“The very rules of the game, and the specific position of the Secretariat inside the system, force the Secretariat in its activities as representative of the Organization as a whole to apply what is now often called quiet diplomacy. […] In the General Assembly, as well as in the Councils, open debate is the rule. […] They have introduced a new instrument of negotiation, that of conference diplomacy. This instrument has many advantages. […] But it has, also, weaknesses. There is the temptation to play to the gallery at the expense of solid construction. And there is the risk that positions once taken publicly become frozen, making a compromise more difficult.” – From speech by Dag Hammarskjöld at the University of California, Berkeley, 25 June 1955 (Falkman 2005, pp. 131–132).
“Chou En-Lai stands out as the most superior brain I have found in the field of foreign policy”. – From a private letter by Dag Hammarskjöld, 1955 (Falkman 2005, pp. 43–44).
“The principles of [the Charter of the United Nations] are, by far, greater than the Organization in which they are embodied, and the aims which they are to safeguard are holier than the policies of any single nation or people.” – Statement by Dag Hammarskjöld in the General Assembly, 31 October 1956 (Falkman 2005, p. 28).
“True collective security, in the sense of an international police power engaged to defend the peace of the world, is to be found at the end, not at the beginning, of the effort to create and use world institutions that are effective in the service of the common interest.” – From a speech by Dag Hammarskjöld, 1956 (Falkman 2005, p. 35).
“We should, rather, recognize the United Nations for what it is – an admittedly imperfect but indispensable instrument of nations working for a peace evolution towards a more just and secure world order.” – Dag Hammarskjöld’s words from the introduction to the UN annual report 1956/1957 (Falkman 2005, p. 69).
“[…] United Nations itself as an experiment in international organization. […] The United Nations is something definite also in the sense that the concepts and ideals it represents, like the needs it tries to meet, will remain an ineluctable element of the world picture.” – From speech by Dag Hammarskjöld in front of the American Jewish Committee, 10 April 1957 (Falkman 2005, pp. 68–69).
“It is easy to turn the responsibility over to others or, perhaps, to seek explanations in some kind of laws of history. It is less easy to look for the reasons within ourselves or in a field where we, all of us, carry major responsibility. However, such a search is necessary, because finally it is only within ourselves and in such fields that we can hope, by our own actions, to make a valid contribution to a turn of the trend of events.” – From speech by Dag Hammarskjöld at the University of Cambridge, 5 June 1958 (Falkman 2005, p. 193).
Quotes by Hammarskjöld from: http://www.daghammarskjold.se/quotes/
Part 1 of 3
“In my new official capacity the private man should disappear and the international public servant take his place.” – From a statement by Dag Hammarskjöld in front of the press when he arrived in New York, 9 April 1953 (Falkman 2005, p. 63).
“For some people the driving force in life is faith in the success of their efforts. For others it is simply a sense of duty. We need both types of men.” – From speech by Dag Hammarskjöld at the University of California, Berkeley, 13 May 1954 (Falkman 2005, p. 208).
“Too often our learning, our knowledge, and our mastery are too much concentrated on techniques and we forget about man himself.” – From speech by Dag Hammarskjöld at Amherst College, 13 June 1954 (Falkman 2005, p. 207).
“Modern art teaches us to see by forcing us to use our senses, our intellect and our sensibility to follow it on its road of exploration.” – From speech by Dag Hammarskjöld at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, 19 October 1954 (Falkman 2005, p. 220).
“A mature man is his own judge. In the end, his only form of support is being faithful to his own convictions. The advice of others may be welcome and valuable, but it does not free him from responsibility. Therefore, he may become very lonely.” – From Dag Hammarskjöld’s inaugural address at the Swedish Academy, 20 December 1954 (Falkman 2005, p. 203).
“From generations of soldiers and government officials on my father’s side I inherited a belief that no life was more satisfactory than one of selfless service to your country – or humanity.” – From the radio speech “This I Believe” by Dag Hammarskjöld, 1954 (Falkman 2005, p. 58).
