Friday, January 24, 2014

England's Historical Niche

Organization planning for the Exit Strategy for Iraq calls for a two events--at Oxford and Stonehenge--to enable England to withdraw gracefully from the conflict in Iraq. We are looking at the idea of unification and its counterpoint--conflict resolution.

We have offered England the chance to re-establish their historical niche.

In its colonization period, England conquered and colonized many nations around the planet. "The Sun never sets on the British Empire." This may have been oppressive to the people, but it also enabled a common language and a sense of unification to be established. That is not its only historical niche.

Thousands of years ago, kings and queens from all over the known world traveled to England--to Stonehenge--to participate rites of conflict resolution.

If you recall the Arthur legend, prior to his time, there were many small kings, and disputes between them could decimate their warriors and make them vulnerable to takeover by a third king. It was imperative to handle disputes without going to war. It makes no sense to wage war unless you are sure of winning.

The solution was a brilliant marketing strategy. Create an impressive venue of huge stones, and during the times when the Earth energy is the highest, you hold a rite of conflict resolution. Something like "dueling banjos." Or Riverdance. A competition, but only one person is symbolically killed, based on the premise that power games continue on until an innocent person is sacrificed.

The end of the power games occurred when Saddam Hussein was sacrificed. When the UN weapons inspectors did not find WMD, he was considered innocent of the charges made against him.