Carter, Pope call for more dialogue
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By Melissa Coulter | Friday, May 16, 2008 |
Pope Benedict XVI’s United States visit got our commenters talking this week. Not about religion. Not about clergy sex abuse. They debated whether or not we should talk to our enemies.
“I find it interesting that Bush is meeting with the pope, while Jimmy C. is meeting with a terrorist,” RobertF wrote. “Carter should be arrested as soon as he lands back in America.”
Former president Jimmy Carter toured the Middle East this week on what he called a private peace mission. It included visits with leaders of Hamas, the militant party in control of Palestinian parliament. The group, bent on Israel’s destruction, is considered a terrorist organization by the United States.
“I think one of the main problems is we haven’t been talking to our enemies,” Atheist wrote. “We need to not only find out what is on their minds, but be sure we can properly convey what our demands are, as well. Just meeting with someone isn’t bad.”
Gestekoe disagreed. “ ‘Just meeting with someone isn’t bad.’ Really? So if I went over and met with Osama Bin Laden you wouldn’t judge me or even bring me in for questioning? It does matter who we talk to, especially in the uncertain times we are in now.”
Of course, there is a difference between you or me taking tea with Mahmoud Zahar and an ex-president and Nobel Peace Prize winner taking up diplomatic negotiations. U.S. and Israeli leaders disapproved of Carter’s endeavor. But in Carter’s mind, and in mine, someone needed to start this dialogue.
“You can’t have an agreement that must involve certain parties unless you talk to those parties to conclude the agreement,” he said in a speech at the American University in Cairo.
The pope exemplified this as he met this week with victims of clergy sex abuse and as he urged the United Nations to involve more voices in counteracting human rights abuses globally.
“What is needed is a deeper search for ways of pre-empting and managing conflicts by exploring every possible diplomatic avenue, and giving attention and encouragement to even the faintest sign of dialogue or desire for reconciliation,” Benedict said to the U.N. General Assembly on Friday.
The pope also met with President Bush, with whom he shares common ground on social issues, but with whom he dramatically disagrees about the war in Iraq and interrogation tactics.
“The beauty of the meeting is that to us it is all speculation as to what was said behind closed doors,” John T Moeller wrote. “Perhaps our president asked for forgiveness and advice, but we will never know. Perhaps they were having a meeting to be in agreement what to say publicly next about the terror problem and the slaughter of innocents.”
The possibility contained in any exchange of words is, indeed, beautiful. When there is no conversation, when there is no understanding, when we speak to each other only in threats or gunfire or missile attacks, the possibility of peace is diminished.
This applies as much to our personal lives as to international affairs. It applies to the exchanges on QCTimes.com as much as to conversations between world leaders.
In uncertain times, talking with other human beings, especially those with whom we think we have little in common, is the only way to make our world more secure.
Melissa Coulter writes on the comments posted online at qctimes.com. Contact her at (563) 383-2243 or at mcoulter@qctimes.com.
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