“The concept of loyalty is distorted when it is understood to mean blind acceptance. It is correctly interpreted when it is assumed to cover honest criticism.” – From speech by Dag Hammarskjöld at the Johns Hopkins University, 14 June 1955 (Falkman 2005, pp. 199–200).
I was going to just copy and paste an article about Tong Phuoc Phuc here, but I'm unsure of the copyright status, so I'll just try to summarize.
Here are some links, maybe useful in the future: http://www.unmaskingchoice.ca/blog/2012/05/18/tong-phuoc-phuc-father-vietnam http://eyedrd.org/2012/06/tong-phuoc-phuc-a-man-with-a-golden-heart-has-taken-care-of-more-than-100-abandoned-babies.html
Tong Phuoc Phuc, of Vietnam, was struck with the number of abortions that appeared to happen just during the time of his own wife's delivery in the hospital. "I was wondering, where are the babies?" he said, watching women enter the delivery room and return alone. 'Then I realized they had abortions.'
Because his wife had a difficult delivery, he made a promise with God that if his wife survived, he would find some way to help. At first, he simply bought a piece of land where he could give each fetus a proper burial. He would pick up the remains from hospitals and abortion clinics. He has buried over 10,000 such fetuses.
Women who had gone through an abortion themselves, heard of this small cemetery and came there to pray. Soon, women who were only considering abortions came to him, and he welcomed them into his own home.
He has been adopting unwanted children and from the counts I have seen, has adopted 19 as his own, giving them his own surname, but he has helped over 100, his goal being to reunite the babies with their mothers if possible.
He was not a rich man by any means, being a construction worker, and his wife running a small stall (I'm assuming in the market). From the video I've seen, it's a pretty cramped little apartment, full of babies. Sometimes he has had to borrow money to pay for food. But people have helped him, and donations have come from as far away as the US.
"No matter how good I am, it would not be as good as real mother’s love. So every time a mother came back, I would be very glad," he said.
When I first saw the video, I was awestruck. This is an example that has stayed with me, and points to a better way, in my opinion, of handling the abortion issue.
You also wrote: "They will force a woman to give birth to an unwanted child, and then refuse to help her raise him."
This is an excellent point, and I think that those folks, such as myself, who are against abortion, should look toward ways of helping and supporting those mothers who need it, both before birth and after.
If there were a multitude of standing offers from willing families around the world to adopt any "unwanted child" instead of aborting it, no-questions-asked, that would be a greater witness against abortion than all the laws that could be written against it.
We should be running to the adoption agencies with empty cradles to be filled, rather than running to the abortion clinics with pitchforks.
I wonder if that particular translation of Exodus 21:22 may be causing a misinterpretation.
In the KJV, it says:
22 If men strive, and hurt a woman with child, so that her fruit depart from her, and yet no mischief follow: he shall be surely punished, according as the woman's husband will lay upon him; and he shall pay as the judges determine.
23 And if any mischief follow, then thou shalt give life for life,
24 Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,
25 Burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.
What if "yet no mischief follow" means that the baby did not die, only that the birth was premature? And if the birth was premature, but no other harm was done, then a fine was still levied.
But if the baby died, then "life for life."
It doesn't make much sense to repeat the "eye for eye" command as a special case for a pregnant woman. Eye for eye would have applied to any woman, not just a pregnant one. But it does make sense to have a special case in law to clarify the case of a premature birth, and have it apply to the baby.
Do we not also condemn (however mildly) the use of drugs and alcohol by pregnant women in our own society? And we condemn that, or at least warn against it, because of the future harm it could cause to the baby, either in physical or mental deformities. If something happened during pregnancy that directly affected the physical or mental abilities of the newborn child, wouldn't we naturally think there would be some kind of liability?
If two men were fighting, and by their carelessness struck my pregnant wife, then even if there were no premature birth, nor lasting harm, I'd still feel wronged enough to think a fine was just, simply for the fact that they struck my wife, even if I might ultimately forgive them in the end. But if my unborn son was dead because of the carelessness of two random thugs, I'd want more than just a fine.
