Signs of Hope

Many of us who watched or heard about the UN General Assembly of last week have focused on Trump’s and Netanyahu’s display of ugliness. Yes, it’s likely that never before words so cruel and inhumane were pronounced in that room, hallowed in the past by the remarks of some of the greatest human beings of the 20th century. I would like, however, to point you to some other speeches uttered in the same room, on those same days, which represent true signs of hope for the world.

Against the bullies of today, president of the EU Council Antonio Costa reiterated the importance of multilateralism: Multilateralism is not an ideal of the past. It is the only realistic way to address the problems of today. Alone, no country can prevent a pandemic, stabilize the climate, secure resilient supply chains, regulate Artificial Intelligence, ensure financial stability or deliver sustainable development. Alone, no country, however powerful, can build lasting peace.

The Secretary General of the U.N., Antonio Guterres, who is leaving the position soon, has reiterated the absolute need for a multipolar world as a response to the world crisis, characterized by a shift in power dynamics as power itself is concentrated in the hands of few technocrats and is even handed over to AI machines.

Guterres did not mince words. He said: The fault lines in our world are widening. Cracks have become canyons. Over the last decade, wars erupted with devastating consequences and dragged on with despicable cruelty. Civilians were targeted. Human rights trampled. Hunger weaponized. Humanitarians killed. International law cast aside. Geopolitical divides have deepened. Inequalities have intensified. Trust has frayed. The climate crisis went from distant warning to daily reality. And artificial intelligence moved at a speed that has blindsided even those who created it.

Very perceptively, Guterres continued: These are not separate crises. They are chapters of the same story. The story of power. Who has it. Who is denied it. How it is used. And how it is changing.

Spanish leader Pedro Sanchez was clear as day: I take the floor here with a single aim, and that is to defend what many are trying to destroy. With a charter of the UN in his hands, Sanchez explained on what the three flawed pillars on which the current attacks on the UN — which he called coordinated attempts at demolition — are based: selfishness, ignorance, and cruelty. These three definitions were very obviously meant for Trump and whoever tries to follow in its steps.

Sanchez offered examples of the utterly violent and destructive activites of Trump and his cronies. He continued, however, by saying: I have also seen wonderful things that keep me believing in humanity, such as activists putting their own lives at risk. Humanity is neither inherently good nor inherently bad. Humanity can be both. And every year, every day, in every crisis, humanity must decide how to act.

Brazilian president Inacio Lula da Silva also had some pearls such as: The U.N. Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese cannot be silenced for telling the truth. On the Ukraine war, he said what to me is a sensible thing to say: We all know that there will be no winners on the battlefield. Diplomacy is the only option. On Venezuela: The Venezuelan people deserve to define their own destiny. He defined the U.S. blockage of Cuba as a collective and illegal punishment. He also defended science — against its corrupt use by a handful of oligarch technicians — and promised to continue to reduce deforestation in Brazil.

All of this to me sounds like Via Transformativa, that is, spirituality in action. I invite you to find these and some other speeches and watch and listen to them, as the passion of delivery is often at least half of the meaning of the speech itself. Observe the way in which these powerful men — and, unfortunately, very few women — take the podium and speak.

Let us also reflect on the fact that spiritual questions and yearning were interpreted in that U.N. room mostly by people who do not consider themselves “believers” while those two despicable politicians named at the beginning of this DM — whose proud public identity is “Christian” and “Jew” — continue to carry on the program of the devil.

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Banner image: United Nations General Assembly hall. Photo by Patrick Gruban, cropped and downsampled by Pine. Wikimedia Commons.

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Queries for Contemplation

What suprised you, or made your curious, about any of the speeches at the recent U.N. General Assembly? How would you relate yourexperience of such speeches to your spirituality?

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Related Reading by Matthew Fox

TRUMP AND THE MAGA MOVEMENT AS ANTICHRIST: Recognizing the Archetype of Evil in Our Time (Available for pre-order)

A Spirituality Named Compassion: Uniting Mystical Awareness with Social Justice

Adam Bucko and Matthew Fox, Occupy Spirituality: A Radical Vision for a New Generation

Sins of the Spirit, Blessings of the Flesh: Transforming Evil in Soul and Society

Original Blessing: A Primer in Creation Spirituality

Creation Spirituality: Liberating Gifts for the Peoples of the Earth