Responsibility Is the Ability to Respond to Crisis

This poem was inspired by Gareth Evans who coined the term ‘Responsibility to Protect’ which he wanted enshrined in the United Nations to ensure that nations would act if there was a humanitarian crisis. It takes great courage to protect the innocent, yet the greatest power resides in those who save lives, rather than taking life.

I dedicate this poem to Gareth for leading by example and showing the world another way.

RESPONSIBILITY TO PROTECT

Respons-Ability to protect,
Is the ability to respond,
In any situation of threat to human life,
For all people are birthed from a human family,
And we are a member-ship,
The key is do we re-member our responsibility?

Many around the world are living to survive,
Or surviving to live,
And it is said we are our brother’s keeper,
For this is the true meaning of peace keeping,
We keep the peace,
We ensure cultures of peace,
As the most effective preventative strategy,
For a world in crisis.

Some see the world as an equal playing field,
Yet the mountains, plains, savannahs and valleys are not level,
There are many undulations in the water course,
Highs and lows,
Drought and flood.

The multinational playing field is an ethos of profit maximisation,
This is an intervention not a responsibility to the future of all life,
For to protect corporate profits and market share becomes a responsibility to the few,
It is the mindset that has little social responsibility,
And the levers of power are pulled and pushed,
According to the demand to supply.

Governments are the mouth piece,
That gives air time to vested interests,
For peace one must look within,
Yet corruption is business as usual,
Values are impractical barriers to greed,
For many children grow up knowing that money is the seed of power,
And as they earn their living they learn,
That survival is a business transaction without emotion,
To rationalise is to feed one’s own family,
But few see the family as extended to the community,
For the economic paradigm has taken root,
Traditional values are the lost flute,
The reed that is drying out in stagnant waters,
For the climate has seriously changed.

When responsibility is learned,
It becomes the cornerstone of a civil society,
For a society with values etched in common,
Becomes comm-unity,
A common humanity,
That sees itself in the other.

For western values promote capitalism,
Unfettered competition of free for all markets,
Where the winner takes all,
The losers are rendered beggars on the streets,
Land mine victims with stumps and a can,
Shaking vigorously to be seen,
Awaiting the charity of western interests,
Who walk amiably past in disguised discomfort,
Refusing to act on impulse,
Why do they walk past?
They feel that it will never end,
They believe it is a fact of life,
They see it as not their problem,
They absolve themselves of responsibility,
For they are not empowered to act,
All their lives they are told what to do,
And this is the basis of a society of falsified consent,
That obeys prevailing norms without question.

The bully is the symbol of power made manifest in dominance,
Every child has known the defencelessness of intimidation,
The perceived weakness of non-violence,
Each has witnessed that others do nothing to help,
For it is a structure of violence that is covertly accepted,
That allows the victimised to remain minimised,
For this is the root of the culture of violence,
That allows insecurity to dominate those perceived as weaker.

For this is how power is felt,
How power is garnered,
How power uses force rather than reason,
For the latter requires merit and patience,
And a conscience that sees power as shared,
For this is the response of those responsible,
They are indeed able to respond,
In truth,
Yet in a world that has barely reached beyond notions of self interest,
These are challenging lessons to teach,
And resistant notions to learn,
But not impossible.

For the way will be made visible in actions of non violence,
Implementing strategies to imbue cultures of peace worldwide,
And this rests in the hands of wise governance,
International understanding of impending catastrophe is the turning point,
For the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is not a motherhood statement,
Although it is universal motherhood that ensures the right to a quality of life
for all people.

Therefore, the chessboard becomes the circus tent,
Where we learn to play with ideas,
We see the skill and perseverance in performing to our best,
For the big top is the potential of Everest,
And we can make it when we don’t give up,
For every artist knows that we can create a new script,
And each trapeze artist has found we can all fly,
When we focus on reality and try,
And this takes courage, commitment and trust,
That there is a higher way,
Than boom to bust.