Years ago I was reluctant to contribute to the foreign mission box in my church because I felt we had no business interfering in the social-religious structure of backward and undeveloped countries in Africa and the world. I was about 12-years old at time.
It was a time when Mussolini, the Italian dictator, was bombing the ill-armed Ethiopians with mustard gas and Haile Selassie the Ethiopian King was addressing the League of Nations pleading for western help. That, I understood was horrible and the western powers should have helped. The King went home empty handed.
The United States failed to back the League of Nations and the Europeans were desperately trying to placate Hitler in an attempt to prevent another world war. The lesson was not lost on Mussolini, Hitler or the Fascist General Franco of Spain.
China, a very poor and backward country was divided into warring factions and was under attack by the Empire of Japan. It was traditional for Canadian mothers to say to their children; “Clean up your plate love – think of the poor starving Chinese children!” Poor boxes for the Chinese were also a feature of the time.
The Missionaries
To all these poor and backward nations, a multitude of religious western missionaries went to help where they could, all over the world. True, they hoped to spread the Christian religion but given the backward nature of emerging tribal societies, especially in sub-Sahara Africa where ninety-five percent of the native population could not read or write, was that so terrible a thing to do?
Along with the missionaries came numerous other western men and women of compassion who were medical doctors, scientists, builders, mechanics, well drillers for water and yes, businessmen looking to develop businesses and trade. Hong Kong and Singapore, Capetown and Johannesburg, Calcutta and Bombay all grew rich by their efforts and provided an ever increasing standard of wealth, health and opportunity.
Some called it colonialism but in fact it began hundreds of years before quite innocently enough with the mutual desire to trade. Conflict arose as nations and their new trading partners grew wealthy by the exchange of many goods and products not available in their own lands. The traders struggled to protect their territories from competitors. No doubt there were abuses on all sides in their struggle for monopoly but that was when the world was very large and virtually unknown. Today it is a very small globe and rapid communication and nuclear weapons teach us that we must learn to get along.
In the 1980’s my own personal experience while on Safari in Kenya taught me an unexpected but simple lesson. I became very friendly over a period of a month with my driver, Lawrence, a mature man in his 50s and a member of the Kikuyu tribe. I noticed that in Nairobi, the capital, that most of the government and large businesses were headed by Kikuyu people, although they were not the largest of the many tribes in Kenya.
I asked Lawrence why his tribe seemed to be the preponderance of the leadership. He replied, “It’s because of the missionaries.” I was surprised, given my youthful concern of imposing our belief system on another society. So I asked him; “How did that come about?” To which he replied, “Well, they taught us to read, write and do arithmetic.” Education! Certainly a priceless commodity brought to a then backward society.
Cap and Trade and Western Responsibility for Global Warming
There is no doubt that the major polluters over the last century have been the businesses and domestic consumers of the industrialized West. However, even if we assume the present scientific “consensus” that the polluting green-house gasses of the world are responsible for global warming, surely that is no reason to transfer trillions of dollars to emerging third world industrial and domestic polluters.
What is being asked, or indeed demanded by the third world is that the western world impoverishes itself because of some supposed extravagant lifestyle of its citizens acquired at the expense of the world’s atmosphere. They attempt to impute guilt to the citizens of the West for being progressive. They use that guilt to demand we should flagellate ourselves by financing their newly desired luxurious ambitions by paying them to clean up their fast multiplying and polluting industries.
The Free Democratic World is a Reality and the Hope of the World
The dream of mankind is within reach. Peace, comfort and positive happiness is emerging all over the world. Evil however, is ever present and those who trick people into believing in any solution to problems that a civil society encounters can be answered by unaccountable dictators or groups encouraging questionable actions and panic are charlatans Worse, are the distant and hidden-from-sight manipulators looking to acquire power and wealth at anyone’s expense. These “political mafia” must be curtailed or civil progress will be dangerously impaired.
Clear your Consciences, oh ye of the West
To get rid of any guilt you may feel about your advanced society, ask yourself this question: “What it is that the developing world is trying to do?” The answer is that it is simply trying to benefit from the science, technology and hundreds years of educational and creative philosophical systems of the West, at no cost to themselves, or any recognition of the fantastic achievements of the developed world.
The developing world’s citizens want better homes, clothes, air conditioning, medicines, airplanes to get around, cars, trucks, TVs, radios, plastics, steel, silicon chips, the latest military hardware, engineering skills, computers and western knowledge, education and modernity of every kind.
They plead for HIV help, Malaria cures, access to water supplies and intercession in their tribal wars etc. Who can blame them? They should strive for the best there is.
But should they legitimately claim we owe them for our collective successes? In fact, a substantial case can be made that they owe the West for the hundreds of years of modern science that they now profit from and the much envied western life they aspire to. Rather than be thankful for their rapidly emerging millions now living a comfortable middle class lifestyle, in ever better conditions of health and longevity, they have somehow arrived at the conclusion that their own past failures to achieve is our fault and we must send them billions of dollars of our wealth in reparations.
When was the last time any of these nations thanked the western powers for their inventiveness and the western luxuries they enjoy. When have we heard of any appreciation of the West’s training of their brightest young leaders in our schools and universities? When have the leaders of the evolving third world publicly thanked the multitude of western medical, religious and other volunteers for their century and a half of sacrifice on their citizen’s behalf? Not that these good people have ever asked for such thanks but they and the nations they represent do not deserve to be berated or have their pockets picked for their supposed wickedness.
