Amid a war of his own choosing, US President Donald Trump recently tried to threaten his way out of it.
On 7 April, he posted on Truth Social that unless Iran buckled to his will, “a whole civilisation will die tonight.”
One wonders how brazen the president has become – threatening a sovereign and fiercely independent nation that is one of the world’s oldest civilisations, with urban settlements dating back to the 5th millennium BC.
The remarks reveal a regressive underlying ideology that sees the world in black and white – where the US seeks to dominate rather than collaborate with other nations.
They also raise a vital moral question about civilisation, especially in a complex world.
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As a Catholic and a civil society activist, I would like to emphasise the moral dimension of civilisation.
The Catholic understanding holds that advancing civilisation is a religious duty for humanity. It is a “collaboration” with nature and God to improve the human condition – enriching intellectual, artistic and material life while connecting the finite with the infinite. It is not merely a secular, historical or technological construct, but a “social” endeavour aiming to express divinely revealed truth in a tangible way.
For nations to live in peace and harmony, they need to understand the complexity of all civilisations – and learn to collaborate, coexist and enrich one another for the sake of justice and the common good.
There are clear differences today between the United States and China in how each promotes its civilisation.
The paradox is striking. The Communist Party of China, which does not believe in God, comes closer to the Catholic understanding of civilisation in some respects – having lifted millions of its people out of poverty and demonstrated its civilisational identity through technological development and collaboration with other nations.
Meanwhile, the US, which claims to be a religious country, finds itself embroiled in imperial wars and economic sabotage.
What is apparent is that China is strengthening its civilisation while the US appears to be declining – in part due to its own actions of threatening other civilisations.
US complicity in the genocide in Gaza and, more recently, in the Israeli invasion of Lebanon, points to a declining civilisation in retreat – one that does not build, but destroys.
While Chinese news channels are busy promoting economic and technological contributions to the world, mainstream American and Western media focus on divisive ideological politics and support the Zionist agenda.
It is vital, therefore, for people around the world to understand what constitutes a moral civilisation – particularly in addressing urgent issues such as war, poverty and human marginalisation.
The Chinese model of civilisation, even though flawed due to its autocratic governance, appears to strengthen itself by advancing the global common good.
The US, by contrast, is indulging in self-serving priorities – locked in a distorted domineering worldview that threatens any nation unwilling to bow to its interests.
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