Dear Friends,
LAST WEEK’S PODCAST, with Jeffrey Weiss and Ed Fallon:
(01:59) Making progress on human rights;
(19:02) Defining genocide and terrorism;
(37:34) Cutting through the confusion on how the UN works;
(54:37) Our fruit foraging schedule, with Kathy Byrnes Fallon.
[Photo: Jeffrey Weiss and Ed Fallon taping this week’s program.]
Some say all politics is local. Maybe. But it’s also important that we know what’s going on in the rest of the world.
When it comes to getting a handle on global affairs, my go-to guest for the Fallon Forum is Jeffrey Weiss. Jeffrey’s a college prof, an activist, and a life-time student of international affairs.
Between wars, human rights abuses, genocide, famine, and the nuclear threat, there’s so much global strive that it’s sometimes hard to remain positive. But when you step back and look at the bigger picture, over time, we should feel encouraged.
Jeffrey makes some good points on the progress that’s been made on human rights. Sure, we’ve still got a long way to go, and some of the current abuses show the barbaric side of the human condition.
But it’s important to remember, and celebrate, that in the big scheme of things, as Jeffrey says, “One hundred years ago, if we brought up something called ‘human rights,’ a lot of people around the world would say ‘What’s that?’ The 20th century gave the world the definition of human rights, and one area of human rights that’s dramatically improved is the status of girls and women around the world.”
During our second segment, because there’s confusion over what is and isn’t genocide and terrorism, Jeffrey helps us navigate those terms.
We then get an overview of the United Nations, how it grew out of the League of Nations after WW I, how it’s been helpful, and yet how it’s still woefully inadequate as an effective forum to address and resolve conflict. I suggest to Jeffrey that a more democratic structure would help. He concurs, and describes the challenges to getting there.
For this week’s Farm and Food segment, Kathy and I share our “Fruit Foraging Calendar.” Thanks to excellent planning by Mother Nature, our favorite foraged fruits tend to ripen on a staggered schedule. We had a top-notch strawberry harvest in May, followed by a modest Juneberry harvest, followed by all the mulberries we cared to eat. Yesterday, friends with a bountiful cherry tree invited us out to pick, and we came home with eight quarts. Onward to plum, pawpaw, pear, and apple season.
The Earth is indeed good. I wish we would treat it, and each other, better. Again, we’ve made progress. Individually and collectively, let’s build on that progress.
Thanks for reading, listening, and doing your part for a better world.
Ed Fallon
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Ed Fallon