Would you not feel the same about your wife and son?
Dag Hjalmar Agne Carl Hammarskjöld (29 July 1905 – 18 September 1961) was a Swedish diplomat, economist, and author. The second Secretary-General of the United Nations, he served from April 1953 until his death in a plane crash in September 1961. He is the only person to have been awarded a posthumous Nobel Peace Prize. Hammarskjöld remains the only U.N. Secretary-General to die in office, and his death occurred en route to cease-fire negotiations. American President John F. Kennedy called Hammarskjöld “the greatest statesman of our century"
In 1953, soon after his appointment as United Nations secretary general, Hammarskjöld was interviewed on radio by Edward R. Murrow. In this talk he declared: "But the explanation of how man should live a life of active social service in full harmony with himself as a member of the community of spirit, I found in the writings of those great medieval mystics [Meister Eckhart and Jan van Ruysbroek] for whom 'self-surrender' had been the way to self-realization, and who in 'singleness of mind' and 'inwardness' had found strength to say yes to every demand which the needs of their neighbours made them face, and to say yes also to every fate life had in store for them when they followed the call of duty as they understood it."
His only book, Vägmärken (Markings), was published in 1963. A collection of his diary reflections, the book starts in 1925, when he was 20 years old, and ends at his death in 1961. This diary was found in his New York house, after his death, along with an undated letter addressed to then Swedish Permanent Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Leif Belfrage. In this letter, Dag writes, "These entries provide the only true 'profile' that can be drawn ... If you find them worth publishing, you have my permission to do so". The foreword is written by W.H. Auden, a friend of Dag's. Markings was described by a theologian, the late Henry P. Van Dusen, as "the noblest self-disclosure of spiritual struggle and triumph, perhaps the greatest testament of personal faith written ... in the heat of professional life and amidst the most exacting responsibilities for world peace and order." Hammarskjöld writes, for example, "We are not permitted to choose the frame of our destiny. But what we put into it is ours. He who wills adventure will experience it — according to the measure of his courage. He who wills sacrifice will be sacrificed — according to the measure of his purity of heart." Markings is characterised by Hammarskjöld's intermingling of prose and haiku poetry in a manner exemplified by the 17th-century Japanese poet Basho in his Narrow Roads to the Deep North. In his foreword to Markings, the English poet W. H. Auden quotes Hammarskjöld as stating "In our age, the road to holiness necessarily passes through the world of action."
Wikipedia says: On April 3, 1882, Jesse James was killed by Robert Ford, who was a member of the gang living in the James house and who was hoping to collect a state reward on James' head.
Wikipedia again: Patrick Floyd "Pat" Garrett (June 5, 1850 – February 29, 1908) was an American Old West lawman, bartender, and customs agent who became famous for killing Billy the Kid.
The legacy I spoke of was not your own, but that of your daughter. I know myself, if my life was taken, I would not rest easy knowing my mother showed bitterness towards others as a result. I would hope she sought out the help she needed and found peace. I would not want her to be a 'victim' for the rest of her days. Your comments towards the man that perpetrated the crime against your loved one are not random obviously, but negative comments I have seen you leave on other bloggers posts, are.
Over the course of my time here I have not paid much attention to Mr Clarke's blogs and this was perhaps the first comment I have ever left for him. I do not take much from reading what can be interpreted as personal attacks on blogs, and don't pay them much attention, just as I don't appreciate personal attacks about the comments I choose to leave.
You asked me "Do you honestly think your comments here are going to change Mr. Clarke's demeanor and/or behaviors?".
Interestingly, it is not Mr Clarke's demeanor and behaviors I am as concerned about changing, as your own. I chose to comment on this post because it showed me that Mr Clarke has taken the time to look at what is being said, and asked himself... 'why are they saying these things, and lets look at why that might be.' To send in the submission he has, it shows me that he spent a lot of time on self reflection, and this is what leads us all to personal growth. I'm not suggesting for a moment that he's reached the stage of enlightenment, but he's trying and should be commended for that. That is why I chose to offer my support for this particular post and that is what I hope all of my comments encourage.
