(Photo courtesy of theworldismycountry.com)
By David Gallup
A New Year’s
Parable
The massive Palace stood as a fortress alongside the
River Seine. The edifice of power was built, stone upon stone, carrying an aura
of ceaselessness as it rose high into the sky. Bronze statues of the gods held
guard.
Now the national leaders gathered in the Palace,
squabbling over the interests of their subjects, would-be citizens. In the
grand meeting hall, the leaders gave selfish speech after selfish speech,
sheathed in eloquence, about what they demanded for their own. Outside the
chamber, the voice of the world’s people, themselves, was mute. Though not for
long.
With typewriter, bible and sleeping bag in tow, Garry Davis
arrived at the Palace, which had been declared “international territory” by the
powers that be. For seven days, undocumented and undaunted, he camped on the
steps of the Palace to the delight of the press and the world public. One calm
and peaceful individual outside, in stark contrast to the hundreds of bombastic
and belligerent national leaders inside.
The presence of “Le petit homme” (the little man) was
a thorn in the leaders’ side. How could they continue their pretense of
“maintaining peace” between nations when one stateless individual could reveal
their impotence? How could they help all of the world’s citizens, when they did
not even know how to assist one individual world citizen? One of the highest
officials representing the nations declared, “Davis is a world baby. Our
Charter does not foresee being a nursemaid. States may join our organization.
Diapered citizens may not!” The embarrassed nations forcefully and illegally
removed Davis from the grounds of the Palace and attempted to put him back into
the nation-state box.
This was Davis’s second stand against the stalwart nation-state
system, the first being his renunciation of exclusive citizenship to one
nation, in favor of an inclusive embrace of all of humanity.
Time and again throughout his life, Davis spoke truth
to power. Just a few months after camping out at the nations’ Palace, Davis and
20 compatriots interrupted another session of squabbling national leaders. This
was Davis’s third stand against the “divide and conquer” power elite. From the
balcony, this time inside the Palace, Davis implored, “I interrupt you in the
name of the people of the world not represented here. Though my words may be
unheeded, our common need for world law and order can no longer be disregarded.
We, the people, want the peace which only a world government can give.”
He continued, “The sovereign states you represent
divide us and lead us to the abyss of Total War. I call upon you no longer to
deceive us by this illusion of political authority. I call upon you to convene
forthwith a World Constituent Assembly to raise the standard around which all
can gather, the standard of true peace, of One Government for One World.”
“And if you fail us in this, stand aside, for a
People’s World Assembly will arise from our own ranks to create such a
government. We can be served by nothing less.”
Attempting to free himself and humanity from the
shackles of the divisive nation-state, Davis continued to stand up to Goliath.
Commentary
Whether it was from his “Cabane du Bonheur” (Cabin of
Happiness) built on the divide between France and Germany or from his seated
position in the middle of the Allenby Bridge between Israel and Jordan, Davis
exposed the injustice and violence of human-made borders.
Like the Bible’s Goliath, the
nation-state is armed to the hilt. These weapons and national governments’ hubris,
Davis knew, would be their undoing. Through his words and actions, he exposed
the artifice of a system built upon the false belief that independent nations
could protect individuals within their frontiers. Davis revealed that the nation-state
system was crumbling under the weight of the world’s problems.
Unlike the Bible’s David, Davis was
armed only with his quick thinking and sense of humor. His claim of world
citizenship and his World Passport were his tools of revolutionary change.
Garry Davis wasn’t a hero because he
was a bomber pilot and fought for the nation; he was a hero because he
renounced war and killing. He gave up the comforts that the state would have
provided him. He went to jail to expose the injustice of the national war system.
And he spent his entire adult life teaching us to unite as world citizens -- to
achieve a peaceful world.
Davis once wrote, “If spending time
in the jails of the world would further the understanding of one world and one
humankind, then I would gladly forfeit my freedom again this very day. For it
is my considered opinion that this understanding alone is the sine qua non of
world peace.”
Davis had to be brave to challenge a
system that called him “kooky,” “misfit,” “crazy,” and “utopian”—to stand up to
injustice against our fellow humans and the earth.
Do we want the nation-state Goliath
to run our lives? Do we want to bow down to a system that separates us, human
from human, and makes us believe that we must fight one another?
Garry Davis taught us that as world
citizens we have the power to create an ethical system to govern our world. We
have the right and responsibility to build a sustainable, just and peaceful
world. This isn’t just a message for the New Year; this is a message for all
time.
No comments:
Post a Comment