Opinion: From Buddhist Perspective, Government Dishonesty Shows Arrogance

July 19, 2003

Source: Independent

http://argument.independent.co.uk/commentators/story.jsp?story=425610

On July 19, 2003 the Independent ran an opinion piece by John Peacock, director of Sharpham College for Buddhist studies and contemporary enquiry, in which he discussed the British government's unwillingness to admit wrongs in the handling of the Iraq war: "Such reticence to own up to any form of manipulation, mendaciousness or mere mistakenness makes many people uneasy. But it is particularly disturbing to those, like me, who view events from a Buddhist perspective, for it appears indicative of a wider climate of arrogance that haunts many aspects of political life, both foreign and British...The Buddhist tradition offers a particular insight which could help arrest this deterioration. Perhaps the first thing which is required is a lessening of the rampant egotism that appears to dominate those in power...In addition, there also has to be a readiness to own up to errors of policy and judgement, together with the humility to admit to fallibility."