Letters

GENI Wants Input

Each month, in appreciation for your ongoing support, we send you the most exciting news and developments of GENI becoming real in the world. A question we always ask ourselves is "What is missing in the world that, if provided, would forward the understanding and development of this global solution?" We welcome your input.

As you know, the Gorbachev Foundation hosted the event last October in San Francisco where I had the opportunity to share GENI personally with President Gorbachev. Now, there is a Latin American State of the World Forum planned in Mexico in August. Four hundred officials, business leaders, spiritual leaders, etc., will be meeting to discuss the long-term development strategies for their own region. GENI has been invited to participate as 1 of 20 international guests!

In a world that seems in chaos more often than not, GENI is providing a sane and thoughtful solution that impacts many of the world's problems. Thank you so much for supporting this work and for making possible a world that can work for everyone.

In partnership for the planet,
Peter Meisen, President,
Patricia Stevens, Executive Director

(GENI can be reached at P.O. Box 81565, San Diego, CA 92138, USA.)

Impressed and Curious

Sir,

I have just been visiting your web site and am most impressed with your organization's goals. I am an admirer of Bucky Fuller's work, as is any intelligent human being. I am curious: do you have any affiliation with Philip Iseley and his movement to create a world federation via the constitution for the Federation of Earth? That is a point I'm curious about.

My main concern today is with what is happening to the Freemen of Montana. In my eyes, they have every right to separate themselves from society and live in any manner they see fit, as did the Branch Davidians in Waco. Is there not some way that International Law can be invoked to keep the Federal Government from murdering the Freemen down to the last man, woman and child? My examination of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights indicates to me that the Freemen are being denied just about every right under that document. The U.S. Government has no regard for its own charter (the U.S. Constitution), so it would be interesting to see how they would react to challenges on the basis of U.N. law and precedents.

Gerald

(Publisher's note: To Gerald's first inquiry re: Iseley and his constitution for the Federation of Earth, the World Government of World Citizens arrives at world order from the opposite direction, that is, the de facto acceptance of one world, one human species and one absolute moral value whatever its name. [Ref. The Ellsworth Declaration, Sept. 4, 1953.] Iseley claims that world government only begins after a world constitution has been ratified and that world citizenship begins only after the world government is fully functioning. The first position is holistic or ontological, maintaining that sovereign people begin governments [Ref. The Declaration of Independence], whereas the latter position is that only governments make higher government, hence Iseley's use of the word "Federation."

As to so-called international law or "U.N. law" protecting the Freemen of Montana, it does not exist. If it did, it would supersede national law, and wars between nations would cease to exist. Had the inhabitants of the Montana Freemen group exercised their sovereign right to claim a higher or global citizenship consistent with common problems-of which state exclusivity is one wherein violence is monopolized-the U.S. government could not deny them that right, as it is codified in national law itself. [Ref. Act of Congress, July 28, 1868.] Indeed, the founding fathers were the first to exercise that inalienable human right. Members of the Freemen group compromised their position, however, by first transgressing U.S. criminal law. They must first pay the penalty of that transgression before exercising the right of self-determination. That human right cannot be used as an escape hatch for criminal acts.

As to the use of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, to my knowledge, no members of the Freemen have specifically claimed any rights therein. A declaration, however, even if signed by nations, has neither legislative nor enforcement power. It is merely a catalogue of engagements to be activated by humans individually and collectively. Although Art. 21[3] provides that "The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government...," until that will is codified in communal civic terms, it remains only a pious belief. The Freemen insist on their "independence." But such "independence" is a chimera in our interdependent world. Their illusion is compounded by their reckless and fallacious reliance on arms. Attempting to compete with the United States government on this level is tantamount to admitting defeat on the moral and political levels where the U.S. government cannot compete.)

Informative Issue of WCN

To: Garry Davis

I am pleased to continue my subscription to World Citizen News. I must tell you I found the current issue (April/May 1996) quite informative . . . especially liked the article by Vaclav Havel.

Thanks-PAX.

Charles R. Colmant

A Vote for World Government

Namaste,

You have a wonderful web site, one of the best I have encountered. I didn't realize so much is going on in this area, and has been since 1948. The Ellsworth Declaration was particularly enlightening and inspiring. Also enjoyed the cartoons. They are quite effective at getting basic information across. From what I've seen thus far, World Government is clearly the way to go. National politics and power struggles cause the bulk of the problems in the world. That truth will see the light of day, and when it does, nothing on earth will be able to stop it. Once again, thanks for all the great work you are doing. To a bright future in which we all are ONE. Be Happy and Create Well!

In Peace, Love, and Light,

Wayne Hartman