THE HUMAN FAMILY ~

A Vision of the Peoples of the World





A brief summary of our beliefs and intentions  follows:


We believe

. .that our past has much to teach us, and that we can learn as
much, or more, from our mistakes as we can from our successes;

. . .that by acknowledging those mistakes, we can prepare the way for
reconciliations and renewed friendships between us;

. . .that our differences of nationality, culture and history are a
source of the richness of human society;

. . .that tolerance and open-mindedness, backed up by positive
action, can heal most of the wounds we have inflicted on each other;

. . .that we are all entitled to our beliefs, customs and
preferences – but we have no right to impose those beliefs,
customs and preferences on others;


. . .that the primary purpose of education from now on should be to
encourage and empower the personal growth of every student, and to
eliminate fear, arrogance and aggression from the syllabus once and
for all;

. . .that competition is healthy only so long as it does not lead to
ruthlessness, dishonesty and unscrupulousness;

. . .that honor, respect, kindness and compassion should no longer be
thought of as virtues but rather as an essential part of our nature,
without which we are incomplete;

. . .that our governments should reflect the will of the people they
serve; that they should guide, advise and lead us - but not compel or attempt to control us;


. . .that men and women have much to learn from each other, and good
reason to respect each other; and that they make better partners and colleagues than rivals;


. . .that in all matters affecting the quality of our lives and our
future, men, women and children should all have an equal voice;

. . .and that, in view of the interconnectedness of all people and
all things, we should now consider ourselves to be citizens not only
of our country and our race, but of the world.


We intend

. . .to face the future with confidence and self-respect, but without
arrogance or feeling seperate;

. . .to share our knowledge and experience, our strengths and
resources with others;

. . .to remember that in all our encounters and relationships, we are
not only representing ourselves, but our family, our country and our
race;

. . .to contribute whatever we can to the quality of human life;

. . .to do whatever we can to protect the Earth, whose gifts we have
taken for granted and whose hospitality we have abused;

. . .to do whatever we can to create, and to help others to create,
another way of life on Earth - a life without poverty, disease,
crime, famine, fear, injustice, oppression, insecurity, hatred and
war.

And who is going to perform this miracle?

We are. . .

The Human Family

A Vision of the Peoples of the World


The above draft has no author - it wrote itself because it wanted to do so.


Like any first draft it is incomplete, its purpose being to prompt
others to create and publish a more evolved and complete Vision of
the Peoples of the World - an informal code of honour and practice
that will set the seal on our lives and on human relations for
generations to come.

We urge those who are privileged to draw up this document to do so in
a language that will be understood by us all - especially
the younger generation...