I got your letter, and I hear you sent a card as well (at least I assume it was you). Thank you. I've read and re-read the letter a few times. You gave me quite a bit to think about. This is a brief note to say thank you.
I will write a proper letter and mail it after the holidays when I have more time.
Until then, my thoughts are with you. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. One step closer to you being free again.
RSS
“The very rules of the game, and the specific position of the Secretariat inside the system, force the Secretariat in its activities as representative of the Organization as a whole to apply what is now often called quiet diplomacy. […] In the General Assembly, as well as in the Councils, open debate is the rule. […] They have introduced a new instrument of negotiation, that of conference diplomacy. This instrument has many advantages. […] But it has, also, weaknesses. There is the temptation to play to the gallery at the expense of solid construction. And there is the risk that positions once taken publicly become frozen, making a compromise more difficult.”
– From speech by Dag Hammarskjöld at the University of California, Berkeley, 25 June 1955 (Falkman 2005, pp. 131–132).
“Chou En-Lai stands out as the most superior brain I have found in the field of foreign policy”.
– From a private letter by Dag Hammarskjöld, 1955 (Falkman 2005, pp. 43–44).
“The principles of [the Charter of the United Nations] are, by far, greater than the Organization in which they are embodied, and the aims which they are to safeguard are holier than the policies of any single nation or people.”
– Statement by Dag Hammarskjöld in the General Assembly, 31 October 1956 (Falkman 2005, p. 28).
“True collective security, in the sense of an international police power engaged to defend the peace of the world, is to be found at the end, not at the beginning, of the effort to create and use world institutions that are effective in the service of the common interest.”
– From a speech by Dag Hammarskjöld, 1956 (Falkman 2005, p. 35).
“We should, rather, recognize the United Nations for what it is – an admittedly imperfect but indispensable instrument of nations working for a peace evolution towards a more just and secure world order.”
– Dag Hammarskjöld’s words from the introduction to the UN annual report 1956/1957 (Falkman 2005, p. 69).
“[…] United Nations itself as an experiment in international organization. […] The United Nations is something definite also in the sense that the concepts and ideals it represents, like the needs it tries to meet, will remain an ineluctable element of the world picture.”
– From speech by Dag Hammarskjöld in front of the American Jewish Committee, 10 April 1957 (Falkman 2005, pp. 68–69).
“It is easy to turn the responsibility over to others or, perhaps, to seek explanations in some kind of laws of history. It is less easy to look for the reasons within ourselves or in a field where we, all of us, carry major responsibility. However, such a search is necessary, because finally it is only within ourselves and in such fields that we can hope, by our own actions, to make a valid contribution to a turn of the trend of events.”
– From speech by Dag Hammarskjöld at the University of Cambridge, 5 June 1958 (Falkman 2005, p. 193).
Part 1 of 3
“In my new official capacity the private man should disappear and the international public servant take his place.”
– From a statement by Dag Hammarskjöld in front of the press when he arrived in New York, 9 April 1953 (Falkman 2005, p. 63).
“For some people the driving force in life is faith in the success of their efforts. For others it is simply a sense of duty. We need both types of men.”
– From speech by Dag Hammarskjöld at the University of California, Berkeley, 13 May 1954 (Falkman 2005, p. 208).
“Too often our learning, our knowledge, and our mastery are too much concentrated on techniques and we forget about man himself.”
– From speech by Dag Hammarskjöld at Amherst College, 13 June 1954 (Falkman 2005, p. 207).
“Modern art teaches us to see by forcing us to use our senses, our intellect and our sensibility to follow it on its road of exploration.”
– From speech by Dag Hammarskjöld at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, 19 October 1954 (Falkman 2005, p. 220).
“A mature man is his own judge. In the end, his only form of support is being faithful to his own convictions. The advice of others may be welcome and valuable, but it does not free him from responsibility. Therefore, he may become very lonely.”
– From Dag Hammarskjöld’s inaugural address at the Swedish Academy, 20 December 1954 (Falkman 2005, p. 203).
