While war has been a function of virtually every generation in recorded time, what is new is that man now has the capacity not only to win battles, but to destroy all of civilization. In this context, Time Magazine's Man of the Last Century, Albert Einstein, poignantly observed that splitting the atom has changed everything, save our way of thinking. In this faster paced world, the value of civilization and the values of people as individuals and groups will be central. There is always a tension in a society such as ours that is based on firmly held ethical and religious values but which protects diversity of thought as a fundamental right. Transforming this tension into positive political energy is the genius of our Constitutional system.
Process is our most important product.
In the Christian tradition, the greatest advice columns ever written may well date back to the first surviving writings of the early church, the letters of Paul. Of particular note is the one he wrote from prison to the Philippians. This is a time frame in which negativity dominates American politics, a time frame in which respect for opposing views is breaking down. But there should be no doubt that for a political party to be sustaining, to lead this year as well as be here to lead the next century, it is our principled gentleness that must be made known to everyone.