For those following the Israel/Lebanon/Hezbollah crisis, I stumbled on a blog today that I strongly recommend you bookmark: http://risinglebanon.blogspot.com/. The blogger, Elza Maalouf, approaches the conflict from an integral perspective, which is sorely lacking in the discussion over this crisis. Not only are the Israeli and Hezbollah leaders clearly working from a tribal mindset, but I find much of the American punditry is also doing the same. I believe that military solutions -- even U.N. peacekeeping forces -- are short term at best, and the only long-term solution is for these tribal cultures to move to a more pluralistic, postmodern world view. Thought leadership like Elza's is very helpful in this regard.

My favorite comedian, Stephen Colbert, just performed at the White House Correspondents' Dinner and pulled no punches, lampooning the U.S. president and the press alike. It was one of the most amazing bits of comedy I've ever seen, not for the laughs it got -- it didn't -- but rather as a strong statement that in the absence of a healthy press corps, comedy has swooped in as the U.S.'s new fourth estate, counterbalancing the current absurdity coming out of the three branches of government. This was a truly courageous performance.

See part of it here:
http://www.crooksandliars.com/2006/04/29.html#a8104

    There's a great interview of Olympic speed skater Joey Cheek here: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5250135 . For those unfamiliar with his story, he's a U.S. gold medalist who was chosen to carry his flag at the closing ceremony, not because of his medal, but because of his profound humanitarian act of donating all of his cash winnings (40K USD) for refugee children in the Darfur region of Sudan.

    There are two important things to note about this action. Firstly, though very successful at his sport, Cheek realizes his moment of fame is fleeting.  He  articulated a choice between gushing about how wonderful he feels (egocentric), or using his moment of fame to benefit those who are suffering half a world away (world centric). In choosing the latter, his hope was that this act would bring attention to the Darfur genocide longer -- a lot longer -- than a single daily news cycle.

   Secondly, in the U.S., not only are the majority of our current political leaders making decisions from an ethnocentric viewpoint, but our news media itself has trended from world centric to ethnocentric as well over the past decade or so. This was apparent to Cheek as he was traveling the world. Most non-U.S. news broadcasts devoted heavy coverage to the Darfur story (currenty over 200,000 people killed!), but Cheek was dismayed at the relative dearth of coverage in the U.S., even from the "venerable" CNN, on what is likely the biggest human tragedy of this century so far. This was a big motivator for him.

    It's no secret that we Americans are not as well-loved around the world as we once were. Cheek and others like him provide a crucial function in reminding the world that not all Americans have regressed to a premodern world view. He is an exemplary ambassador in a time when the U.S. has too few.

    I saw Paul McCartney and his wife Heather on the Larry King show the other night, speaking out in protest of seal hunting in Canada. What really struck me was that early on in the show, Paul was emphasizing an inclusive solution that factored in not only those outraged by the practice and the seals they want to protect, but also the livelihood of seal hunters and the local economy in general. He proposed replacing the local hunting industry with an ecotourism industry, shown to be very successful in other parts of the world. Everybody would win -- the seals, the animal activists, the local citizens and their businesses, the tourists, everyone. This of course is not his original idea, but it is very significant that one of the most world-famous and beloved people alive would so nicely articulate an integral solution to a highly visible problem. Because I'm sure millions were listening to him, and because he so immediately connects with the masses, I imagined that our cultural center of gravity was elevated for a short moment.

    However, this moment was short-lived as the show deteriorated into a shouting match between his wife Heather and a Canadian politician, both apparently mired in their first-tier positions. A shame. Had the show ended on its high note during its first half, that would have really been something.