The 'J' word

This week, Barak Obama used the word ‘Justice’ in his televised comment on the demonstrations in Iran (Jun 22). Apparently use of the word ‘Justice’ was debated for days in the White House because although Mr Obama wanted to use the ‘J’ word, the opposition wanted to use ‘freedom and democracy’.

It seems that recent western foreign policy has been chasing freedom and democracy and forgetting about Justice… as if we hadn’t noticed.

At the close of World War 11, Japan understood all too well the folly of aggressive empire-building and the bitter futility and tragedy of war. Since 1947 Japan has not committed a single atrocity against the people of another nation. Instead it has used its resources to transform itself into the second largest economy in the world.

Article 9
“Aspiring sincerely to an international peace based on justice and order, the Japanese people forever renounce war as a sovereign right of the nation and the threat or use of force as means of settling international disputes.”

Imagine then the worldwide benefits of taking Article 9 to the global level. The immense financial and human resources unleashed by disarmament could be immediately applied to developing practical solutions to the world’s most pressing problems, focusing on green technologies and green energy, education, solving poverty and health issues, implementing strategies against global warming and desertification, cleaning up toxic waste, converting weapons factories, and the disposal of nuclear weapons. http://imaginepeace.com/news/archives/7257