The Elders

(the unedited version of letter published today in Globe and Mail)

Dear Editor:

Re: the Elders

Your article was particularly fascinating to me. Ten years ago I hustled Pierre Trudeau in Nelson, B.C. for an interview. He declined at first but then he read my letter and back issues of The Nelson Village Voice which I was publishing at the time. He wanted to respond to the third and last question in my letter: Is there a necessity to put in place (in writing) a moral imperative as in a global creed by which all countries, corporations and religious fiefdoms must abide?

He replied that indeed, “Yes. A Charter of Obligations. We have a Charter of Rights. We need a Charter of Obligations.”

He informed me as I escorted him around town that he had indeed been working with former heads of state (including Jimmy Carter) known as the Interaction Council on a document entitled The Universal Declaration of Human Responsibilities.

After subsequent correspondence with Mr Trudeau, he graciously permitted me to become its publisher (even before its “ratification” by the Council). Unfortunately, this important document, though on the internet and published by me, received little acclaim. That edition which featured it was even trashed by the Nelson librarian for “lack of space.”

It is most gratifying now, however, to see a similar moral creed being advanced today by such luminaries. Mr Trudeau would be thrilled to see these saints marching in.