Wise at heart
What is wisdom? What does it mean? For most of us the answers will be slightly different. Some people might opt for achievements in business, whereas others say wisdom comes in terms of achieving a happy, peaceful life. Giles Crosse looks at wisdom and the current events in Pakistan. 
Photo Credit: Lee RGBStock
Either way, there are all kinds of things that impact on this, from education, to upbringing, culture, society and aspiration. Is there any way we might achieve a global wisdom, and what could this mean? What would change?
An interesting example of where wisdom is lacking can be seen in responses to the recent crisis in Pakistan.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has released some sobering data on the events.
‘Latest government figures indicate that the number of people directly affected by the floods remains at 17.2 million, spread across an area that stretches from the Chinese border to the mouth of the Indus River. The death toll has risen slightly to 1,542, with 2,327 confirmed as injured. A total of 1.2 million houses have either been damaged or destroyed,’ it says in an August 25, 2010 assessment.
‘At least 3.6 million hectares of standing crops have so far been damaged or lost. Loss of draught animal power and seeds as well as damage to agricultural land and infrastructure has crippled farmers’ production capacity for the next planting seasons (September/October).
‘Tentative indications from the assessment completed in Sindh on 22 August suggest that almost 500,000 homes have been destroyed or severely damaged, with significant crop damage observed in more than 70 per cent of surveyed districts.
‘As floodwaters continue to move to southern areas of Sindh, causing further damage, it is likely that the number of people in need of food assistance across this province will rise.
‘The Ministry of Livestock and Dairy Development estimates that 1.2 million large animals and 6 million poultry have been lost across the country. At least 3.6 million hectares of standing crops have so far been damaged or lost.
‘Silt deposited on fields, in places deeper than can be ploughed, could make it difficult to clear fields in time for sowing crops next month. It is estimated that 500,000 metric tons of wheat seeds stored at the household level have been destroyed.’
Yet amid this troubling scene, focus is, in certain places, shifting to war, political points scoring and opportunities which might be gained from all of this.
‘This is a disaster on many levels,’ wrote The New York Times on August 17, 2010. ‘It is a tragedy for millions of people. It also is a strategic threat, to the stability of Pakistan’s nuclear-armed government and to American efforts to suppress Al Qaeda and other extremists wreaking havoc on both sides of the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. These groups are eager to use the crisis to sow more resentment toward Islamabad and Washington and win new adherents for their nihilistic cause.
‘In some areas, radical Islamic charities have provided shelter and hot meals well before the beleaguered authorities could bring in supplies. This is a battle for hearts and minds. It is one that Pakistan’s government, and the United States, must not lose.’ it said.
Of course this opinion doesn’t represent official US policy. Yet it’s pretty likely there are very well paid analysts beavering away to work out the ‘strategic’ impacts of all of this.
It’s a remarkable illustration of how lacking global wisdom is. Instead of reacting with a sense of humanity and purpose, thoughts turn to ways of controlling a foreign state, self defence and a race not to save lives, but to win some form of contest for ‘hearts and minds’.
There seems to be a lacking of ‘connectness’ inherent in this, an inability to distance competition and argument from genuine compassion.
Perhaps a wiser global community could in future years distance itself from such short termism, and concentrate more on things which bring people together, rather than drive them apart. This is where education can become key, where tomorrow’s adults can be offered new ways of thinking.
Things like international exchange programmes might be made a compulsory part of national curriculums, encouraging a wider spread of ideas, and developing better understanding of the needs and issues that aren’t right at our front door.
Interestingly though, it’s quite tough to imagine today’s politicians having the imagination, will or drive to make such things happen. Yet change like this would enable global trade, understanding and potentially limit the need for weaponry and defence programmes.
Which path to choose?
Of course there is no knowing what any true global wisdom is, or whether such a thing necessarily exists. But it takes no more than a few seconds to find examples of how wisdom is lacking in the way we do things today.
That perhaps is reason enough for us to make a change.
What are your views? Not sure? Read the resources below for more information. Add your comment below. We welcome your thoughts and proposals. Not a Planetary Citizen? Sign up to Our Future Planet today!
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Resources
Pakistan Monsoon Floods: OCHA Situation Report