If global warming is man made, a matter of some considerable scientific doubt, then all countries, emerging or not, need to clean things up. If global warming is not man made, we still need to clean up our environment. Our house keeping has been atrocious.
If the planet is warming, then we have to deal with the effects of climate change intelligently as it become a threat and stop beating the dead horse of global warming.
The Folly of International Cap and Trade
Capping the amount of pollution by some industries and giving tax credits to polluters is perhaps a good plan within the boundaries of a nation-state. However, the transfer of massive wealth from one polluting country to another is a total fraud and not warranted.
The C & P plan provides little incentive for the new emerging world polluter to improve but rather to marginally reduce his pollution over time and thus keep the money flowing as long as possible. Any agreement to be workable must benefit both parties financially and cannot be based on a vengeance and conscience stricken morality. Such an agreement only encourages cheating.
Watching the battles of the street activists and their hyped up “rage” at their own western leaders because they think the west should sign away the wealth and future of their own advanced societies is sickening. No doubt conscience and perhaps a juvenile fear of “global warming” plays a part but many of these anarchists would be the first to squeal as their job opportunities and prospective futures began to disappear as their home economies declined as a result of their actions. The rest of the mob and the thugs who manipulate them are but pawns of the many organizations and international bandit leaders who hope to profit from the billions of dollars they will most certainly divert from its intended futile purpose.
It would be a good exercise for these hyped-up youths and the rest of us to do some thinking as to where, who to and how such vast sums will be transferred. Who will have their sticky fingers in the money pot? Money is power and power corrupts the thousands of bureaucrats and greedy politicians that answer to no electorate and dwell in the United Nations, the IPCC, the many dictatorial third world regimes as well as the multitudinous unaccountable Non Government International Organizations (NGOs) that nobody elected and who promote their own agendas; such as Maurice Strong and his GO organization.
Copenhagen - Democracy and Fundamental Freedoms are at Stake
On the front page of the December 17th, 2009 National Post were the pictures of two “exemplary” world leaders, President Robert Mugabe from Zimbabwe, the former wealthiest nation in Africa, Rhodesia. Under Mugabe’s tribal leadership that country has descended into violence, anarchy, bloodshed and bitter poverty. How much of your money would you trust to this guy?
The other picture highlighted is that of Hugo Chavez, the Venezuelan President that has tried to have his county’s constitution changed and have himself declared president for life. Both pretend to be the defenders of the planet. His recent activities include spreading his hatred of the western nations and particularly of the USA throughout all of South and Central America. Should we help finance his dictatorial revolution?
Both are blathering about how the West has polluted the world’s atmosphere because of capitalism. Both are mini-actors on the world stage but if they can they will absorb a lot of our transferred wealth into their own pockets and those of their friends while causing trouble throughout their spheres of retrogressive influence.
All that can be said is that we should pray that our western political leaders and Prime Minister Harper of Canada do not send one penny to the likes of these or any other out-of-control international organizations such as that of Maurice Strong (GO) about which Rajendra Pachauri, head of the intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, (IPCC) has reported to have said:
“The Global Observatory (GO) is a useful, timely initiative that can make a difference. We have to back up our words with action. The GO can help create the political space that will inspire, engage and enable leaders all around the world to take action.”
Worrisome? Sure is. Because leaders around the world are responsible to their citizens, democratically elected or not. These international NGOs represent their particular views and given enough funding, they can mobilize mobs of anarchistic activists to intimidate legitimate national representatives. That is what is meant by “backing up our words with action.” These days all it takes is a few e-mails and telephone calls, some airfares and plenty of funding and the mob is on its way.
Democracy & the funding of NGOs or International Institutions
It is time for all governments to look deeply into the whole concept of political NGOs appearing at the UN or any international government organization. They have no public mandate and it should be a discarded practice. It is also necessary to deal severely with the street anarchists who wish to “take action” in regard to their particular views, legitimate or not.
Above all there must be a stop to all money flows through international organizations that do not have a regular and carefully monitored limited purpose. No moneys should ever be committed for indefinite periods of time. Renewal of financial help to any non-political group must be contingent on its civil beneficial performance.
Domestically, it is long overdue that the government of Canada reexamines all NGO organizations and their performance, especially international politically active NGOs. For far too long specific politically oriented organizations have been funded to promote their private agendas or worse, the agenda of a party in power that would never pass public approval. In either case, it is no different than illegally using public funds to pay for the promotion of a political party’s agenda. All such taxpayer funding undermines Canada’s democracy.
Internationally, huge monies paid for the promotion of idealistic notions will inevitably be siphoned off to be used as a weapon by the “political mafia” of the world to empower themselves and in the process destroy our democratic freedoms. Any agreement for the massive transfer of funds by the delegates to the Copenhagen Conference will be abused and sadly do little if anything to promote the clean-up of our world’s environment.
Say NO to any Copenhagen or other Agreement for Conscience Money
Yes it is OK for those of us in the West to say NO to the emerging world’s demand for conscience money. The West is owed far more than they ever received from the third world. Your conscience is clear. If your generous and compassionate impulses overcome you, make sure you see your money goes to where it is truly needed. Demand that your government does the same.
