“Parliament President Jerzy Buzek expressed sadness and disappointment following the execution of Troy Davis in the US. The European Parliament, he said, still opposes the death penalty in all cases and under any circumstances. More @ http://bit.ly/pMlYsN”
Posted on the Facebook page of the European Parliament.
As economic power and influence drifts out of the hands of the west, and as the creeping reality that we are no longer all-encompassing and unique in that very influential area settles in our consciousness, perhaps it is time that we, as Europeans, take a deep look in the mirror and try to rediscover our core values and ideals.
Forged in the wake of an age of bloodshed, murder and destruction, in a rare equanimity of human-kind, our values, enshrined in the European Convention on Human Rights, it should be said, are still unique, even among the western world, and more importantly, among the wider world.
There are those, who are large in numbers, who would tell us that our values and ideals are what makes us weak. In this sense, we are also very much alone in the world. Yes, our principles of human rights often put us in awkward or troublesome situations, and yes, democracy is, more often than not, very difficult.
But very soon, those values and ideals are going to be the only thing that will make us different from the rest of the world. In a way, it could be said, this development is a good thing, as it will hopefully make us realize these salient facts, and force us to guard and treasure our core values and ideals even deeper.
After all, in the end, despite mockery and ridicule by others, I think that all of us know, in our hearts, that our values and ideals are not what makes us weak, they are what makes us strong.
