When I enroll in a book club through World Beyond War, (WBW) one of my biggest takeaways is the reaffirmation that we who believe humans have the capacity to create a better reality are not simply naïve, unrealistic idealists. Do you ever tire of hearing cynics patiently say that, realistically, it is too late, humans will never change, we’re doomed, we’ve always been war- makers, etc.? I sure do. Enough already! How well has that kind of thinking served us? In my view, cynicism is the easy, lazy route. It is much harder to see the ugly realities we humans have created, to acknowledge our seriously misdirected thinking, and get down to doing the actual work of charting a survival path. That work involves thinking and acting more creatively and inclusively, more concretely and more assertively, and making the radical changes we need to make while we still can. We have to be very engaged locally AND take it global now – it’s not an either/or – we’re part of one small planet we need to care for and share, just as children in kindergarten learn to care for their environment and to share with others who are perhaps not like their own family.
WBW’s inspiring 4 week book clubs are delivered by experienced, knowledgeable and committed progressive thinkers. They serve as small fundraisers for WBW, which is a 10 year old network of individuals and groups in over 75 countries. The last book club I joined was delivered by Edward Horgan, an Irish thinker/journalist. His recent book, around which the sessions very loosely unfolded, is called: Writing the Wrongs of Human Rights – in Letters Words, Sentences. 2023. The book comprises nearly 300 really interesting letters Horgan has written & had published in 3 Irish newspapers over nearly 50 years. His subject matter relates to his lived experience of the world around him – security, defence, neutrality and more.
Having joined the Irish army at age 18, Horgan served as a UN peacekeeper for over 22 years, followed by another 20 years as an international election observer. Along the way, he got a PhD. in International Relations & UN Reform. He has worked in many, many countries during his career, including 10 years (as an Irish army officer) with direct responsibility for prisoners in Curragh military prison, quelling internal disturbances among prisoners and their guards, and preventing prisoners from harming themselves. He works with the realities he finds and finds ways to improve those realities.
When “realists” accuse me of “relentless optimism”, I wish they would spend just a few moments in the company of a man like Edward Horgan, and see the hole they have dug themselves into. It is actually a whole lot easier to live in a state of well-being when you come up for air from that hole, start seeing the possibilities out there, and join a broader group of humanity in our common quest for equality, justice and freedom for all. There are so many of us on this path; it’s not that complicated – for one thing, we simply have to get bolder about truly living our values on a global scale. We have to think bigger.
The current book club I’m enrolled in is studying WBW’s manual: A Global Security System: An Alternative to War, as its authors produce a 6th edition. So we are examining each section of the book with a view to improving upon it. At the very least, I am going to know the current
edition of the book a lot better than I did before, learn how others respond to it, and together imagine ways to improve upon it. As for you dear Reader, I’ll keep you posted.
(Next week: more on AGSS)
