BORDERS OPEN, WALLS COME DOWN DALE CHENAULT Scottish Rite Paul R. Kach DeMolay Essay Scholarship 1991 Grand Prize Winner, 10th Grade and Below 116 Atkins Lane, Newport News, Virginia 23602-7206 THE WORLD HAS experienced sweeping changes in the past few decades, most especially in the past few years. Nations have become more dependent on worldwide economies and, breaking with philosophies of isolationism, have formed multi-national cooperative alliances. Furthermore, an age of advanced electronic communication connects countries on opposite ends of the globe through phone lines, television channels, and computer links. Due to these changes, a new way of thinking is developing and a world community is taking shape. A few short years ago, the world seemed to be on constant red alert. Nations argued and bickered with one another, emphasizing status and individual gain over universal welfare. The United States and the Soviet Union, in particular, played a deadly game of cat and mouse using weaponry that risked the entire planet. Armed hostilities often took place, and not always for very good reasons. It looked as if the world might never see real peace. Then things changed. Advanced technology made isolation and continued hostility unrealistic. Some nations embraced a new feeling of brotherhood, creating a domino effect around the world. Unlike infamous Communist regimes where poverty bred tyranny, the new dominoes of opportunity nurtured freedom, democracy, and what we proudly call "the American way." The results were amazing. Nearing the end of the 1980's, Eastern Bloc nations calling for freedom began to see their Communist governments crumble, and a dynamic Soviet president, Mikhail Gorbachev, allowed the transformation to occur. The dismantling of the Berlin Wall and the reunification of a democratic Germany heralded similar changes in many countries governed by Communist regimes. Poland, Czechoslovakia, Romania, Hungary, Yugoslavia - all experienced a shift to more democratic leadership. Even a bastion of Commu nism, the Republic of China, felt the stirrings of democracy as thousands of brave protes-tors risked imprisonment and, in some cases, their lives for a cause in which they believed. Although their fight ended tragically in Tiananmen Square, their memories will live on to inspire oppressed people to action and engender new political thinking in even the most backward governments. Today the world can no longer exist as a conflicting patchwork of nations. As our economies mix through trade and our cultures merge through communication, there is a growing sense of brotherhood. An unprecedented new world order is taking shape. No longer do countries act completely of their own accord, but instead they consult regional organizations or the United Nations. Even in times of hostility, such as the recent Persian Gulf War, countries did not act alone, but in a world community which cooperated to suppress threats to international peace. As the people of the world open their minds to each other, as we begin to communicate, as we start to understand who the other side really is, a brotherhood of nations is being formed, a brotherhood that will work together to make the future of the world and its people the best and brightest. And how has this come about? Surely the United States has been a key factor in this new openness. With dynamic leaders, we have convinced others to adopt our ideals. With patriotic spirit, we have assisted those who call for aid in their struggle for freedom. A force for peace and cooperation, the United States has enabled many of the world's changes to succeed. Our country protects those ideals of liberty and justice that all people hold dear in their hearts, and while we adjust our laws to fit the changing times, we never allow social whims to become legal precedents. Instead, with a backbone of great service organizations, such as Freemasonry, our nation has the strength to see ahead, to be a leader in this new emerging world, to initiate new border openings, to help tear down the walls, and to promote the grand spirit of brotherhood. There will always be trying times for humanity. While most understand the need for globalization, some are against it. There will always be people like Saddam Hussein, Fidel Castro, and Manuel Noriega. But just as surely there will be the United States, and - with understanding, perserverence, and cooperation - a united world. Globalization also comes about out of necessity. Because most nations are now industrialized, countries can no longer be dependent only on their own natural resources for production and distribution of goods. Instead, to make even a simple product, jobs and resources from various nations must be incorporated. For example, the U.S. is a major exporter of food products, the Arab nations export oil, and Japan exports electrical appliances. The societies, histories, and customs of these three nations are inherently different. Yet through needing the goods produced by the others, each country comes in contact with the others, and thus customs and ideas are exposed and absorbed into new societies. It would be too idealistic to believe globalization will mean the end of all conflicts between nations. Instead, this sense of interdependence decreases the chances of armed conflict and increases the likelihood of peaceful settlement. People are realizing that war, as deadly as it has become, can only be used as a limited and last resort. More advanced weapons are developed each year, bringing with them renewed fear in their capabilities and social responsibility to the countries that produce them. The world and humanity can easily be destroyed unless cooperation and communication are encouraged. Thus the walls are coming down and nations are forming new associations. People are social. We experience happiness when together, sadness when apart. Prolonged separation leads to misunderstanding. As divided nations we have misunderstood each other for centuries. Because it is easy to stereotype a distant and unknown group, a resistance to others and their ideas has become entrenched over the years. Yet with recent advancements in communication, technology, economics, and attitudes in general, people have been opening the borders and tearing down the walls. Acceptance of foreign ideas has become commonplace instead of rare. Isolation is diminishing, and a new spirit of brotherhood and cooperation has begun to pervade all of humanity. The future looks bright for an earth that can live peacefully for the good of all!