Global Citizen or Denizen?

Nancy Pelosi, the strong-willed Speaker of the House, has come under attack this week for her diplomatic visit to Syria. Yes, that’s right, her “diplomatic” travels are under scrutiny by the current administration because President Bush doesn’t believe in speaking to people he doesn’t agree with. Fight them, yes. Speak to them, no. Ms. Pelosi’s actions here are quite laudable though. She has demonstrated the kind of chutzpah that separates true leadership from well, plain old pettiness.

The public criticism of Ms. Pelosi’s visit to Syria reminded me of something I had read several months ago that seemed very befitting to the contrast between President Bush’s handling of foreign policy versus that of Ms Pelosi’s. I had been given a catalogue for Claus Miller’s “Signs for Peace” exhibition which features conceptual artwork created from the fingerprints of peacemakers around the world. Walter Veltroni, Mayor of Rome, writing in the preface of this catalogue, reflected on a quote from Kofi Annan who was in turn explaining peacemaking from the perspective of traditional African society:

When dealing with conflict “people gather together under the largest tree in the village and talk. And, ‘if you can’t solve the problem, you meet the next day and you keep talking till you find the solution.’ This is the only path to follow, in dark difficult times such as ours, marked by terrorism and war: the path of dialogue, discussion, mutual respect, and negotiation. Peace is the way to achieve peace. It is a task that each of us can take upon his or her own shoulders, with humility and responsibility, knowing that every small act, every symbolic gesture, may be useful. For lighting up hope. For dispelling fear and egoism, which would be overcome.”

Ms. Pelosi is obviously ready to find her own “Sign for Peace” and actually reported that she felt hopeful for the future at the conclusion of her dialogue with Syrian officials. Perhaps, by reaching out to Syria in such a diplomatic way, this small symbolic gesture of Ms. Pelosi’s could have powerful consequences. Maybe, it will even serve as a signifier to other leaders in the Western world that it is time for them to recognize the importance of their role as global citizens rather than denizens. It’s time to talk and of course, listen.