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The opinions of this posting are mine and mine alone and do not represent any official agency in any form. Dear Burnie, Jack , friends, This posting is so hard to write for part of me is scared stiff the other despairing. Recent postings have looked at what is a standard of judgment and it has included values and ontological statements. Recent events here in Japan have produced a sever challenge to values that I hold as core. I am referring to the recent detonation of a nuclear device by North Korea. Japan is my adopted home now and has a history of troubles with North Korea including abductions of its citizens and in 1989 a test missile was fired over Japanese territory from North Korea. A close friend in a personal communication told me that Chomsky talks throughout his political writings about hat in non-democratic countries, overt strategies of control and command are put in place, and people are frightened into believing that they should act and think in a particular way, whereas in democratic countries, it is necessary to resort to much more subtle kinds of control, such as persuasion and propaganda. Again I can identify closely with what she said. . Here in Japan the subtle propaganda is continuous. In what appears on the surface to be a democratic free society is actually in practice subject to ridged controls to conformity. News Papers and television are controlled by the same people. News out side of Japan is limited. The main public issues at this time are North Korea which is causing deep concern. The subtle and not so subtle signs are now actively in place where North Korea is being vilified and made as to be the enemy. Nationalism is back alive and well and hungry for power. ALL IT WILL TAKE IS ONE MORE MISSLIE LAUNCH FROM North Korea, it does not matter if it is successful or not. And Japan will change its constitution to move from a peace defence force to an aggressive capability. People are actually talking about preparing for an attack from North Korea with a sense of disbelief; sadly such preparations may make sound practical sense in the long run. Japanese civil disaster programmes are well rehearsed. However a response to a nuclear incident is a different matter completely requiring a different mind set. However with many people still alive who experienced the full horror of a nuclear weapon release on its cities and the aftermath containing the fear will be the hard task. Perhaps that is why there is little public debate on what is actually happening and much confusion. I am trained in nuclear war nursing and understand fully understand its horrors yet when I ask my colleges about the situation they have the naïve belief that America will protect them. I am plunged into deep despair at such ignorance. Against such a back drop of madness focusing on the action research list at bath is some times a problem as it appears worlds away from the reality lived here. Yet in another sense the values mentioned on the list need to be stated in public to heighten people awareness. To understand the fear and not allow it to move in to a national psychosis. Pray for peace and train for war is a saying that I often heard when I was in the military and with a nation that does not follow international rules the world has become a much more dangerous place over night. I would modify that aying in pray for peace and train for survival Much debate is being held over the size of the weapon as if that is important. Some argue that North Korea’s 200 intermediate missiles are not capable of carrying a nuclear war head. However North Korea does not need to launch its own missile against any one . The threat of selling the technology and weapons to countries and organisations whom share north Korea’s hatred for the USA or its allies is the very real threat. In a country where its people are starving the leaders will seek hard currency and expecting them to be logical or responsible is in itself a form of delusion. I am puzzled by the silence and the lack of reaction by our political and educational leaders. The human condition to cause suffering on its own species and environment has reached a new level of madness. Sure the cold war was a dangerous time but at least the players were held in check by guaranteed mutual destruction as sick as it may seem. Such a grantee ensured that the world never when over the brink. Now with the release of this technology there is a very good chance that an organisation or individual could use a nuclear device and get away with it. The super powers would be powerless to strike of punish a country for an act of an individual. Morally can they strike at the provider if the provider provided for peaceful purposes to the end user? The question has now moved away from IF such an event occurs to the reality of when such an event occurs. So where is our voice as educators, we are supposed to be part of an intellectual elite so why the silence? I can not be silent and I suspect it will cause me trouble. I can not be silent for my love of humanity, I can not be silent as this madness is not spoken about, our leaders at all levels of our social structure need to be challenged as to how they are going to lead and more that that planning needs to be implemented not just on a local level but a multinational one. I believe our world has changed and I am completely stunned at the silence and acceptance of the new order of things? I am certain that national bodies have been working hard on this problem and it comes as no surprise that events are as they are. Yet I am haunted by my military training where the exercises we so calmly ran in our war games and scenarios when we talked about reverse triage and contamination scales and projections, casualties in unheard of numbers, containment of areas and civil and social break down.This is no game and reality is knocking at the door. This problem is not just a military one but the problem for all citizens of this world. In a way our silent compliance as citizens has lead to where we are now. Government and citizens are going to have to change the way they think and the price of our so called freedom has just gone up. Such talking is nor with out its risk to those who for what ever reason do not wish for such a debate to take place. So my path is now set by the posting of this letter. I hope that some will walk with me. Love to all Je Kan Quoting Bernie Sullivan <[log in to unmask]>: > I’ve been following the interesting and stimulating discussion on > standards of judgement/discernment and related matters since Je Kan > opened proceedings on Friday last. I can identify with contributors > who write of ‘walking the talk’ and who emphasise the value of living > practice as opposed to just using a form of words. In this context, > Brendan Kennelly, one of Ireland’s foremost poets, said, ‘I didn’t > want an explanation. I wanted the passionately real experience of it.’ > Like Je Kan, I established my own living standards of judgement, > based on the ontological values that underpin my life view, as the > criteria for evaluating my educational practice. I felt justified in > adopting this stance because I was engaging in a living theory form > of action research, as practised by Jack Whitehead and Jean McNiff. > Among the values that give meaning to my life are social justice, > equality, inclusion and respect for others. To discern whether I am > living in the direction of these values, I pose questions such as: > In my educational practice, do I ensure that all pupils are treated > in a just and fair manner? > Do I create the conditions necessary for equality of educational > provision, particularly for disadvantaged pupils? > Do I provide opportunities for inclusion of marginalised pupils, such > as children from the Traveller community? > In my research accounts, I have provided evidence of incidents that > demonstrate the fulfilment of these criteria in my educational > practice. I take Jack’s point, though, that a visual representation > of the evidence would probably provide a more compelling and rigorous > explanation of practice and might be an approach towards answering > Brian’s questions. However, another quote from Brendan Kennelly > sounds a note of caution in this regard, ‘This whole nature of having > your mind and imagination bullied by the provable and the visible is > anathema to me.’ I realise, of course, that poetry and educational > research are two separate disciplines, but my commitment to inclusion > compels me to incorporate insights from other areas into my field of > education. > > Regards, > Bernie Sullivan. > > > > > ----------------------------------------------------------------- > Find the home of your dreams with eircom net property > Sign up for email alerts now http://www.eircom.net/propertyalerts > Rev Je Kan Adler-Collins Assistant Professor of Nursing Fukuoka Prefectural University Faculty of Nursing Tagawa City Fukuoka Prefecture Japan