by Aaron Kenny Image source: BBC Research, based on National Archives Federal Reserve Economic Data

As we progress through the pomp and splendour of the Coronation over the next few days, many will be asking themselves ‘what is the relevance of the monarchy in today's world?’. Will King Charles reign forward, spending the majority of his time travelling the world and building one human family in which discord can become a thing of the past? Or will he just rein back here in the United Kingdom, allowing parochial pressures for contraction to eclipse this wider opportunity? Background Music: 'World's Sunrise' by Jimena Contreras; image by Mark Tantrum - https://gg.govt.nz/image-galleries/official-portraits, CC BY 4.0 via Wikimedia

“Give your grace abundantly to our European Union Leaders, that they may lead with wisdom and insight”, prayed Archbishop John Sentamu in early 2019. But it only became possible to knock sense into Brexit negotiations with the EU once Boris, armed with his very direct slogan ‘Get Brexit Done’ and with his impressive parliamentary majority following the December 2019 general election, took the EU bull by the horns. We all knew then it couldn't be the end of the story and, sure enough, we now have the Windsor Framework: but let's give credit where credit's due. Background music: 'When Johnny Comes Marching Home' - Cooper Cannell

Putin's two-hour monologue in Moscow last week sought to justify his assault on Ukraine with a raft of dogma, including a presumption of divine male headship — hardly the basis for economic and social justice for all. Elitist theories, whether based on gender, race or nationality, have no place in an egalitarian, peaceful world: it is men, not women, who start wars and fill the prisons. Likewise, Churches should not allow themselves to be drawn into defending masculinity in the nature of God. Background music: 'A Fool's Theme' by Brian Bolger Also: view https://www.shareradio.co.uk/media/8106/love-and-the-individual.pdf

Just as Nicola Sturgeon steps out of Scottish politics and Rishi Sunak struggles with the Brexit Protocol for Northern Ireland, my attention was drawn to some world-leading legislation passed by the Welsh Government in 2015: 'The Well-being of Future Generations Act'. Recognising the degree to which modern society impacts the future so much more than any of the generations which have preceded us, this Act is of constitutional significance — requiring public bodies to think about the long-term impact of their decisions, to work better with people, communities and each other, and to prevent persistent problems such as poverty, health inequalities and climate change. No wonder that it is attracting interest from countries across the world, offering a huge opportunity to make a long-lasting, positive change for future generations. Background music: Celtic Impulse by Kevin MacLeod, licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

The earthquake disaster in Turkey shows yet again how little we learn from the past, and the limited attention we give to planning for the future. Constitutional principles could do much to help - but are we making best use of them? Meanwhile insurers tend to refer to natural disasters as 'Acts of God', but such a description doesn't align with with the Christian understanding that the nature of God is love. In March 2020 we recorded 'Love at the Cutting Edge' seeking to provide an answer, and it's included as the second part of this commentary. Background music: 'Elegy' by Wayne Jones; and to accompany 'Love at the Cutting Edge', Gorecki's Symphony No. 3, first movement as performed by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in 1995.