“From generations of soldiers and government officials on my father’s side I inherited a belief that no life was more satisfactory than one of selfless service to your country – or humanity.”
– From the radio speech “This I Believe” by Dag Hammarskjöld, 1954 (Falkman 2005, p. 58).
“The concept of loyalty is distorted when it is understood to mean blind acceptance. It is correctly interpreted when it is assumed to cover honest criticism.”
– From speech by Dag Hammarskjöld at the Johns Hopkins University, 14 June 1955 (Falkman 2005, pp. 199–200).
Here are some links, maybe useful in the future:
http://www.unmaskingchoice.ca/blog/2012/05/18/tong-phuoc-phuc-father-vietnam
http://eyedrd.org/2012/06/tong-phuoc-phuc-a-man-with-a-golden-heart-has-taken-care-of-more-than-100-abandoned-babies.html
Tong Phuoc Phuc, of Vietnam, was struck with the number of abortions that appeared to happen just during the time of his own wife's delivery in the hospital. "I was wondering, where are the babies?" he said, watching women enter the delivery room and return alone. 'Then I realized they had abortions.'
Because his wife had a difficult delivery, he made a promise with God that if his wife survived, he would find some way to help. At first, he simply bought a piece of land where he could give each fetus a proper burial. He would pick up the remains from hospitals and abortion clinics. He has buried over 10,000 such fetuses.
Women who had gone through an abortion themselves, heard of this small cemetery and came there to pray. Soon, women who were only considering abortions came to him, and he welcomed them into his own home.
He has been adopting unwanted children and from the counts I have seen, has adopted 19 as his own, giving them his own surname, but he has helped over 100, his goal being to reunite the babies with their mothers if possible.
He was not a rich man by any means, being a construction worker, and his wife running a small stall (I'm assuming in the market). From the video I've seen, it's a pretty cramped little apartment, full of babies. Sometimes he has had to borrow money to pay for food. But people have helped him, and donations have come from as far away as the US.
"No matter how good I am, it would not be as good as real mother’s love. So every time a mother came back, I would be very glad," he said.
When I first saw the video, I was awestruck. This is an example that has stayed with me, and points to a better way, in my opinion, of handling the abortion issue.
This is an excellent point, and I think that those folks, such as myself, who are against abortion, should look toward ways of helping and supporting those mothers who need it, both before birth and after.
If there were a multitude of standing offers from willing families around the world to adopt any "unwanted child" instead of aborting it, no-questions-asked, that would be a greater witness against abortion than all the laws that could be written against it.
We should be running to the adoption agencies with empty cradles to be filled, rather than running to the abortion clinics with pitchforks.
In the KJV, it says:
22 If men strive, and hurt a woman with child, so that her fruit depart from her, and yet no mischief follow: he shall be surely punished, according as the woman's husband will lay upon him; and he shall pay as the judges determine.
23 And if any mischief follow, then thou shalt give life for life,
24 Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,
25 Burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.
What if "yet no mischief follow" means that the baby did not die, only that the birth was premature? And if the birth was premature, but no other harm was done, then a fine was still levied.
But if the baby died, then "life for life."
It doesn't make much sense to repeat the "eye for eye" command as a special case for a pregnant woman. Eye for eye would have applied to any woman, not just a pregnant one. But it does make sense to have a special case in law to clarify the case of a premature birth, and have it apply to the baby.
Do we not also condemn (however mildly) the use of drugs and alcohol by pregnant women in our own society? And we condemn that, or at least warn against it, because of the future harm it could cause to the baby, either in physical or mental deformities. If something happened during pregnancy that directly affected the physical or mental abilities of the newborn child, wouldn't we naturally think there would be some kind of liability?
If two men were fighting, and by their carelessness struck my pregnant wife, then even if there were no premature birth, nor lasting harm, I'd still feel wronged enough to think a fine was just, simply for the fact that they struck my wife, even if I might ultimately forgive them in the end. But if my unborn son was dead because of the carelessness of two random thugs, I'd want more than just a fine.
