"Lithuania in the New World Order" was the topic of discussion at the November 14, 2001 meeting of Humanists of Utah. The guest speaker was Dr. Andy Schoenberg, former aerospace engineer now a Professor of Bioengineering, and president of the local chapter of the World Federalists.

Lithuania is a Baltic State about the size of Ohio with approximately 3.6 million people. The language is of Latin derivation and originated in 2,000 B.C. Catholicism is the major religion having a percentage of 85.

Lithuania became a state in the thirteenth century. It unified with Poland during the fourteenth century and became Christian. In 1918 Lithuania gained independence. In 1940 the Russians took over, and then was followed by the German invasion in 1941. The Soviet forces reoccupied the state in 1944.

The current situation is as follows: Last March the people voted to secede from the Soviet Union. In September Lithuania was recognized as an independent state. Presently the economy is in turmoil and the Soviet army is still stationed there. President Landsbergis and his government are negotiating with various countries for trade and help. The future is uncertain for the country, but the people are optimistic because Europeans are inclined to help each other, and Poland is in no position to invade.

The economy is 60% industrialized with its major resource being major appliances, machine tools, ceramics, and electronics. Forty percent of the economy is agricultural with meat and dairy products having been the major exports. Oil and gas are imported from Russia.

Lithuania exports electric power from a very large nuclear power plant, the waste products from which have polluted much of the water systems in its vicinity.

Dr. Schoenberg was born in Lithuania in 1939. He moved to Germany in 1941. He lived through the war and was brought up to be intensely nationalistic. He was born Catholic, but now describes himself as being a Unitarian and World Citizen. Andy teaches a World Peace Seminar and is concerned about his students' attitudes regarding the justifiable reasons to go to war. (20% of his students polled believe it is legitimate to overthrow a dictatorship and establish democracy as long as we don't kill over 50% of the population!)

The European community see the New World Order as a means to reduce barriers by having common rules of law, common currency, and a confederation. There is less paranoia regarding the arms race, and Europeans do not like the Super Power domination of NATO. They want to integrate with Eastern Europe and are not a missionary society.

Lithuania wants independence from both Russia and Poland. There is a movement to secure independence from each other without bloodshed. There is a major change of thinking in all governments based on the concept of "Principled Negotiations," a Harvard University course attended by officials of the Soviet Union.

There is enough democratic thinking going on to probably prevent dictatorship. Whether or not independence and democracy succeeds will be determined by the amount of chaos that transpires. People have a tendency to grasp onto leaders with definitive ideas and easy answers when in a crisis. Lithuania wants a democratic and free market system. The question is how will small countries survive with the Super Powers. They are on the threshold of deciding how they are going to live with one another in peace.

The World Federalists do not see war as a way to solve problems. They hope to achieve the goal of "no war" through global awareness, education and world citizenship. World peace begins in the mind and the heart. Humanistic ethics in every human being is considered valuable. No one, or no nation, should externally impose anything on others, even in the name of democracy. There must be a federal type of rule much like the United States has established in order to settle problems and disagreements between the states.

Dr. Schoenberg considers Gorbachev a sincere reformer who initiated a remarkable move toward democracy.

The world needs to eliminate anarchy by establishing law. The only security for any people today is the creation of a system of world order that enables nations to retain sovereignty over their own cultures and institutions, and that creates a workable authority for regulating the behavior of nations in their relationships with one another. There are nuclear imperatives which dictate the need for world law.

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--Nancy Moore