March 4, 2008

“Hard Power and Soft Power”

I had dinner last night with Tony Blair. That sounds impressive, doesn’t it? The former Prime Minister of Great Britain was speaking at DePauw University, and as a Trustee of that UM-related school, I was invited to join other trustees, staff, and spouses for a dinner, photo opportunity, and reception in which we each had time to talk briefly with Mr. Blair. Tony Blair is an extremely affable person, he converses well, he looks you in the eye, he steps toward you to greet you (as opposed to other “famous” people I have met who wait for others to approach them), and he seemed interested in each person he met. He asked me several questions about Indiana and about The United Methodist Church. He expressed surprise to hear that we have over 1200 churches and over 220,000 members here in Indiana. In short, he is a delightful person, and Marsha and I enjoyed meeting him.

His speech to a packed gymnasium at DePauw dealt with our fast-changing world, our need to have a global vision, and our call to care for justice and values in the world – not just as citizens of nation-states but as global citizens. He even argued that we must care for issues like the starving children in Africa, if not out of moral concern, then out of self-interest because we (the US and Britain) must win the war of ideas in the world. That of course led him to comment and to answer questions during the Q & A time about the war in Iraq and the war on terrorism. He argued quite articulately that there are times when we must defeat terrorism with “hard power” but he also stressed the importance of “soft power” to win the war on terror. He described “soft power” as the power of ideas, values, morals, and freedom for all persons. He emphasized that there is a global struggle in our world between the ideals and ideas of freedom and human dignity verse terrorism and despotism. Frankly, I think Tony Blair does a much better job of describing the real issues of these struggles than does our own President Bush.

Whether or not one agrees with Mr. Blair’s conclusions about the current war in Iraq, he did an excellent job of describing “soft power” and how it ultimately prevails. As I listened to his depiction of soft power, I thought of the words and the actions of Jesus during what we call Holy Week. He rode into Jerusalem on a donkey, a sign of a king coming in peace. He warned that “those who live by the sword will die by the sword,” and he urged his followers to “turn the other cheek” when offended. He even offered himself as a peaceful sacrifice to overcome the obvious “strong power” of the Roman Empire. Which empire still exists today? Not the Roman Empire, but the kingdom of the One we call the Prince of Peace.

The long run of history teaches us, indeed, that “soft power” is the ultimate strength. “Strong power” may rule for a time, but it cannot stand up to an idea whose time has come, or to the basic human values and freedoms that all people seek.

I found it fascinating to hear Mr. Blair say that he spends a lot of time reading theology these days, including the religious thinking of a variety of religions. Whether or not Tony Blair has all of the right political answers for our time, he eloquently reminded us of the power of faith – the truly strong “soft power” of God’s people.

from Bishop Michael J. Coyner
Indiana Area of The United Methodist Church

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