Would you not feel the same about your wife and son?
Dag Hjalmar Agne Carl Hammarskjöld (29 July 1905 – 18 September 1961) was a Swedish diplomat, economist, and author. The second Secretary-General of the United Nations, he served from April 1953 until his death in a plane crash in September 1961. He is the only person to have been awarded a posthumous Nobel Peace Prize. Hammarskjöld remains the only U.N. Secretary-General to die in office, and his death occurred en route to cease-fire negotiations. American President John F. Kennedy called Hammarskjöld “the greatest statesman of our century"
In 1953, soon after his appointment as United Nations secretary general, Hammarskjöld was interviewed on radio by Edward R. Murrow. In this talk he declared: "But the explanation of how man should live a life of active social service in full harmony with himself as a member of the community of spirit, I found in the writings of those great medieval mystics [Meister Eckhart and Jan van Ruysbroek] for whom 'self-surrender' had been the way to self-realization, and who in 'singleness of mind' and 'inwardness' had found strength to say yes to every demand which the needs of their neighbours made them face, and to say yes also to every fate life had in store for them when they followed the call of duty as they understood it."
His only book, Vägmärken (Markings), was published in 1963. A collection of his diary reflections, the book starts in 1925, when he was 20 years old, and ends at his death in 1961. This diary was found in his New York house, after his death, along with an undated letter addressed to then Swedish Permanent Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Leif Belfrage. In this letter, Dag writes, "These entries provide the only true 'profile' that can be drawn ... If you find them worth publishing, you have my permission to do so". The foreword is written by W.H. Auden, a friend of Dag's. Markings was described by a theologian, the late Henry P. Van Dusen, as "the noblest self-disclosure of spiritual struggle and triumph, perhaps the greatest testament of personal faith written ... in the heat of professional life and amidst the most exacting responsibilities for world peace and order." Hammarskjöld writes, for example, "We are not permitted to choose the frame of our destiny. But what we put into it is ours. He who wills adventure will experience it — according to the measure of his courage. He who wills sacrifice will be sacrificed — according to the measure of his purity of heart." Markings is characterised by Hammarskjöld's intermingling of prose and haiku poetry in a manner exemplified by the 17th-century Japanese poet Basho in his Narrow Roads to the Deep North. In his foreword to Markings, the English poet W. H. Auden quotes Hammarskjöld as stating "In our age, the road to holiness necessarily passes through the world of action."
Wikipedia says: On April 3, 1882, Jesse James was killed by Robert Ford, who was a member of the gang living in the James house and who was hoping to collect a state reward on James' head.
Wikipedia again: Patrick Floyd "Pat" Garrett (June 5, 1850 – February 29, 1908) was an American Old West lawman, bartender, and customs agent who became famous for killing Billy the Kid.
Over the course of my time here I have not paid much attention to Mr Clarke's blogs and this was perhaps the first comment I have ever left for him. I do not take much from reading what can be interpreted as personal attacks on blogs, and don't pay them much attention, just as I don't appreciate personal attacks about the comments I choose to leave.
You asked me "Do you honestly think your comments here are going to change Mr. Clarke's demeanor and/or behaviors?".
Interestingly, it is not Mr Clarke's demeanor and behaviors I am as concerned about changing, as your own. I chose to comment on this post because it showed me that Mr Clarke has taken the time to look at what is being said, and asked himself... 'why are they saying these things, and lets look at why that might be.' To send in the submission he has, it shows me that he spent a lot of time on self reflection, and this is what leads us all to personal growth. I'm not suggesting for a moment that he's reached the stage of enlightenment, but he's trying and should be commended for that. That is why I chose to offer my support for this particular post and that is what I hope all of my comments encourage.
I got your letter, and I hear you sent a card as well (at least I assume it was you). Thank you. I've read and re-read the letter a few times. You gave me quite a bit to think about. This is a brief note to say thank you.
I will write a proper letter and mail it after the holidays when I have more time.
Until then, my thoughts are with you. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. One step closer to you being free again.
Always,
Jason