It seems, from following my daily diet of information overload, that those in positions of leadership in government, business and individuals generally are deciding for their own self-interest and convenience what the North Bearing Pole on their moral compass should be. This comes with the ever repeated claim of “It’s my individual right” or in the case of nation states, “It’s my sovereign right.”
The fundamental reality of this claim is the world is beginning to look like a highway with increasing visual violations of conflicting signs and lights. Increasing gridlock and chaos is the result.
You want the right to drive on the highways, fine. Have the responsibility to follow a common set of rules and use the same north bearing pole on your compass as everyone else.
One specific example of the need for a compass check on the international scene is the Huawei, Meng Wanzhou issue involving China and Canada. How can there be any satisfactory resolution of this issue without a common setting of the North Pole of trust, honesty and regulation, designed for the collective good of all, rather than for the competitive rewards of power, control, influence and self-interest?
Conventional wisdom promotes an understanding that this is a complicated issue. This is true to the extent that China continues to insist on driving according to its own rules, which violate basic human rights.
It’s time for some straightforward openness, honesty, trust and collaborative energy so that the moral compass of China is set with the same north bearing pole as our own.
Canada is not perfect but as a democracy we make an effort to follow baseline values, which honour the quest for responsible freedom, inclusion and empowering the human condition, rather than imposing conformity through fear and state control.
There are certain objective standards that are imperative for a society and world to follow. These standards are laid out in the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights (UNDHR). They are clearly stated and have evolved through struggle, sacrifice and the application of a collaborative democratic process, honouring the basic values of honesty, trust and respect for the dignity of each human being.
It is time for China and all countries of the world to set their moral compass co-ordinates according the UNDHR.
Once this becomes a global understanding and directs our individual and sovereign beliefs and actions, solutions to problems will still have their challenges but will become possible and there will be a renewed hope for greater world stability and peace.
Wilf Borgstede, St. Albert
