Focus Article: Charter puts a new face on the Golden Rule
by Karen Armstrong and Archbishop Desmond Tutu
On 27 September at the Vancouver Peace Summit, amongst some of the world’s most well-known peace-makers–including Nobel Prize winners and internationally-acclaimed authors–we had the opportunity to invite people everywhere to rediscover the Golden Rule.
The Charter of Compassion was composed by leading thinkers from many different faiths. It is a cooperative effort to restore not only compassionate thinking but, more importantly, compassionate action to the centre of religious, moral and political life. Compassion is the principled determination to put ourselves in the shoes of the other, and lies at the heart of all religious and ethical systems.
Why is this so important?
One of the most urgent tasks of our generation is to build a global community where men and women of all races, nations and ideologies can live together in peace. Religion, which should be making a major contribution to this endeavour, is often seen as part of the problem. All too often, the voices of extremism drown out those of kindness, forbearance and mutual respect. Yet the founders of each of the great religious traditions rejected the violence of their time and sought to replace it with an ethic of compassion. Read more…
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World Commentary
- War Is a Hate Crime by Chris Hedges
- Americans Pull Strings in Afghan Election by Eric Margolis
- Beware a Times/Pentagon ‘Virtual Coup’ on Aghanistan by Harvey Wasserman
