NEW HOPE INTERNATIONAL REVIEW ON-LINE

This is an A4 leaflet. The concept and ethos of the newsletter seems laudable:

A regular bulletin highlighting the energy of goodwill in world affairs.

When politics is involved, common sense and the value of human life seems to float out of the window. There is another item called ADOPT-A-MINEFIELD. This is a campaign to raise awareness and funds to clear landmines. Again, this seems a sensible move. Unfortunately, I have heard reports that in some places where they were cleared they were promptly put back again! The trouble is that the problem itself needs to be tackled before the results of the problem can be addressed. Looking at the results of the problem and skittering around the edges is the easy option.

The article entitled DISSOLVING FEAR AND MISTRUST: RENEWING THE PSYCHE OF PEOPLE AND NATIONS reports on the Assagioli approach, saying that:

Assagioli likens the behaviour of nations to that of early adolescents — self-assertive, independent and aggressive. Little wonder that international relations are currently characterised by the sort of needs that we find at the bottom of Maslow's hierarchy: survival, security and identity, those related to the three lower chakras. The self-aware part of a nation is represented by the minority of artists and thinkers who "seek to awaken and develop the true consciousness of the nation, to interpret its past and to point the way to its future development".

It is just as well that some people are prepared to speak up for humanity, as the WORLD GOODWILL NEWSLETTER advocates, regardless of gender, age and nationality.

This is published from The Lucis Trust, edited by Dominic Dibble. Published four times a year, it is offered free of charge to interested readership. WGN proves once again that good things can and do come in small sizes. It is only 6 pages put together with great well written articles and features about issues that concern every one of us living in this world wherever the place may be, particularly, when we are ever so desperately in need of more good will.

Around since 1932, it is recognised as a non-government organisation by the United Nations and represented at UN briefing sessions as well as having a place on the Roster of the United Nations Economic and Social Council. Lucis Trust is an educational charitable organisation registered in Britain. It has organisational charitable presence in the US and Switzerland.

The newsletter has a well researched, well thought out and well written article, LAWS, GOODWILL AND JUSTICE. The article is based on well grounded arguments and sharp rationale, with a lot of interesting anecdotes. One interesting one being: the Sanskrit word for justice: Yu that means "to bind together" and goes on to find a connection of law being something related to the community of people and thus in need of continuous progression and development in order to maintain connection to the ideal of justice that essentially relate to people and greater good.

There are good observations and assertions, even though we may not agree with them, that make good reading.

There is an article about THE PRISONER. This is a timely presentation in a world where even well established democracies like Britain are becoming ever so dictatorial in terms of showing a "no tolerance" policy towards crimes and the convicted criminals. There seems to be a radicalisation and to a degree militant vigilantism growing among the population against crimes and criminals as well as the prisoners. This group of people is increasingly being seen, viewed and treated with contempt. These people have committed crimes and are now paying for it. However, it seems the society is not happy just sending and keeping them in prisons, it wants to, if it can destroy them in the way so that they have no way of getting back to a normal social life! Once they have criminal records they are done!

This articles deals with these essential issues that impact upon "9 million people" of humanity who are in prisons around the world! 9 million people around the world are in prison and we claim we have a good system of civilisation, society and system of governance!

It has been said that the ethical values of any society are reflected in the way it respects the traditions and cultures of its minorities. Perhaps the same analogy can also be applied to the way in which society treats those who are imprisoned.

People who are interested about these issues will find this article quite interesting and resourceful as it gives global pictures of the thinking landscape of this area.

WGN is available in many other languages: Danish, Dutch, French, German, Greek, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish and Swedish.

Only disappointing thing that must be mentioned here is this that WGN mostly uses its own staff writers to write their materials and there is nothing wrong in that. However, the writers' names do not appear on publication. This seems to go against the very natural justice WGN seeks to uphold. Even though these writers are employed and cannot hold the copyrights of these pieces, surely there is nothing wrong in acknowledging their contributions!

This small quarterly publication was established in 1932, and is subtitled,

A regular bulletin highlighting the energy of goodwill in world affairs.

There are three articles in total, and the long opening piece, entitled LAWS TEMPORAL AND SPIRITUAL, is broadly typical of the style throughout. That is, it is generally relaxed in tone, logically arranged, although without an especially vigorous analysis. The key topic is summed up by a sentence occurring about midway through:

If citizenship is based upon the following of universally accepted laws, then how are laws that are fully international in scope to be drawn up?

The second article, JUSTICE AND MERCY, is similar in scope, recommending Bailey's ESOTERIC ASTROLOGY as a source. Nevertheless, it deals with the important question of understanding how crime against an individual can be understood as simultaneously a crime against society.

Finally, the third article, LAW AND FREEDOM IN THE MODERN WORLD, is probably the least skilled in its execution, being somewhat carping in manner, and pointing out what seem to be self-evident examples of over-burdening legislative practices using examples that are both confused and confusing. Once again, Bailey's perspective is treated as talismanic and this imprecision in outlook results in a discussion that is not wholly constructive.

Altogether, while I cannot help but admire a project of such long-standing, cosmopolitan ideals focusing upon 'the energy of goodwill in world affairs', it is difficult to see how such a limited, even inward-looking range of reference, and inexact goals, can make a significant impact on a wider audience unaccustomed to (or unsympathetic with) the spiritualist orientation underwriting the arguments presented here.

This is an interesting and informative leaflet, taking world action — including business — from a mainly Christian viewpoint, but including many other formal religions, helping and showing how one can encourage and benefit from trust, energy and goodwill.

All countries are enveloped in this organisation — The Lucis Trust — no matter what their colour, religious or political beliefs.

This free leaflet is widely distributed, also available on the web and relies solely on donations to keep it going.

Worth reading.